It was another special day at the Paddock on Saturday, as past players, in the company of RFU CEO Bill Sweeney, dined ahead of Oaks 1st XV London Premier clash with London Irish Wild Geese. The past players lunch is always a highlight in the Oaks rugby calendar, providing a chance for old comrades to share tales and battle scars from previous trials and tribulations on the rugby field. On the field, Oaks provided the perfect post dinner filler, garnering a bonus point win against the Wild Geese with a strong second half showing which included three tries, the pick of them coming from Kal Pehi to the joy of the home crowd.
Oaks Head Coach believes Oaks have made a ‘good start’ so far. Photo credit: David Purday
And so, as autumn has well and truly set in, perhaps time to take stock of the current senior standings for all Oaks teams. After ten matches, Oaks 1st XV currently sit midway in the London Premier table, on the same points as Dorking RFC, with five wins to their name, four losses and of course the one draw following the match at Tunbridge Wells RFC two weeks ago. The 2nd XV have had a stellar start to the season, winning all their matches so far, including an excellent 19-15 win away at Warlingham RFC 1st XV on Saturday (in a friendly) and currently sit top of a league that includes Tonbridge Juddians RFC and Canterbury RFC. The Oaks 3rd XV, current league champions, lost their unbeaten record on Saturday as they were squeezed out by leaders Gravesend RFC 2nd XV, yet the boys still sit third in the league, six points behind the leaders with two games in hand. And to round things off, the Mighty Gents are in line with the 2nd XV, starting the season unbeaten following their win at Ash RFC on Saturday, a result that meant they stayed ahead of second place Tonbridge Juddians RFC 3rd XV.
Oaks no. 8 Sean Derrick gets friendly with a CS Stags player during the last time the two sides met at the Paddock. Photo Credit: David Purday
‘I think if I was to give a start of the season report, then I would give ‘a good start with plenty to work on’ said Head Coach Adam Bowman. ‘Of course, there are always things to work on, but I think the way all sides have applied themselves so far this season has been spot on. After the success of last season, it might have been easy for some players to rest on their laurels, but in fact I see a really hungry group. The report I got from the 2nd XV match on Saturday was excellent and it’s exciting to see so many players pushing to move up the group. If you look at the team we had out for the 2nd XV on Saturday, there was a huge amount of experience there, in excess of 300 1st XV caps.’
Despite it being their first foray into London Premier rugby, Oaks seemed to have found their feet, with perhaps their Hertford RFC match away from home a seminal moment. ‘We’d had a couple of tough games, particularly against Sidcup and Wimbledon, but I think that Hertford match, against opposition that had been in this league for a long time, was a moment that provided us with a lot of confidence. We always knew it would take time for the playing group to adapt to the pace and physicality of the league – it really does ask testing questions each week and there are no easy games. Every match is a battle but as time has gone on, our players have risen to the challenge. I hope that it’s also been good to watch from a supporters perspective’
Oaks 1st XV travel to CS Stags 1863 this weekend, a side that they failed to beat in four attempts when the sides were in the same London South 1 league. ‘I think both teams are probably completely different to those days’ said Bowman. ‘We even have a former Stag in our ranks in Matt McRae, who played against us three season back, so I’m not sure the matches from then will have much bearing on this weekend.’
He continued ‘They (Stags) had the result of the weekend last Saturday – I think Rochford have been touted as one of the league favourites and hadn’t lost at home for a couple of years, so to go there and get a win was a magnificent result. Stags have some really good athletes in their ranks with an excellent skill set, so we will have to be wary that they could hurt us from anywhere. Success for us this season is when we have stuck to our processes and played with accuracy and intent, so we will have to bring that in buckets this weekend.’