Gannets emerge victorious in battle of Gravesend

At the end of a week where the Swans and Gannets had both suffered the cancellation of their league fixtures to Bexley and Lordswood second teams respectively as a result of those two clubs not having enough players to fulfill the games, Gravesend were able to showcase the strength in depth of the club by arranging a head to head clash between their 4th and 5th teams. The prospect of a titanic battle between these two sides created much excitement on the evening before the game meaning that the usual drop in participation experienced upon the loss of a league fixture was reversed, with club regular Martin Abbott deciding that he would pull on his boots for the first time in many months and other players cancelling any alternative plans they might have been considering when Bexley/Lordswood pulled out.

With the Gannets having lost Dan Grant (to almost becoming a father) and Jon Sargent (to over exuberance in midweek) on the morning of the game, a first appearance at hooker was given to Wes Culmer. Much credit must go to Wes for his performance in a tricky position against the typically strong and competitive Swans front row. Thanks also to Mick Woodbine for demonstrating the spirit of rugby for passing on some tips after the first couple of scrums to his opponent. Martin Abbott joined Jamie Feighery in the second row after gathering himself at the shock of being put in at lock and having to squeeze into one to ambitiously tight fitting Gannets shirts. A regular Gannets back row of Taylor, Abbott and Percival completed the pack. Outside the backs were tasked with improving on recent performances to try and make the most of the work done by the forwards and the skills of the individuals available. Dan Bromley was moved to fly half, joined by Connor Watkins at scrum half to try and establish the platform. The familiar centre pairing of Steve Wootton and James Kurszewski was supported by Ben Baker and Dan Beazer on the wings and Perri Gallacher in his regular position at fullback.

The game started with some strong carries by both sides with the Gannets not able to make the most of their early territory. They were made to pay when a break by Lee Evans in the Swans 10 shirt saw the ball passed to Nick Ormes to go over for the games first score. The kick was just wide.

That the Swans had been the first side to get on the scoreboard seemed to fire up the Gannets who made good progress in response. A driving maul from a line out in the Swans 22 saw the ball fed down the blindside for the returning Ben Baker to touch down in the corner; the conversion impressively made by Perri.

If anyone at this point thought that the higher side would be able to push on from this breakthrough they would have been much mistaken. The swans retook the lead with a long range penalty slotted by Freddie Taylor.

Shortly before half time, Mike Percival was however able to restore the Gannets advantage and Perri again added the extras.

The Swans were able to make two changes at half time and continued to showcase their strong forward running at the start of the second half.

The Gannets had finally realised how they could utilise their strengths by this point too. Instead of rushing and becoming flustered by the strength of the Swans defence they refocused on setting up decent forward ball and then spreading the ball wide through the backs (who were learning the advantage of holding their depth). A prime example of this lesson was the try scored midway through the second half by Steve Wootton, capitalising on the extra space he'd made for himself to canter through the Swans defence and score under the posts.

A final try by Mike Percival (and missed conversion, off of the post - Perri!) completed the scoring in the match, but perhaps the final score of 26-8 doesn't tell the full story of this match. The Swans centres might have deserved more than a single try between the two of them as the whole match saw them carrying strongly (especially Tom as he continues to learn the game, but might have had a break away try late in the second half if his foot hadn't slipped into touch). The Swans pack was strong throughout, as should be expected every weekend, and Lee and Freddie demonstrated good control of the game at half back. The wingers and fullback also contributed to a fun afternoon of rugby, which as far as I can tell was enjoyed by all 32 of those involved, even those of us now struggling to move on Sunday morning.

Both sides now return to their respective league fixtures over the coming weeks, however the good natured and competitive match on a snowy afternoon suggests that this fixture may well return at some point in the future when circumstances permit.