Economicals 10 - 19 Wandsworthians (15/09/07)
A typical early season start for the Dubs with lots of errors combined with some good patches of play, especially at the set piece. Following some early pressure from E’s, strong tackling in the middle created turn-over ball for the Dubs. This was swiftly passed through three sets of hands for right wing Matt Rochester to go over in the corner (5-0).
E’s came back strongly, and after fielding a missed touch kick by the Dubs (one of many), launched a counter attack to draw level when their centre broke through some slack tackling to score under the posts. Surprisingly, the conversion was missed after an attempted drop goal conversion (5-5).
After this set back, the Dubs pack started to show its superiority, winning most of the line-outs and causing all sorts of problems at the scrum. Just before half-time Rob Tindall ran the ball out from full back to split the defence and go over unopposed under the posts. After a successful conversion the Dubs ended the half 12–5 in the lead.
The second half was almost a mirror image of the first. E’s put early pressure on the Dubs line and almost went over a couple of times, but were thwarted by some excellent last ditch tackling. Both teams started to tire due to the hot conditions with plenty of errors made on both sides and the Dubs missing some very kickable chances to put the game beyond doubt.
With 15mins remaining, a scrum on the E’s 10m line saw the Dubs backs move the ball wide. A half break and a good inside pass, gave captain Paul Cooper a clear run to the posts (19-5). E’s still managed to give the Dubs a fright by scoring their second try of the game with 5mins of the match left. Fortunately, the conversion went wide leaving E’s more than a converted try adrift. The game finished at 19-10.
All agreed it was a satisfactory start to the season but left lots of room for improvement. See the Picture Gallery for additional photos from this fixture.
(Match report by Andy Archer)
RFU.com 
Club Search
