Match Report – Thamesians - London French 1^st XV  (19-32)

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What a performance from the French away at the Thamesians ground! In a very enjoyable and tight match against a side who did not have any subs, the French managed to keep their head cool when the score was tight and the pressure was on. I can say pretty confidently that some time ago, the French team would have succumbed under the pressure and lost the match – I am very, very pleased that we showed a brave new face this time, and upped our game when required.

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The game started very evenly with both teams attacking each other’s defence vividly. The French put points on the scoreboard first through the boot of Quentin, but the Thamesians reacted promptly, taking a penalty in our half quickly and scoring through their powerful back row (although their usual big number 8 wasn’t playing this time around). The French then gave a real lesson of how Champagne rugby is played – in 4 years I’ve been at the club, I’ve never seen such beautiful support rugby being played by our side. Our first try came after Quentin spotted a gap behind the left winger, he kicked to chase, and Tsz was quick enough to catch the ball in the air, quickly followed by a mass of support. Quick hands through Ben Kitchen, Cyril Gatinot, Cyrille Cote and many others left our 140+kg Harold ‘NIIIIINJA’ Millan to (literally) crash through the defensive line and over the try line. Textbook support rugby! Our second try was scored by Erwan, and followed another nice move from our own half. The Thamesians closed the gap through a penalty and another try just before half time. (I think) The score at halftime was 18-13, as Quentin also scored a scruffy, but valid, drop goal, with the help of the post. And this was despite playing the last 10 minutes of the half at 14 players, since Julien ‘the bulldog’ Nuer could not resist getting himself yellow-carded by kicking one of the opposition’s players, whilst being offside, and just in front of the ref! well done for that one!

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In the beginning of the 2^nd half, the French were under a lot of pressure. I remember thinking that after 20 minutes, we had barely built a cohesive move, and the Thamesians were building confidence! That’s until the forwards decided to get back to playing together, simple rugby punctuated by cheese balls and rolling mauls. This allowed us to gain quite a lot of ground, and Harold scored another ninja try by bulldozing through the defence once again. This gave us the confidence boost that we desperately needed, and no more than 10 minutes later, Quentin who was on a visionary day, spotted a gap in the defence, Erwan passed the ball quickly to him at full speed, and the crash ball landed him between the posts.

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This was a very enjoyable one, and a very good win for the French indeed. A special thanks to the Thamesians for their outstanding hospitality – I know quite a few of us really enjoyed our time at the club house afterwards!

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Final score: 19-32.

Man of the match: Quentin

D of the day… Julien for his unbelievable yellow card ;)

Special mention to Clement for supporting the team in a tough position, to Jean-Daniel, Julien Bournez and Cyrille Cote for a great first match with the team (for a while in Cyrille’s case) and to our committed supporters Alex, Nick, Tangi, Cyrique and Alexis!