MORE THAN JUST A RUGBY TEAM

In the more even first half in terms of possession, strong ball carrying by Neil 'Jobbo' Jobbins, Brian Williams and others frequently lacked the support to ensure the Moles retained the ball with Bexley coming off the better at the rucks. Nonetheless, the Moles embraced the physical test thrown at them and good work up the 'Banana 2' pitch's hill in both the scrum and with the ball through the hands saw the Moles camped on the Bexley 22 ready for the final assault on the tryline. However, a turnover ball and canny exploitation of the space left by the attack minded Moles, saw Bexley break away, score between the posts and convert. Perhaps it was inevitable that it was going to be 'one of those days' when the Moles set up a rolling maul inside their own half shortly afterwards which advanced up the hill the best part of 50 metres only for Bexley to come out with the ball on the 5 metre line. Elsewhere, possession was cheaply kicked away on a number of occasions not least by loose head prop Elvis who clearly had a brainstorm deciding
'It's now or never' and kick straight into touch when he should have just done his job and taken the ball into contact to set up the next 'Jailhouse Ruck'.
After a 'semi-hair dryer' treatment from Lord Jim Hill in the half-time huddle, the Moles came out for the second half with renewed energy and vigour largely sparked by the introduction of the Gilham family: Harry coming in at 9, James at 10, George at 12 and dad Jim on the left wing. James and George's running and inter-play consistently punched holes in the Bexley defence and a delightful phase of play saw the ball pass through all four sets of Gilham hands in sequence. But despite all the possession, the Moles still couldn't get that ball over the line; and to continue the theme of it being 'one of those days', when the ball was finally taken over the line, play had been halted following an injury to a Bexley player. And so the frustration continued as the Bexley defence stood firm to soak up all the Moles pressure. When the final whistle blew the shaking of Moles heads contrasted sharply with Bexley celebrations akin to a team that had just won the Heineken Cup. The latter spoke volumes with the Bexley players clearly surprised and delighted to have come away with the victory considering the balance of play. It was most definitely a game that the Moles lost as opposed a game Bexley had gone out and won!
Still, the post game mood amongst the Moles became more philosophical as the beer flowed and songs were sang. Skipper Terry was proud of the commitment levels from all players, Brian Williams was a very worthy 'Mole of the Match' but most of all, and as ever, everyone was looking forward to the next match and the next jug. Proof once again that the Moles are something much much more than a rugby team!

Line up: Elvis, El Tel, Brucey, Garry Hodges, Brian Williams, Posty, Ork, Gareth Moore, Nod, Andy Dadson, Lloydy, Jobbo, Shotgun, Q, Brian Rayner, Big Bob, Oily, Sam Holden, Cabin Boy, Harry Gilham, James Gilham, George Gilham, Jim Gilham, Stan, Merv, Toks, Mick Terry,