With the pitch finally fixed we saw our long anticipated return to Myers Grove.  Despite its slight camber, which nothing can be done about, was in excellent condition and a pleasure to play on!  Our return to Myers Grove saw some reliably awful weather whip up Loxley valley and made it a hard fought 19 - 10 win against Harrogate.  Despite the known location of the Gas Club we still had the mad dash to get everyone ready!! With Tom W-J unfortunately out for 3 weeks with ligament damage Darren stepped up to the plate and did a great job.  A thanks to Ayreo who despite birthday party duties turned up and played for a important 40 mins before retiring to the home front!!

 

A game of two halfs saw Oaks come out strong with a try being disallowed within the first 2 minutes.  Fortunately Oaks were able to maintain the pressure and not get flustered by a few poor decisions and mistakes by the players.  Finally after about 10 minutes into the half a great back line move saw Tom Swinson put into half a hole on the halfway line.  He then went on  to make a fantastic break through the line stepping three players in succession and then dragging a defender 5 meters before shaking him off too to put one under the posts which Jimmy duly converted.  This ice breaker then got the creative juices going and saw Oaks tidy up their game and put the Harrogate line under pressure through some great driving runs and intuitive kicking.  After being denied earlier after some great buildup play saw Andy Selkirk go over for his sixth this season and got equal top try scorer.  To wrap the half up Off a great back of the scrum move Stenney and Bonzo drew their men and offloaded to put Tom into the corner again.  In difficult condition Jimmy did a great conversion to put the last points of the half and indeed game on the board.

 

The second half saw Harrogate with the down hill and down wind advantage which they fortunately didn't use to full effect.  In a reversal of fortunes Oaks now became the defenders.  Harrogate again and again pushed for the line and came within centimeters of scoring on a number of occasions.  Fortunately Oak dug their heels in and eventually the rush to get point was too much for Harrogate and a flurry of knock ons and turn overs at crucial moments saw Oaks hold them to zero points!!

 

Well done guys on a guts and determined performance!!