The Fat Stags rumble on

The unbeaten Fat Stags XV played Old Emanuel on Friday 13th March under lights for the 3rd time this season. Old E had strengthened their squad considerably in an attempt to prevent another tragic loss to the Stags. A thorough warm up and run through saw Dan Aire display his usual "handling" skills - can't believe he uses power tools and expensive electrical equipment for a living!

We lost the toss and played with the wind and slope -lining up against 15 giants who were not the vets we had played against twice during the season. To say I was a little 'concerned' was an understatement, but the Stags "never say die" attitude soon kicked in. After some ferocious tacking by Justin, Pat, and Louis in the back row, we created quick ruck ball that enabled Jonesy to score from 10 yards out. This was soon followed by a penalty (that was only kicked as we felt the opposition deserved no favours) by Jonesy again. An 8 point lead was never going to be enough and the Old Es soon got into their stride. Keith (U11 dad) - playing his first game for 17 years made fantastic tackles to stop the opposition from scoring. Paul Gilheany put his body on the line and took the Old Es rampaging no8 to the ground with a display of bravery that set the pattern for the 2nd half. After soaking up lots of pressure, the ref gave Old Es a dodgy penalty try to make the score 8-7 at half time. Benson was livid - it was an unfair try after some fantastic defensive work.
The Stags developed a fantastic team spirit at half time and continued well in the second half. Wallace produced excellent line-out ball for the backs to run at the opposition, but we continued to struggle in the scrums throughout the game - with Brooksy departing early after a runny nose. Mike stepped up on his debut and played really well.
The writing was soon on the wall and Old Es hoofed the ball long at the start of the 2nd half. A wicked bounce and knock on led to a second try for Old Es.......but the Stags fought back immediately. On his debut, Simon Dawes danced his way through the OldEs defence and scored under the posts. This was soon followed by a fantastic break by Dave "Peter Pan" Williams and a try from Louis Venter - now a regular Vet from the Teddington dads side of the club. A winning buzz immediately developed throughout the team and the opportunity to win the game became a reality. We drove our way up the pitch and Dawesy scored his second try after breaking through tackles.
I can't remember if Jonesy converted the tries, but he marshalled the game and kept the opposition at bay with some clever kicks.
Dan Aust tackled like a man possessed, and cleared the lines with Keith and wee Dave Williams. We made a few changes with Burto and Jim coming back on to beef up the scrum.
The game continued and the Stags grew in confidence. A win against the odds was a real possibility, and Old Es came back at us with their all-star players who tried to turn the tide in their favour. This just fortified the Stags resolve even more. We disrupted their line out and tackled their runners - especially their 15. Dawesy and Dan pushed him wide and nailed him to stop him in his tracks. It was a fine performance by everyone. Our driving mauls took them by surprise, and we could have scored again but Dave Williams was tackled in the corner.
Time drifted away and the Stags won 29-14. This was probably the most satisfying Stags win ever - against a younger fitter stronger team that had been brought together with the sole purpose to beat us ! The buzz throughout the team was fantastic - and continued into the early hours assisted by London Pride....
Special thanks to the new guys - Paul Moore, Keith, Wallace, Simon, Mike and Young Brooksy.