Medway RFC travelled to Dulwich Common, South-East London for the first round of the 2023-24 League Program. Hosted at Dulwich by Old Alleynians RFC both sides looked forward to the opening game of the season and as it had been many seasons since the clubs met in League competition, neither had any current experience or knowledge of the other.
Medway have moved down a league from last season (finishing bottom of their level 5 league) and Old Alleynians (OA) have moved up (finishing top of their level 7 league) & both sides started nervously. Home advantage was evident as the hosts had arranged a whole club celebration with many members taking part and this provided a large group of supporters for OA.
Sunshine & high temperatures ensured quick hands and a fast-flowing game. Medway flanker, Jonah Hyde carried early, winning territory & cheers from the travelling Medway throng. Jonah worked just as much in defence & OA found it hard to break the line. OA transgressed & Medway kicked for territory. A training ground lineout was executed with skill and Medway Hooker, Josh Knight scored the opening try that Charlie Wardzynski converted, 0-7 after 15 minutes. Head Coach, Ricky Reeves called for discipline & concentration after the well taken Try but OA were stung into action and attacked with pace & power. Within 3 minutes of the Medway try the hosts put together some terrific passing & pace through their talented backs and the ball reached their swift left winger who scored in the corner. Unconverted, 5-7. Medway were just catching their breath when a switched kick-off by OA fell favourably and they kept possession & offloaded their way to Medway’s line, scoring their second try within 5 minutes of Medway’s opener! Again unconverted, 10-7, the hosts. Deserved leaders.
More pressure from OA & ominous was the mood until…Interception by Man of the Match, Medway No.8 Jordan Stubbington, deep in the Medway 22. Around 70 meters was the dash for Jordan who was tracked & traced by four of the quickest OA backs. An exhausted dive & full stretch by his 6 feet 5inch frame declared a try against the run of play and all the Medway players & supporters cheered and breathed again, Charlie added the conversion, 10-14. OA won their league for a reason and their scrum was very powerful. Add to this a solid catch & drive from an OA lineout deep in Medway territory & they bundled over for a good technical try, plus a conversion, 5 minutes to go before half time 17-14 to OA! Medway threw one last effort of the half with the Medway forwards phasing through Josh Mason & Harry Campbell and then the ever-present scrum half Ben Dance finding some space to snipe and feed full-back Max Bullock who broke the line with pace & power, he fed Centre Henry Salter who attracted all of the OA attention & then delivered a classy pass to winger Sean Marriott who scored a brilliant team try. Charlie added the conversion & at half time the scoreboard read 17-21.

Medway made changes & the second half became a completely different affair with the hosts turning up the pressure & pace of the game. Medway began to concede penalties, too many penalties & the referee lost patience & offered a team yellow card to flanker Adam Shaw. Facing 14 Medway men OA opted for scrum after scrum after scrum. OA then opted for line outs. OA then opted for hard rucks. Adam Shaw returned to the fray and quite unbelievably OA could not turn 18 minutes of pressure, inside Medway’s 22 meters into points. The Medway defence was utterly focussed & utterly committed. A reinvigorated team. Medway Captain, Centre Antony Clement showed the way with brilliant tackling & organisation. The whole Medway squad defended, and OA ran out of ideas. Connor Chalmers, Medway winger broke the spell & raced 50 meters to change the momentum. OA scrambled defence was poor, and they saw yellow cards, with two OA players leaving the field in quick succession for technical breaches in the ruck & collision. Medway Prop, Jack Nickalls then charged the stretched defence to score his first try for Medway 1stxv in four years of playing. Charlie added the conversion & 17-28 was the improbable scoreline with just a few minutes to play. The final minutes were all Medway & Charlie added a penalty to his haul & the final score was 17-31. A Medway RFC win, with an added bonus point the reward for x4 try’s.
Captain Clement accepted the kind post-match congratulations from Old Alleynians & wished them well next week.
Next match (Saturday afternoon 9th September 2023) Medway RFC travel to Cobham RFC in Surrey, 3pm ko.