Super 2s back in action

The Finsbury Park super 2s travelled to West London in the paradoxical situation of having played none and won two as they looked to truly kick off their return to league rugby.

The Fins started off the sharper of the two sides, with a quick display of hands releasing Toby Birkett on the far wing who was able to cut back inside and give the travelling team an early try. The extras were nicely added by fly half James Pattison.

0-7

From here it quickly became clear that Northolt had all intentions of using their superior size, strength and powerful runners to make the majority of their meters. This did pay dividends, creating enough space for the Northolt 10 to slot a drop kick from in front of the posts.

3-7

Fins came back quickly from the kick off, turning bone crunching tackling and rapid line speed into a turn over which saw another try in the far corner. Who scored? Not a clue, all I know is that JP missed the kick.

3-12

The boys from North London were really into the swing of things now, allowing the much smaller pack to win a scrum they had no right to win which in turn led to a fantastic piece of backs play ending in the hands of Jake Painter who turned on the afterburners and once again scored in the far corner. Kick again missed from a tight angle.

3-17

At this point the game plan from Northolt was on full display, use their big lads to carry hard and as half time approached the Park defence did start to slip and the home side found success down the short side. With the Northolt 8 leading the charge, the home side were able to go over after a few short passes and hard carries. Kick missed.

Half time
Northolt 8-17 Finsbury Park

The half time chat was simple, keep the intensity up and make the hits count. Those in green and gold certainly took the talk to heart as the second half saw some of the best defensive tackling the club has seen in some time. This did, however, lead to Northolt focusing on their set piece, specifically a driving maul which the smaller Park pack did struggle to stop once it got going. This did lead to one try early in the second half with a tight kick also making its way over as the home team attempted to stage an early comeback.

15-17

As previously mentioned, the Finsbury Park defensive effort was nothing short of Herculean at times with special mentions going out to Jude Little, Alec Micklethwait and captain fantastic John Musson putting in some truly show stopping hits on the heaviest of Northolt ball carriers. Not to be left out, the Fins back line were making the most of every opportunity they got, with Rob Gacek and Gary Van Heuven also carrying well and sucking in would be defenders. However, the next try came from a piece of individual brilliance with George Macduff, who chipped and chased his own kick on the Northolt 22 meter line into open space and extended the visiting side's lead. Another difficult kick missed by JP.

15-22

Northolt were unwilling to go down at home with a very valiant fight back which saw more ferocious defending inside the Park 22, so ferocious in fact, that it led to Santiago Garcia spending 10 minutes on the side line for a high tackle. Northolt were able to make the man advantage pay and again went over in the corner, with the kick missed a nervy finish was on the cards.

20-22

More top class defending and some strategic kicks from the green and gold saw Northolt struggle to get out of their own half as Fins looked to see the game out. Not content with a nail biting end, George Macduff again produced a moment of magic as he was able to intercept a Northolt pass and run half the length of the pitch for the try. Another tight angle conversion is just short by JP.

FT

Northolt 20 - 27 Finsbury Park

MOTM - George Macduff
DOTD - Ed Allington