Three Players Back In Business

MATCH PREVIEW

Oxford Harlequins away gave us the opportunity to back up our win against London Welsh and the players put in a strong performance in challenging conditions. Through a dominant set piece and effective ball movement, we secured the bonus point by half time. Even though the second half was less eventful, we finished as 19–42 winners.
That’s not the whole story, though. We lost both Jamie Stephens and Eoin O’Donoghue early in the second half and Mo Pangarker followed shortly after scoring his try. Ryley Thomas played the final ten minutes in the second row and Presley Farrance shifted to Number 6. Even with all this disruption, the last ten minutes showed the true character of this team. Despite the game already being won, the lads were stubbornly defiant and refused to give Oxford a losing bonus point. I thought it was important to share that final defensive play with the team at training last night. The character they showed is something to be proud of and a great sign of how our defence has progressed this season.
The week off also gave me the chance to watch the Pilgrims play live for the first time this season. It was great to see Jesse De Vries, Alfie Orris and Harry Sloan all return from recent injury layoffs—and all come through the game unscathed. And what a game it was. To go twenty-one points behind and still come out on top 30–26 shows how this team is rising to the challenge of Regional 2. The second-half performance is where the match was won, and when the final whistle blew you could see what it meant to the players—and to coach Mal Graves. The Pilgrims now have four wins from their last five games as they travel to fourth-place Beckenham looking to continue their strong run of results.
After a week off, the 1st XV welcome Guernsey Raiders to the Marine Travel Ground. Guernsey sit one place and two points ahead of us as we begin the final block of the year. With only three games to go before the Christmas break, we know how important it is to continue our recent run of results. Fixtures with Guernsey are always closely fought affairs and we know it will take our best to get the win

MATT CORKER, HEAD COACH