Chipstead 3rd 15 : 26
Sutton & Epsom 4th 15 : 17

The third team’s inaugural game of the season (yes, in March) was a friendly against Sutton and Epsom fours. A team with an age range of about 40 years, made up largely of Chipstead Colts moving into adult rugby and older players going back to adult rugby after several years and many more hot meals, who had not played together before struggled to gel initially. Going down by two tries to a Sutton and Epsom team who knew each other, and their strengths very well. Playing to these strengths Sutton and Epsom largely stuck the ball in the forwards and trundled toward the bottom of the slight slope which they had elected to play down in the first half.
Chips started to get in the game as the half went on and several good runs from the backs pushed S & E back as far as their own try line, but it didn’t quite click enough for the try to come before the break. The second half included changing the scrum half and captaincy- Adam for Matt Staunton, and vice captain Arron being told to come off too. Somehow Arron completely (“accidentally”) missed being told he was coming off and so got an extra 5 minutes game time of the second half. Matt however, who had also clearly not been listening, seemed perplexed when the referee asked to speak to the captain about his mouthing off at him constantly through the second half and was told by the bench that he was the captain.
Barney said I was to make up anything I missed, so, when our first try came and I was in the club house checking our valuables bag had made it behind the bar, I assume the Angels of Mons*, summoned by Jay’s howling thrust Sutton’s defence aside and carried scorer fly half Perry through on their ghostly chariots to the try line. Returning safe in the knowledge that our phones were safe, I was pleased to find we had scored, but upset that I’d missed the angelic horde. Shortly afterwards Perry dropped a shoulder, turned inside from about 40 meters out and ran through a now blowing hard S & E back line to get his second, and with the two points added from our first (angelic horde again) Chipstead lead by two points.
Perry completed his hat trick soon after and the game looked to only be going Chipstead’s way, except that a late push and some ill discipline, mostly from Matt’s mouth and the crowd, allowed Sutton to build some pressure. This pressure looked set to continue when birthday boy Ed Elbrow stepped up to win man of the match and dick of the day in one move. His man of the match was for Sutton, though, having gifted the ball to their prop under no pressure, and then being outpaced by said prop to the try line. It was a brilliant assist. To his credit, he managed the large Guinness and port very well, and was still coherent at seven pm.
Right as it looked like a tense finish, Piers decided to go alone down the wing to walk in Chipstead’s forth try, and Perry, under some encouragement not to rush, strolled to convert the final action of the game, leaving the score Chipstead 26, Sutton and Epsom 17. A very good win for our first game, and Jay, not used to losing this season, seemed a much happier man than at half time.
*look it up