Cats front up to last season’s nemesis!

Cats kicked off and good pressure saw Reigatians spill the ball forward. From the ensuing scrum Cats attacked along the line and only strong Reigatian defence stopped the charge. Cats continued to press but lost the ball in the tackle and from the ruck Reigatians attacked out wide through their speedy fullback who went through some weak tackling to score under the posts. Against the run of play Reigatians led 7-0. Cats kicked off again and in a repeat again caused a turnover by good pressure on the receiver. However in a carbon copy move Reigatians gained possession and the fullback was once again over with the score now 14-0 to Reigatians. Cats again kicked off and this time Reigatians took the ball cleanly and forced their way up field. They managed to get over the line but were held up and the quarter ended.

The second quarter started with Reigatians kicking to Cats. The ball was well taken by Jamie but Reigatians held up the maul and won the scrum. They then attacked left but sterling defence snuffed out the attack and it was the turn of Cats to feed the scrum. Cats then attacked and after working their way towards the half Lewis got the ball in space and charged through the Reigatians defensive line to run in a superb try under the posts. Converted by Tom and suddenly Cats were right back in it at 14-7. Reigatians kicked off again and again Cats took clean ball. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing the ball was passed along the line to Will Mac who went charging up the line fending players off to score close to the sideline. The conversion just shaved the upright and Cats were now trailing by 2 with the score Reigatians 14 – 12 Cats. The second quarter then ended.

The third quarter was a much more even affair with neither side gaining ascendancy, although there was some super tackling coming in from both sides with Will Mac, Jack and Matt putting in some sterling work. The quarter ended with no further points added.

The fourth quarter kicked off and Cats found their second wind. Desperate for the decisive score the scrum forced Reigatians back each time while the backs continually probed looking for the opening. Reigatians were holding on by the skin of their teeth but Cats could not find the way through. Eventually from an attacking scrum the ball came out to Will Mac who ran strongly from within Cats half weaving in and out of desperate Reigatians defenders. Tackled 10 metres out but not held Will picked himself up but was finally dragged into touch just short of the try line. The referee blew up for full time and the final score Reigatians 14-12 Old Cats.

An excellent performance from Old Cats against a strong League 3 side who only 8 months earlier had put 50 past them. The referee was effusive in his praise for the whole team performance and singled out Dan Dolce as his man of the match. From 1 to 19 every player gave a strong performance. The scrum was especially solid and gave Reigatians a torrid time. The front row of Oskar, Toby and Conor were a rock, ably supported by George and Jamie in the second row both who also took the ball up strongly (Jamie also being singled out by the Ref on a couple of occasions!). The loose forward trio of Will Morris, Dan D. and Lewis, along with Ieuan on the interchange tackled and pressurised Reigatians to a standstill with all four making good runs with the ball. Rory and Tom ran well and distributed the ball to our dangerous backline where Trent, Will Mac and Gordon in the centres ran strongly and provided good support to each other. Aaron, Keiran, Jack and Matt covered the wing positions and not only took the ball on well when given the opportunity but defended against a strong attacking side. Jack and Matt especially put in some good tackles with Matt’s on the big Reigatian No 8 the tackle of the day. Scott tackled and ran strongly from full back to complete an excellent team performance.