Old Alleynians RFC

OA 4s finish third but ponder what might have been - by Chris Sawyer

The OAs 4th XV will look back at the 19/20 season with a great deal of satisfaction, but also with an air of frustration and the sense of an opportunity missed. The team finished a very respectable third but with two games in hand over the rest of the league, including one against the Swanley 1st XV who finished top, a league win felt like a very real possibility.

The season got off to an unusually poor start with two losses in our pre-season friendlies against both Belsize Park and Old Glynonians, but having blooded a number of new faces in those games, we felt confident going into our first league game against a typically competitive Old Colfeians. Our matches against Colfs in recent seasons have always been close run affairs and this game was no different, with only a late decision to go for a try, rather than take a very kickable penalty the deciding factor that ultimately cost us the game (15-12 loss). Both the vice captain, and pack leader on the day have since taken full responsibility for this error, and taken their fair share of ladle-based punishment.

It was to be another month before our next game against Bromley 2s, and unfortunately our season continued to stutter with another loss on the road (47-22). With two league losses marking one of our worst starts to the season in recent memory, there were still plenty of positives for the group to take into the next run of games that would see us into Christmas - some solid forward pack performances, new faces cementing themselves within the squad and signs of an attack that when given a sniff of an opportunity had several threats in the line.

The 26 October match versus Westcombe Park III marked a significant turning point in our season, putting us on course for what became a fantastic run that continued straight through until March. Comprehensive victories over that Westcombe Park outfit, Shooters Hill, Swanley, local rivals Beckenham, and Park House took us into the Christmas break riding high in the table, full of excitement and anticipation for what was to come in 2020.

Fresh from the Christmas break, our season continued in a similar vein as to how we had left it, putting 52 points on the board against Dartford in a typically bruising encounter, before keeping Bromley, Westcombe Park and Orpington out with some fantastic defensive performances across the park that brought our unbeaten run up to 11 games on the bounce. It’s at this point, that you start to worry about complacency settling in, and lads starting to expect victories rather than continuing to work hard for them, but it was a series of postponements and cancellations that were to be our downfall through February and into March.

Without a game for a month, and with the clear need to just get fixtures played to complete the season we took on a very decent Dartfordians team, but eventually the lack of match fitness on our end, and some stand-out performances from some of their key players saw us fall short, losing 41-33. Whilst that loss hit us hard, it was the shot in the arm that we all needed, the wake up call to remind us that this league wasn’t going to be handed to us, but had to be fought for, all the way through to the very end, and with it looking likely that a postponed game against Swanley 1st XV was going to be the last match of the season, down to literally the very last day of the season.

Unfortunately though, our season ended on the afternoon of the 7 March with that Dartfordians loss, as the next week saw the introduction of the Covid-19 restrictions and lockdown. Whilst the season ended in a rather disappointing manner there are plenty of positives that we can and will take from the 19/20 season: an unbeaten run of 11 games, an undefeated home league record, embedding a number of new players into the squad, with each making significant contributions to the group both on and off the pitch, and some more familiar faces have returned from long-standing injuries. We have started to build a lot more structure and pattern into the 4s game, and without a doubt, have considerably improved our defensive work which has often let us down in previous years.

There’s a lot of excitement to get in to the new season (whenever that may be) and to prove to ourselves, and to the rest of the league that this season was no fluke, and we absolutely deserve to be sitting at the top of the league and all being well, bring a 4s league title back to Dulwich.
There are a few players who rightfully deserve shout outs for their on-pitch performances: Dylan Craig for amassing 112 points and marshalling us around the park so well all season, Harry Brimacombe for his top try-scoring achievement of 9 tries in just 5 games, and for all the new guys brought into the fold this season, who we hope to see a lot more of next year: Henry Weston, Jack Flynn, Stephen Harrison, David Sparrow, Jack Dunleavy, Tom McNevin, Martin Rajnic and Ruadhan Nethercott.

Of course there also other contributions that I would like to take a moment to recognise too. My vice-captains, Nathan McNaughton and Has Dewan have stepped into the breach in my absence, whenever needed and been on hand to support the team even when unable to play themselves.

Huge thanks has to go to Peter Reid for all his work with welcoming in the new lads and for ensuring that the post-match debriefing and ‘awards’ remains a constant fixture, and of course a huge thanks to Bethany Kopiski, who with metres of tape, tubs of heat rub and endless patience helps make my job easier by keeping a number of the 4s squad just about available for selection week in week out.