Saturday 18th Feb - the Mighty Fins made the long journey down to Isleworth (pronunciation up for debate) for a bruising clash with the Old Isleworthians. The match was not necessarily the most relaxing of experiences with a train line along one edge of the pitch and the Heathrow flight path directly overhead, but the boys did not let this phase them.

OI in red, white and blue kicked off to the Fins resplendent in green and yellow and we were underway. The first 10 minutes were very scrappy from Park with lots of penalties and OI pinning us back in our half. The first sign of a game afoot was scrum number one – up step Stevens, Bromley and Stewart-Phillips to put in a huge shove against the head and really set the tone for the next 70 minutes – one might note that the ‘Old’ element of OI was particularly evidenced in their front row although this reporter doubts that Bromley will concede anything of the sort.

Our lineout operated well throughout the game, and we got a steal early doors which led to a good attacking platform and some territory at last. Stables sliced through a gap and got the ball away to Scott who was felled just 5 metres short. The referee deemed (from about 60 metres away) that the OI tacklers had held up the ball illegally and a penalty try was awarded.

No conversion needed: 0-7.

Fins had a bit of life about them now and the small numbers put in some huge carries from the kickoff to get us some movement up the pitch. Well worked attacking play from the backs gave Birkett an outside arc on their winger and then he put in a lovely step to beat the 15 before crossing for Park’s second.

Unconverted: 0-12.

OI came back with a bit of zip after this one and had some sustained pressure on our 5-metre line but we held them out well and moved the ball back to halfway. OI had a scrum and Max clearly mistook their 9 for a loved one giving him a gentle cuddle around the shoulders for which he earned himself a 10-minute sit down on the sidelines.
With the man advantage and OI turning the screw in attack – Fins had a lot of defending to do. OI had all the territory and kept knocking at the door but Fins were resolved to hold firm. A turnover gave Phil a brilliant gap to clear our lines and break away to the OI 10-metre line before we gave away yet another pen. OI put it in the corner and soon after their number 10 crashed over for OI’s first score.

Converted: 7-12.

The first half ended with some imperious scrummaging from Park and everything was set up for an exciting second 40.

At this point I went and got a pint – handing Pouroullis the touch judge flag and trusting that nothing too exciting would happen. Well sadly the London Pride tap was broken, and we all know you have to wait 119.5 seconds for a high-quality Guinness so by the time that had taken place and I got back to the pitch I had seemingly missed a try of true sublimity and beauty!

Pouroullis tells me that we drove a lineout-maul 50 metres to score an excellent forwards try – de Podesta with the credit, I think. As is always the case with these things, once the front row had a pint or two in them, 50 metres soon became 70 and at one point in the fullback I’m fairly sure Stevens claimed it was a 120-metre drive - with the scrum dominance I saw, I’m inclined to believe him.
Gillham conversion: 7-19.

I had by now returned to the action and had my touch judge flag safely under my arm with concentration locked onto the game. Coningham found a gap in the OI line and some lovely interplay with Scott gave the captain a walk over – sadly from the sidelines it looked as though Coningham had either torn both hamstrings or was running through treacle and was caught by one of the OI geriatric props before just managing to roll over the line – like a majestic seal rolling on an ice floe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zb0mAbZuZ8).

Gillham conversion: 7-26.

This was followed by Coningham’s customary stint on the sideline after 45 mins.
At this point my notes on the match became a bit more brief but I had put down ‘OI try from some poor first up tackles – soft, nothing special’ so that’s that.
Converted: 14-26.

Fins then went back to work on the scrum and set up a strong platform for the backs to play off. A wonderful outside break from Macduff and Sanchez was only stopped by an OI shoulder charge which somehow resulted in a scrum. Park put in a huge shove in the scrum and marched OI back over their own line. By this point Coningham had returned to the field but clearly not yet awoken from his rest on the sideline as he forgot to put the ball down and let their 9 do it instead.

At the following scrum, rather than driving them over again to really embarrass OI’s pack, we gave away yet another pen so that brought to an end our pressure on their line.
OI cleared their line up to halfway and Fins were able to break up the OI lineout drive before turning the ball over. OI then lost their heads and lifted someone’s legs above the waist in a tackle. In rushed the heavies with PC Griffiths appearing out of nowhere and giving the miscreant a telling off - the penalty to Finsbury was reversed and instead OI were given another chance to attack.

OI kicked to touch where an unsuspecting touch judge was finishing off his pint rather than concentrating and missed what happened. The ball was called in favour of OI but not before Bromley whipped out his very best moaning to try and convince the ref it went the other way. OI used this as a platform and built up enough pressure to crash over our line from short.

Converted: 21-26.

Park regrouped and went for a huge chase on the kick-off. Coningham and MacDuff bore down hard on the OI receiver and for all the money in the world I though Coningham was going to lay him out but instead he belted out the roar of ‘your man’ and left MacDuff put in a tackle of tectonic proportions (or so he asked me to write). Coningham did at least have the decency to win a turnover from the ensuing ruck and after only a couple of phases, Gillham played a lovely rewind and caught OI napping on the blind for a score.
Gillham conversion: 21-33.

Park largely lost their edge at this point with only a couple of minutes left and forgot to number off at one of the rucks – OI 10 saw the gap and crashed over with the clock in the red.

Converted: 28-33.

A brilliant win for Finsbury Park on the road and plenty of pointers coach Jersey will be looking to work on in training on Thursday. With two fixtures left in MMT2, it seems well within Park’s grasp to climb the table and finish the season on a high.

Tries: Birkett, De Podesta, Coningham, Gillham
MOTM: Gillham
DOTD: Coningham