With last week off we were very much in need of a game and keen to get into 6 Nations spirit.
Sadly though with 5 key players still out injured and at the last count 4 more of our brethren away skiing the squad was thin on the ground!
Worst still league fixture opponents Dorking pulled out on Friday morning, but thanks to our wonderful fixtures secretary, Christy found us a replacement fixture against Belsize Park.
Mistake No1!!
Skips was relishing some good old banter against our friends from Dorking and some points to go with it, though the opposite was to be.....
On arriving late due to wonderful A3 roadworks where lots of nothing happens, I was a little surprised to see a sizable Belsize squad already warming up with tackle bags and a coach!
And to be honest it gets no better than that....
We were run ragged by a fit fast and very well drilled side that were out to put us through some pain. We could have held our own but infuriated the ref with constant alleged off-sides and killing the ruck...two sending offs didn’t help and made life even easier for Belsize to torment us with a third try in the first fifteen minutes!
We did come back quickly with a rumble from the pack to fall over the line but no sooner had we received the restart, they managed to score again!
Sadly the rest remains a blur because we simply did not turn up, were sloppy in defence, poor discipline and basically more concerned about the England game to follow!!
A late consolation try in the dying minutes by new cap Lewis was more luck than anything as Belsize thought the game was over!
South westerly winds, hurricanes or tornadoes; we can latch on to any excuse we wish, but basically Harrodian Vets let themselves down...shame!
Well done Belsize for giving us the kick we clearly needed....
Mistake No2.....don’t think you can take on young fit fast sides!
Skips