Incessant rain had threatened to kill off this important league fixture, before Medway had been able to secure pitch space at Sir Joseph Williamsons Maths School in Rochester for a reverse of what should have been an Oaks home fixture.
Oaks knew that a 4 try win was a necessity if they were to stay in the hunt for back-to-back Kent League titles. With strong availability now that the Saracens U18 Premiership campaign has concluded, Oaks had everything they needed to put on a performance - all they had to do now was walk the walk!
They started like a steam train as they turned a clever exit kick by fly half Max Lindsay into early field position inside the Medway 22 after a cracking chase by returning winger Oli Ebsworth. Quality lineout ball was won and after big carries from captain Fin Stables and eventual MotM Max Gilbey, big Frank Kitchen powered over from close range to give Oaks an early lead. Lindsay added the extras to make it 7-0.
Unfortunately, despite their early dominance, Oaks somehow got very much on the wrong side of the referee and spent the remainder of the half struggling for field position despite some excellent tactical kicking from Lindsay and scrum half Isaac Canham. This resulted in frustration and a bit of impatience as Oaks forced a counter from their own half around the 25 minute mark. Medway picked up the loose ball and scampered over to make the game 7-5 and leave Oaks supporters scratching their heads.
To their credit, the Oaks players dealt with the setback exceptionally well. They continued to stick to process and used their strong kicking game to slowly begin to reapply the pressure to the Medway backfield. This led to a poor kick that was fielded around halfway by winger Jake Tucker. He stepped the oncoming chaser before tearing down the left wing to score in the corner and reassert some sense of control. Lindsay added the extras on the stroke of half time and Oaks led 14-5.
The 2nd half was one way traffic as Oaks tidied up their breakdown and won the referee back (somewhat) to give themselves much longer periods of sustained possession.
Back row Luca Esposito was the first to get on the scoreboard, followed shortly by his back row colleague Tom Hewitt. Both tries were converted by the ever impressive Lindsay to take Oaks out to 28-5 lead.
Tries from Lindsay himself and captain Stables sandwiched a Medway consolation score as Oaks pulled away. Lindsay literally couldn't miss on the day and all 6 tries ended up converted for an ultimately convincing 42-12 win.
What will please Oaks most about this win was the way that they dealt with the curve balls that were thrown at them. A late change of venue, followed by multiple changes in kick off time and then struggling to get the referee on side were all dealt with in a mature and professional fashion. What was also pleasing to see was that the sharing of a single changing room between the 1s and 2s only led to enhance the camaraderie as all 43 players were able to enjoy their wins together with a sing-song after the match.
The academy 1s now look forward to a huge test next week against Old Elthamians in what will be their final league game of the season. A bonus point win will be needed to keep Oaks in the hunt for the league title. A big ask against quality opposition, but nothing is beyond this group when their are on their game!
Squad list : Will Tarry, Frank Kitchen, Andrich Skein, George Booth, Max Gilbey, Luca Esposito, Tom Hewitt, Liam Thomas, Isaac Canham, Max Lindsay, Jake Tucker, Fin Stables (C), Joel Walter, Oli Ebsworth, Alex Holden
Subs : Harry Gullett, Colby Bedford-Eatwell, Joshua Martin, Jamie Catchpole, Zach Ferguson, Tom Hyde, Hamish McQueen
MotM : Max Gilbey
MotM Max Gilbey (Right)