‘Twas the Sunday before Christmas and all was….bloody cold in Upminster! The Under 15’s ventured east following a good run of victories this season and a successful 2024. But this proved to be one match too many for what was a heavily depleted squad.

The day had that kind of feel about it. 8 boys dropped out over the weekend and the tea urn hadn’t been heated for our arrival. And then the lads started very poorly again. Despite one excellent run out of defence from Ollie G, Enfield were under pressure. A partially blocked clearance was picked up and run in by Upminster for the first score 7-0 4mins.

Things went from bad to worse as Enfield lost 3 scrums off their own ball. Each time the pack was pushed backwards. It should be said that we had a number of lads in unfamiliar positions. At the third scrum our backs were simply not set to defend and Upminster scored in the corner. 12-0 10mins. Enfield started to improve as the scrum began to function. We had some momentum from the backs only for quick defensive hands on the ball led to a turnover under the home side’s posts. After the clearance the boys missed 5 tackles(!) and Upminster had scored from their own 22. 19-0 14mins

We were now fearful of a Christmas stuffing. But the second quarter belonged to Enfield. A Patrick try from a great run down the wing was tee’d up by George playing a quick 1-2 to get the ball wide into space.19-7 19mins.

Then after a spell of Upminster pressure a big airy pass from the hosts scrum half drifted loose in the wind. It was picked up by Ollie G who had a fine game, and he ran in the try after an enthralling foot race with a defender. A brilliant kick from Patrick in the wind converted the try to make it 19-14. 23 mins.

Enfield now had the upper hand. A dynamic diagonal run across the pitch by Berkay was stopped just short of the line. He was well supported by Ollie G which earned him the chance to score. 19-21. Quickly after, a great run from Patrick took us up the pitch but none of his team mates were close enough to sustain the attack. It was not the last time either, leading to the inevitable turnover at the ruck. In this period our tackling was better. Great tackles from Henry and Liam S led to a Enfield penalty. Hayden was sharp witted to take a quick tap and motored down the right flank to score. HT 26-19.

It was some turnaround from the lads after such a poor start. Credit for that was due. The next quarter was crucial but Enfield had the challenge of playing up the significant slope. Unfortunately despite dominating possession and play we failed to score. It was to be decisive. Chances came and went and the lads (Ciaran and Kayden notably) made decent tackles too that kept Upminster on the back foot.

Alas on 43 mins, despite not being out of their own half, a couple of Enfield fumbles near halfway led to a long range try for the home side to level the game at 26-26. We tried to hit back but again Upminster turned over our ball at the ruck to clear the danger.

Then in the last 10 minutes the game went away as our 19 man squad tired playing uphill. 2 tackles were missed as Upminster went ahead. 26-31. 54mins. Yet still we had our chances. A series of good attacks saw Hayden stopped just short of the line and again Upminster won the penalty on the floor to clear. Then came the blow of another breakaway try from the Essex lads with many missed tackles. 26-36. 60mins. In injury the scoreline got worse with a further score 26-41. FT

Upminster deserved their win. They supported their own runners really well. Passed the ball effectively and had some good runners. They didn’t have an obvious weakness and were commited. Crucially our hosts won the game on the floor hands down. Despite the small travelling team it was still a game Enfield could have won. Our coaches will reflect on the poor starts to games and our reticence to follow our runners closely to the breakdown. It would also have been noted that Enfield won the second and third quarters 26-7 but lost the first and last 34-0! With a 60 minute focused performance we will aim to reverse the result in the spring at Donkey Lane.

For Enfield I’m afraid there was little Christmas cheer today beyond Henry’s best performance yet and decent games from our try scorers. Instead we were generally paid a visit by the ghosts of Christmas’ past; missed tackles, limited supporting runs and poor at the ruck. Bah Humbug!

But just before we let the grinch steal our spirit we should reflect on a brilliant year for the coaches and squad. They achieved a 2024 winning record of won 17 lost 5 across the 22 games while rotating a big squad of top lads! Im sure Santa will have noticed. We also thank our hosts for their hospitality and festive spirit (the Turkey costume was hilarious), the parents who gave out chocolate today, the travelling parents and especially those who assisted with transport for some of the boys and we wish everyone connected to the under 15’s and EIRFC a very Merry Christmas.

Finally, and worthy of a special mention today was the referee, a young teenager who went about his business maturely and clinically. Great for rugby.