The USA doesn't always get everything right all of the time. No country does. However the one thing that country does get correct is the way it views their serving military personnel and veterans. I'd heard this many times from American citizens and then a few years ago , sitting in the departure lounge at O'Hare airport in Chicago I witnessed an event that gave a graphic illustration of this attitude towards their military. A group of veterans walked into the departure lounge, all dressed in uniform much like our Chelsea Pensioners. To a person everybody in that lounge stood up and started clapping the veterans. These were not self serving politicians or well known radio and television news people , all with their own agenda. These were ordinary Americans, on their way home from a weekend in the Mid West, engaging in a spontaneous outpouring of appreciation for these elderly veterans. It was quite a moment and this is all the more relevant on Armistice weekend, a time of year which is marked with thanks, sadness and poignancy. So how fitting was it that Harry Isaac, Captain in the Fourth Battalion, The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, was given the honour of leading Blues out on the weekend, before the customary period of silence. Those of us not involved in the military have no idea what it must be like to be engaged in an active war theatre, so thank you Harry for your and your colleague's service and thank you to all those who have gone before you and those of the next generation who will serve, keeping our country safe. It's not only the Armed Services that keep us safe, there is also the Fire Service, among others, and huge congratulations to brothers Kyle and Ashley Doel for being chosen to represent the English Fire Service in their match against the Welsh Fire Service on the Wednesday before the Winchester game. That they turned out again on Saturday is a testament to their dedication to Blues and a reflection of their dedication to their chosen profession.

The match itself was a mixture of disappointment, frustration and a certain pride in a performance which James McAvoy describes as the team having, "the ability and skills to win these games." James goes on to say, " we nullified their attack for large periods of the game and our attack looked positive. We just didn't do it for long enough." From the start Blues were under significant pressure and Winchester looked like a team who are the top end of the table. Barely five minutes in and Blues found themselves three points down courtesy of a successful penalty by Winchester. The first twenty minutes or so saw Blues camped in their own twenty two and but for the sterling defensive efforts the visitors would have scored many more points. Player of the match Michael Klichovicz made a try saving tackle during this phase of the match, as did Josh Bartlett and Tom Cole who is getting into the rhythm of playing number ten put in a fantastic clearing kick from a penalty awarded to Blues. Blues were disrupted when Harry Isaac had to come off after ten minutes to be replaced by Frank Southwold who showed his skills by punching a hole in the Winchester defence on one occasion. However the relentless pressure on Blues defence eventually resulted in a try for the visitors to take the score to ten nil. As the first half wore on, Blues began to get into the game a bit more. The scrum, anchored by the ever present Graham Stewart at tight head, looked a little more solid and Ben Hicks made a startling burst through the middle, only to be hauled down as he was getting into full stride. Dylan Stewart was prominent both in attack and defence as was his replacement Harry Edwards. Harry made a number of strong runs through the middle to set up a few attacking positions for Blues. However the home side couldn't quite get over the line and then a Winchester break out resulted in them being awarded a penalty and at half time the visitors took a thirteen point lead.

The second half started much as the first half had, with Winchester on the attack and within five minutes of the restart they had scored their second try to make the score twenty points to nil. And then Blues began to get some continuity. Effective work in the maul by Ben Hicks and the rest of the forwards, a strong run though by Kliki and all of a sudden Blues were pressing hard and for the first time in the match Winchester were finding it difficult to repel Blues attack. This pressure resulted in a try by Josh Winfield, with the help of his fellow forwards driving him over the line in Blues Corner. Tom Coles successful conversion made the score 7-20 to Winchester. All coaches impress on their players not to give anything away immediately after they have scored a try, to exit properly and gain field position. A stark reminder of the importance of this message then came to bear because within two minutes Winchester went ahead by a further five points, their third try of the afternoon. It wasn't only Blues that suffered this fate though, as we found out about fifteen minutes after Blues game had ended and attention turned to Twickenham. Rugby can seem an easy game when you're thirty points up , everything going your way and the opposition not that strong. It's when the chips are down and a team is under constant scoreboard and field position pressure is when we really learn about a team, when individually and collectively everyone has to dig in and show resiliance, "the ability to adapt and overcome difficult situations, such as stress, pressure, unexpected changes or failures," and the work the coaches are doing in this regard certainly paid dividends on the weekend. Without this mental fortitude and physical effort, the result could have been a lot worse than it was. So, the game lost, five minutes to the final whistle and then Blues showed what they are capable of, showed the resiliance so coveted by coaches and some crisp passing by the backs resulted in Harry Cooper going over for Blues second try of the game, successfully converted by Tom Coles to bring the score back to 14-25. That was not the end of the scoring, however, and the visitors had the last word when they were awarded a penalty try in virtually the last play of the game to make the final score 14-32.

As always, thanks to the players for putting it all out there on the pitch. It was great to see Jonny Lees back in action, along with Josh Bartlett and Josh Winfield. All three had a significant impact on the game and we all hope to see much more of them as the season progresses. Thanks also to the referee, Charlie St Aubin, refereeing his first match at this level, to Dave Shields who ran the line and the catering and bar staff who had a lot of people to feed as it was a Life Members and Old Players reunion lunch. It was great to see so many familiar faces back a the club, reliving playing memories, rekindling friendships and having a few beers much like back in the day.

A word also for those Stags players who travelled to play Maidenhead II at Braywick. It was a difficult day for them but a huge thank you for fulfilling the fixture in spite of the difficulties faced on the day. Next weekend Blues are away at table topping Tottonians and thank you in advance to those who are intending to travel. Stags are at home to Marlow II.
COYB
COYS