The sun was beating down on Duke’s Meadows, and a fair crowd had amassed on the side line as both Civil Service teams were at home for the first time this season. The Alway/Coutts bar was teaming with custom and the missing clubhouse did not dampen the simmering atmosphere.
Civil had a rather barbarian feel to their side as much of the team had yet to train with one another, and the warm up was not as slick as it could have been. This lack of cohesion was manifest in the opening stages of the game as Ealing capitalised on Civil’s uncertainty at the kick-off. Civil were back under their posts, a score down and the game had only just begun.
As the game progressed, however, the Civil team began to gel, putting phases together, which Ealing found hard to defend against. Tries from Rob Daley and Greg Bonsu regained the ascendancy for Civil. Rob Daley used his power to bundle over from close range, and Greg Bonsu finished off a move that Q created with a majestic break and offload. The home team went in at half time leading and playing the better rugby.
After halftime Civil suffered a couple of setbacks.
Civil lost their captain, Edward Hill as he got ‘chinned in the peck’ and shortly after a silly mistake by Civil’s scrumhalf, Victor Alway, gifted Ealing a run in under the posts. Alway soon redeemed himself however, as he collected a loose kick by Ealing and sprinted in to touch down in the corner. The game ebbed and flowed with neither side able to exercise any real control, and with 10 minutes to go Civil had a perilous lead of 23-22.
With so little separating the two teams Civil could hardly believe it when their ill-discipline gifted Ealing a kickable penalty, which allowed the visitors to poke their noses in front for the first time since the first score of the game. 25-23 Ealing, but still time for another swing of the pendulum. With the final whistle approaching and the hot weather and hard ground having taken its toll on both sets of players, Van still had plenty of running in his legs to make a fantastic arching break and selflessly draw the fullback to put Phil Reid under the posts. 30-25 Civil!
Man of the Match: Q for his energy, crunching tackling and mesmerising offloads