We played 4 quarters, and since we had only 10 players, in each quarter we had 3 or 4 players from Kettering joining our side to make up our numbers and allow for substitutions. Due to their numbers, they fielded two teams against us, so we played their team 1 in quarters 1 and 3, and their team 2 in quarters 2 and 4, meaning they always had fresh legs compared to our boys who played the whole time.

After the first quarter I think we were up (I’m rubbish at keeping score but I’m sure Andy did!), but in the 2nd quarter their team 2 was much more powerful and we were a bit shell-shocked by a couple of their big players, especially one called Malachi who, despite having only played rugby a couple of times, was very big, fast and powerful. It was painful to watch our lads bounce off him as he cruised through our defensive line. However, the boys kept their heads and at the half-time break they talked about tactics to deal with the threat – tackle low, double up to make a high/low tackle, shut him down quickly so he can’t get up to speed, with Will and Henri suggesting they keep tabs on him. I think we were 6-4 down at this point.

The third quarter was a bit of a blur, and our tiredness led to some frustrations and lost possession, but in the fourth quarter, even with their two big lads on the pitch, the team worked together and put everything they had into the match. They communicated, worked as a team, made the tackles count and kept better possession of the ball (there were lots of calls of 'don't kick' if we were awarded a free pass). When we got a try to take it to 7-7 there was a very evident expression of determination from the boys, a belief in themselves that they could do this, so in the last few moments it was great to see us take the ball across the try line to finish up with an 8-7 win!