After last week’s bruising defeat, we were eager to get back on the field in order to provide our rookies some much-needed experience. As always, the veterans looked forward to playing at Harlington Sports Ground, lovingly nicknamed “The Fortress” after our undefeated run at home two years ago. We were facing an old foe in the UEA Pirates for the 5th time in the last two years, the series having been split so far.

Being the professional team the Immortals are, the team assembled in shirt and tie to embark on a Union minibus to Harlington. Unfortunately, due a Union mix-up, warm-ups started early with players running around South Kensington looking for our minibus. Eventually, the players managed to complete the Harlington pilgrimage in a convoy of Ubers.

After everyone got changed and warmed-up, both teams took the sideline to observe a minute of silence for Remembrance Day before taking the field to battle it out with the Pirates. Our tiny 16 man squad on the day had to make due with plenty of players filling in at unknown positions for the first time in their competitive careers. Sadly, American Football requires very specific knowledge and technique for each position, which meant we were caught off guard quite a few times and as a result lost the game. However, we saw a lot of improvements in our special teams and defence, whilst our offence also took some baby steps forwards. Some of our more experienced players made some big plays, notably our MVPs: Thomas “I’ll play line only once” Smith, Fransisco “5ft4in” Costa, Michael “Onion and Cheese” Anyanechi, and Daniel “Shotgun” Grumberg. A special mention to Dom “Only Games” DeSilva and Jacob “Transport For London” Lamb.

The season is still young and, with a renewed focus on getting the basics right, the Immortals are looking for new players to join the squad. We will be at JCR this upcoming Wednesday at lunchtime for those who are keen to join and want more information.

#BecomeImmortal