Oaks Academy got their U18 National Cup campaign up and running with a hard fought win against a young Sidcup side at the Paddock.
A lot of the Sidcup side had pipped Oaks in the U16 Kent Cup final last season, so a stern test was expected.
For their part, Oaks played some fantastic rugby in the opening 20 minutes of the game. The speed of the ruck ball caused a lot of problems for Sidcup's defence as Oaks made several significant line breaks early on through outside centre Brennan O'Keefe. Unfortunately, forced passes and unnecessary offload attempts coughed up possession at key moments and the scores remained 0-0 until Oaks finally nailed a 4-phase starter play off lineout. Fly half Max Lindsay was the beneficiary as he was put in out wide by captain Fin Stables. The conversion attempt was just wide, but Oaks were on the move at 5-0.
More poor decision making from the home side and some belligerent carrying from the visitors led to several penalties and field position for Sidcup. They maintained pressure in the Oaks 22 for an extended period and after several powerful mauls, they crashed over from short range and converted to take the lead at 5-7.
Sevenoaks responded well and forced a penalty almost immediately from the kick off. Having turned down other kickable attempts earlier in the half, mature heads prevailed, and Lindsay stepped up to kick the three and take Oaks in at half time, 8-7 up.
The 2nd half was very much tit for tat, but fortunately for the home side, Oaks got that little bit more out of their periods of ascendancy. Oaks like to use 22-man squads in these games to manage the minutes of players who are playing a lot of school rugby - on this occasion, the bench was a real strength as the likes of hooker Andrich Skien and flanker Liam Thomas consistently dented the Sidcup defence.
Another 3 pointer from Lindsay took Oaks out to an 11-7 lead before Oaks weathered another storm from the Sidcup pack to keep the visitors at bay. Returning Luca Esposito was at the forefront of the defensive effort as he won crucial turnovers to prevent a Sidcup score.
Captain Fin Stables broke Sidcup hearts with about 10 minutes to play as he overpowered several visiting defenders off turnover ball to gallop in from 50m out and take Oaks into a 16-7 lead. Lindsay was unable to add the extras, but a sweeping move a few moments later put the game beyond doubt as the outstanding O'Keefe finally got himself on the scoresheet. 21-7 to Oaks.
Sevenoaks finished the game on top as O'Keefe very nearly got his 2nd in the final moments, but such a scoreline would not have done Sidcup justice after such a brave effort.
The game ended 21-7 and there was very much a feeling of 'job done but work to do' in the home camp huddle post-match.
Oaks now await confirmation of their opponents for round 2 on October 8th with bated breath. More immediately, the academy U16s kick off their Kent League season next Sunday against Old Colfeians and the Academy 2s have a friendly against old friends and rivals, TJs.
Squad list: Max Gilbey, Harry Gullett, Colby Bedford-Eatwell, Arthur Hansen, Raphi Simmonds-Dance, Jake Tucker, Tom Hewitt, George Booth, Zach Ferguson, Max Lindsay, Oli Ebsworth, Fin Stables (C), Brennan O'Keefe, Joel Walter, Hamish McQueen
Subs: Taylor Nash, Andrich Skein, Luca Esposito, Liam Thomas, Isaac Canham, Ben Pearl, Charlie Thoma
MotM : Tom Hewitt