Queens’ vs Downing

RUGBY: Downing signal their intent with 53-6 mauling of Queens’

College downing league maul Queens' Rugby

Queens’ 6-53 Downing

Given the clash in my timetable between the start of the College rugby season and my lecture on distributive justice there was only ever going to be one winner. That’s a hard, honest journalist for you. The match witnessed a powerful Downing team dominating at the breakdown and scrummaging effectively to feed their talented backs. Queens’, buoyed by their thrashing of Magdalene to stay in the division, defended bravely and contributed to an entertaining encounter, but were soundly beaten by their rivals from the neo-classical paradise.

Despite this, Queens’ took an early lead; a strong defensive clearance by fly half Mike Griffiths took the men in green deep into Downing territory, winning a penalty under the posts which Griffiths ably converted despite the swirling wind which seems to characterise most college rugby matches. As a Queens’ man, I would like to end the match report here. But I can’t, because I would have only written about the first 6 minutes, and that’s just not very good journalism

Downing swiftly replied with a penalty following a fumbled kick-off to tie the scores. They then pulled ahead with a converted try after some quicksilver handling by the backs and consistent pressure up front, recycling the ball quickly and never allowing the Queens’ line any comfort.

Queens’ in action earlier this season

Another quick score followed, with a series of slick offloads following a line break by pacy winger Jack Scott, tearing away from the Queens’ defence quicker than Nick Griffin (Downing old boy) chasing a racially pure wheel of cheese.

Only an impressive recovery tackle by Spike Strang halted Scott but Downing support carried the ball over. A Queens’ penalty provided the rest of their points before a dispiriting Downing try just before half time stretched the lead to 22-6.

As Nietzsche once said, a sixteen point deficit is difficult to recover, especially when kicking into the wind in the second half, and the German nihilist proved correct as the game restarted.

Brief hope fluttered in green hearts when a Downing clearing kick was charged down only yards from their own line, and the ball just evaded plucky Northerner Ollie Layfield, but this was cruelly trampled only minutes later as man mountain Max Mather crashed over for 29-6. He was frequently the difference at set pieces, blocking out the sun when he jumped at line outs and marshalling the pack in front of him at scrums.

Around this point I lost count. And not in the way that reporters tend to jokingly suggest as they scores rack up but they continue keeping detailed notes. I honestly did. Jean Paul Westgate definitely scored at some point, then sprightly wing pair Jack Scott and Dan Janman, the latter completing his hat-trick.

The difference between the two sides was not just that between the gargantuan Downing pack and Queens’ forwards, depleted by injuries and an unexpected failure to turn up by several key players, but also some impressive offloading and good hands by the Downing backs. Particularly impressive was their ability to mass quickly around a tackled man and drive forward to make vital yards. Notable mentions for Queens’ boys James Helliwell, blessed with the uncanny ability to break the first tackle, and for Mike Griffiths, whose handling suggests a Leprechaun seizing expertly at his crock of gold. That was a compliment. It was also a joke about the fact that he’s Irish.

Basically, to score over fifty points against a Queens’ team who defended stubbornly throughout was an impressive effort by Downing, who, boasting a number of under-21s Blues, look a strong favourite to win Division 1 this year. It’ll take a lot of downing to down Downing.

Photos courtesy of Anna Soler