Day 11

    Getting up at 9 am was a welcome to the whole of the squad after an extremely early start to the previous morning and a long days travelling to arrive back at Christchurch. We were all dropped off at 10 30 at Saracens Rugby Ground and surprisingly the rain which I had been told had been around for the past week had cleared and although the pitch seemed boggy and soft underfoot it was not the water lodge swamp which we had expected to see after are arrival the previous night in the middle of a downpour.

     Eventually the boys were changed and dressed in the full strip some not mentioning any names (James Wagstaff, Josh Walton and Cameron James) had not managed to get their kit washed from the previous game which as you can imagine didn’t fill the room with a refreshing scent.

     Moments after getting kitted up we were cleared out of the dressing room to allow another team the chance to get changed so reluctantly we had to lumber our bags over to the bus and then jogged over to Brad Embury where the warm up began. As usual we got into some passing drills which were followed by some periods of stretching and mental preparation. We had a discussion before the game with the main priority being physicality and making sure we stood up and made some big hits on the Saracens forwards who as per usual seemed a lot bigger than out pack.

    Match 3 – we were receiving kick off and within the first five minutes there were a lot of handling errors from both sides and most of this time was taken up by scrums. As expected the Hampden stepped up their game and held their own in the early scrums with ground conditions that did not favour such a high number of scrums.

    Eventually the ball managed to get out of the scrum and into the opposition backs where the first of many big hits occurred with Jack Bower and Cameron James making massive hits on their opposite numbers. After a succession of penalties and scrums Hampden had a scrum about 10 meters out from the Saracens line. As usual the backs had an expansive finishing move planned but this was thrown out of the window when the pass from the back of the scrum was a scrappy one. However after picking it up on the bounce I some how managed to twist and turn and stretch to place the ball over the line and like the previous game Hampden were off to a flyer.

    Because of the ground conditions the Saracens forwards took over and for what seemed like forever we were defending on our line. However the Hampden spirit that we were missing from the first game was there and we were defending both aggressively and effectively and we managed to hold them out. With countless tackles being made around the fringes of the ruck by all players but most noticeable James Allen, Josh Walton and James Wilson. However once we managed to get some turnovers we started putting some phases of play together without conceding possession or penalties. This lead to us having the ball on the Saracens 22 and as promised to Mr Goodman earlier in the trip I attempted a drop goal but the less said about the attempt the better.

    Unfortunately with the last play being called we gave away a penalty on their 22 and began to switch off a series of controversial penalties we awarded to Saracens which were taken quickly and before we knew it we were back defending on our own line, once again a series of decisions went against us and after a spell of holding them out heads started to drop and their hooker managed to force his way over the line. Their conversion was missed and the score was 5-5 at half time.

   The halftime break gave us a chance to reflect on the first half and we discovered that we were by far the more attacking of both teams when we had the ball in hand and if we could reduce the penalty count and decrease the number of handling errors then we may be able to get the ball out to the backs and run in some tries in the second half.

   However moments into the second half Josh Collis went off of the pitch with what has turned out to be a dislocated finger with a small break to his right ring finger. This resulted in a change around in the pack with Josh Walton going back to his customary hooking position, and James Wagstaff to scrum half. With the wind behind out backs in the second half we started to pin Saracens back in their 22 where we were awarded 2 penalties in front of the posts. Unfortunately I managed to slice the first of which and it hit the uprights ( as punishment for this I am currently sat here writing this entry in the customary ‘Binkey the Clown’ costume which is truly deserved on such an occasion). However I made a mends with the second and Hampden were up 8-5 with 20 minutes left to play.

    Again we attacked the Saracens game and as was the pattern of the game we were punished harshly and many felt that a number of decision were unjust as a result heads began to drop for a spell of 5 minutes and sadly this lead to Saracens having a shot at goal which was successful and both teams were tied again.

   After letting our heads drop for 5 minutes we soon managed to focus our aggression from the referee back into our game and much like the opening spell there were a flurry of big hits on the Saracens players. These caused turnovers and once again we started to string some phases of good rugby together. And not for a few more questionable decisions and a couple of handling errors we would have been almost certain to increase our lead.

   Then with about 10 minutes left of the clock our hearts were in our mouths as a loose ball was kicked through and with Shaun stuck at the bottom of a ruck the Saracens player was clean through and heading for the try line in a mad rush to get back there was no-way that I was going to get in front of the player so in a last ditch effort to prevent the try being scored I dived in front of the players legs taking him out. As I got up I heard the whistle and my first thought was that it was to be a penalty try and a sure yellow card for me as I got nowhere near the ball. However to my amazement and the disgust of the Saracens crowd the referee had blown for a 22 metre drop out and for once we had a decision go our way. And the danger was averted if not strictly legally.

    After a further 5 minutes of us defending and putting in big hits with mentions going again to James Allen, Cameron James, James Wagstaff and Josh Walton for some mammoth hits on their biggest players. The ball went out of play and the final result was 8-8.

    Although I’m sure that we will have all have been disappointed with the result at the time looking back at it to defend as well as we did was a brilliant effort and im sure only losing once in New Zealand out of 3 games will be something that we will remember for many years to come. And I’m sure that the disappointment will be replaced with excitement ahead of the journey to Sydney tomorrow.