Beware of the lion

If last weeks game through the fence was flatter than Lloydy's chest and lacked any intensity then todays outing on the main pitch was the polar opposite.

The Gannets set about their task against a talented Vigo outfit with a physical intensity that probably hadn't been seen since they defeated Sheppey some weeks ago.Maybe it was the huuuuge crowd (of 30 or so) that turned out to watch them,including an increasingly sloshed Ben Baker as the game went on,or maybe they were spurred on by last weeks mind numbingly boring performance.But what we do know is that the Gannets rocked up to the club to the sight of their oppo warming up over an hour before kickoff.AN HOUR! What's that all about? Do you think that the housewives faves reached the heady heights of second by warming up?? Hell no! They played touch,then had a run through in which they couldn't even score against imaginary oppo.The moral of this is that if you want to reach the level of the Gannets,NEVER warm up.

The game started positively enough for the home team with their high intensity game forcing Vigo back in the early stages until a decent kick for touch found the Gees back inside their own 22.They won the resulting lineout but the visitors 7 cleverly anticipated the pass and scampered in for the opening score.

A minor setback you might say as the Gannets came storming back,quickly penning Vigo back inside their 5 with a series of penalties and crushing scrums.By the way,to their credit Vigo stuck it out for the full 80 and chose not to go uncontested unlike other teams the Gees have faced this season.The inevitable happened with the inevitable scorer,despite his black leg.With Dan Grant adding the extras things were on track.

Vigo's backs were no slouches,a young,athletic bunch and given the ball in hand with the open spaces of the main pitch,they certainly made the most of it moving the ball swiftly along the line,slicing through the Gannets D to score an impressive team try which saw the visitors lead by 3 at the break.

The Gees started the second half with renewed vigour and intensity with a clever Joe Cross kick for the corner forcing Vigo to put the ball into touch at the goal line.With the Gannets losing the resulting lineout all hope was seemingly lost but mummys little soldier Mayhew burst through to block the resulting kick for touch and Walshy dived upon it to put the Gees into the leas for the second and final time.

DannyO quickly added to the score although what happened I cannot remember as the pitch is so ridiculously wide that I couldn't see what on earth was going on but then he added another to keep up the heat on Paddy as the Gannets leading scorer this season.

Things were starting to get surreal now as even Mick Woodbine started throwing dummies and stepping people ferchrissake and the Gannets seemingly had Vigo where they wanted them.Paddy's manky leg soon got the better of him and Ben Mayhew left the field after a crunching tackle damaged his knee.With a double yella for Woodbine and a Vigo forward resulting in uncontested scrums for the remainder of the game you could argue that this gave the visitors a slight advantage and so it proved with their replacement 8 who i'm pretty sure I saw in Game of Thrones once picking and going and going and going...half the length of the field all the way to the try line.

A kickable penalty in front of the sticks soon followed for Vigo,Had it been slotted it would have brought them within 6 with just under 10 minutes left but thankfully for the Gannets they didn't bring a kicker with them!

Enter Jetski.A certified 41 year old DILF and the man described in Vigo's match report last year as a man 'a cut above what they're used to at this level' or something like that.Anyway he then proceeded to quite frankly,take the piss out of guys 20 years his junior to the tune of referee Swanley shouting 'not tackled' repeatedly as he cut his way across the field,ducking,bobbing and weaving would be tacklers before offloading to DannyO (I think) who in turn found Jamie to score a try which started around the Gannets own 22.

Sam Taylor elected to take the resulting kick,although why is a mystery,as Dan Grants hernia had finally got better of him and that was that.

To a man,the Gannets put in a hard fought,physical performance against a dangerous Vigo team,identifying their threats and in the second half snuffing them out.

Of course there's the customary mentions,firstly to Joe Cross who showed balls of steel stepping in at 9 when no one else fancied it,Paddy playing through the pain with his mouldy leg,Harry Richardson for putting his 10 stone soaking wet frame in harms way again again to save certain tries and the whole team.....for being absolute bastards.

Until next time...