Chipstead U13s ‘Exiles’ start Cup journey with win at Wimbledon

This was the opening round of the cup competition for the Surrey U13 Premier Outer and Premier Inner teams and saw the ‘Exiles’ take to the road again for a trip to SW20 to face Wimbledon RFC.

This was one of those games where the score line did not fully reflect the level of competition from the hosts as Chipstead were made to work hard for the points, with combative rucking and mauling from Wimbledon resulting in Chipstead conceding more ball than normal. The breakdowns aside though this as a sterling performance from the ‘Exiles’ who now progress through the next round against Sutton & Epsom.

The ‘Exiles’ started sprightly with a converted try early in the first half. However that goaded Wimbledon into a riposte with a well executed 7 point retort of their own. The half then settled into a passage of ruck and counter ruck, maul and counter-maul, which kept the referee busy in terms of managing the off-sides and not releasing the ball. Finally the half was closed off with another Chipstead converted try. Half time score (7 - 14).

The second period of saw the ‘Exiles’ start to assert themselves more at the breakdown and delivered some potent driving mauls; but defences on both sides remained combative with a number of initiatives on both sides quickly stifled under a well judged tackle or bundle into touch. Chipstead enjoyed a period of pressure inside the Wimbledon 5 metre area but the host’s defence held back the tide with both occasions when the ‘Exiles’ crossed the line being deemed to have been held up. Ultimately Wimbledon prevented Chipstead converting the pressure into a score and the hosts were able to clear their lines. However opportunities continued to open up with a couple of long solo runs – including one from the Exile’s newest player, scoring a try on his debut. – building a 14 point cushion. The final passage of play saw the ‘Exiles’ go over for a final un-converted try. Final score (7 – 33).

This was a good win for the ‘Exiles’ but commiserations to Wimbledon who battled hard without getting the rewards that their efforts probably deserved. Taking nothing away from Chipstead though, this was a strong team effort, especially once the forwards started to front up more at the breakdown. The passing along the line was better and the defence was taut as usual. There are areas that the coaches picked up on and these will be worked on next Sunday at training in advance of our game against Sutton & Epsom. Well done though to the ‘Exiles’ who continue their unbeaten start to 2015.