A long awaited League match away at Reeds was the reward today. The boys were all ready for the game which made a pleasant surprise. The warm up was delivered and taken seriously and the team talks were inspiring to say the least!
The match started with Vandals receiving the kick off and pressure from Reeds allowed them to make progress towards our try line and eventually over it due to some missed tackles and I thought we were in for another performance like Camberley.
From the restart, it was apparent that this was what the boys needed to galvanise themselves. Sustained pressure ended with Vandals in Reeds 22 and a penalty given for offside at the ruck. This was taken quickly by scrum half for the day, Rory Burtenshaw who forced his way over for a deserved score. The conversion was missed.
The restart was dealt with well and periods of phases were worked and the ball eventually coming to James Gulliver who took off for the line at great pace, going through several attempted tackles to score under the posts, giving Harry Weatherall a much easier conversion.
A further try by James Gulliver stretched the lead at half time to 7 - 17 to Vandals.
The second half started in the same fashion as the first with Reeds scoring from a kick through and good follow up wide out. The conversion was missed.
Reeds dealt with the kick off but allowed Vandals to steal the ball and after several passes, James Gulliver was in space with 2 players supporting, to sprint for the line and score again. Harry Weatherall converted well. The kick off was returned by Vandals and again James Gulliver was the scorer of a great individual effort but with support from other players.
Vandals made several changes and Reeds came strong again, finishing 2 good moves with tries and one conversion. Following the last try, Vandals were told to just control the ball and did so well and forced Reeds up the pitch to their own 22 where they contained them, thanks to some ferocious tackling.
The game ended with Vandals just on top and the score line was 24 - 29 to Vandals.
A great effort from all the players used during the game, special mention has to go to James Gulliver who's contribution was immense, Adam Varney tackled well and held up opposition players so more Vandals could get there, Max McArdle was strong in the scrum and determined with ball in hand, Tarendeep Dhillon made huge ground when he had possession and the rest of the team stepped up and played very well.
Player of the Match went to Elliot Lewis who played at outside centre and tackled extremely well, recovered quickly and often made a second tackle before anyone else got there. A great performance with good focus and ability. Well done Elliot!

Overall, a pleasing performance with many positives. There is always something to work on but some great personal efforts today.