(October 24) Josh C, very much an integral part of the EIRFC Senior Academy, was away on international duty as he was capped for the Denmark U18s side which lost 34-9 to their Swedish counterparts at Lund, Sweden.

The final result brooks no discussion as the Swedish side, the fitter and faster of the two teams, capitalised on their opponents’ handling errors and propensity to concede cheap penalties to run out deserved winners in wet and windy conditions.

By way of a footnote, a sizeable number of the Swedish contingent play their club rugby with the Stockholm Exiles, with the team still smarting after the narrow loss in the Baltic Cup final the previous weekend.

Still, it proved a great experience for Josh C, enjoying his second international cup, and it speaks volumes for the rugby spirit that the two sides were able to enjoy each other’s company in a spirit of fraternity which prevailed in the clubhouse afterwards.

Andy Corgan, Josh’s father, said: “Josh had a decent, solid game which went noticed by the coaches of both teams.

“It’s a small world but one of my old cricket friends now lives in Stockholm [and he just happens to be] best mates with the Swedish team manager.

“Given Josh’s birthday, he still qualifies for the [Denmark] U18s next season, and so will hopefully have another season there.

“Many of the Denmark players will still be there next year [and I gather] that the Swedish players will be too old. Denmark will be out for revenge. "

(JUNIOR October 25) The EIRFC Senior Academy team came unstuck in very tricky conditions after narrowly going down to league rivals Verulamians 22-19 in a friendly played at a windswept Donkey Lane.

Playing into the elements in the first-half, EIRFC failed to tailor their game adequately to the fierce conditions and consequently found themselves cast 15-0 adrift on the scoreboard at half-time.

Rebounding in the second-half, Ignatians rallied and tries from Ciaran and the mercurial Sammy G, who scored a brace - allied to a couple of successful conversions from Harry and the above mentioned Sammy G - moved the hosts to within three points in the final minutes.

The home side continued to sight the red zone as they went for broke, but a crucial knock-on as the ball swept right, stalled their progress in the final play, as the referee blew time.

Although they defended bravely, it proved a harsh learning curve for the Academy, as the visitors proved far more adept at playing the conditions than the home side, and their ability to fashion a crucial second-half try ensured that they ran out deserved winners.

(October 23) The Under 13s continue to build on their start to the season when they hosted Latymer School and Q E Barnet School at the Club for a Friday Night Under Lights. With tries from Ty'An, Matthew, Kyan and Suvir the U 13s scored a narrow victory over Latymer and a narrow loss to Q E Barnet: but the rugby spirit was the winner as the players, parents and coaches enjoyed pizzas in the clubhouse after the game.

(October 23) Enfield Ignatians’ indifferent start to the season continued in the floodlit derby against Saracens Amateurs, with the visitors suffering a 48-10 defeat at the Bramley Sports Ground.

Despite the magnitude of the defeat, the visitors had their moments and they rescued a modicum of pride following second-half scores from Seyi Adeosun and winger Oliver Hoxha.

Ignatians’ next league game sees them face Actonians at Donkey Lane on October 31.

A full report has been published in the relevant match reports section.

Squad: Alfie Fordham*, Rondel Bernard*, Harry Newbery*, King Shiloh-Small*, Ben Roper*, Luke Roper*, Ken Carroll*, Dale Gardener, William Bruce*, Liam Horn*, Henry Sibley (VC)*, Declan Linnane*, Euan Renny* (Cpt), Sam Rushmer, Lyric Grant-Oum, Dalton Nsimbe* , Oliver Hoxha*, Seyi Adeosun*, William Halstead*. (19).
*= home grown players.

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