Men’s Rugby 1s get off to a winning start over Portsmouth

Rugby: Imperial 22 - 20 Portsmouth

Imperial’s 1st XV got their season off to a positive start with a narrow win over Portsmouth at Harlington. On a day where the weather conditions were unusually favorable, Imperial made it difficult to overcome their stubborn opposition.

Despite the close full time score, Imperial started the much stronger of the two sides. It appeared as though the three weeks of intense pre season which Imperial had undergone was going to pay off. For the first twenty minutes Imperial played their pattern to perfection, using forwards through the midfield to great effect whist the backs looked comfortable with ball in hand. Imperial’s dominance was so telling that Portsmouth struggled to leave their 22 for the first ten minutes of the match. Such intense pressure was sure to result in a score sooner, rather than later and the first points were scored by Sean Baker. Good ball at the lineout just inside the Portsmouth 22 meter line was driven on by the forwards with Baker controlling well at the back and slumping over once the necessary yards were made. Imperial should have pushed on from such a positive position, but it was not to be. Switching off at the restart allowed Portsmouth to turn the ball over and spread it out wide to touch down in the corner and level the scores.

Encouragingly though, Imperial hit back and after good play within Portsmouth’s half, soft hands from Chris McGeough and James Cox allowed Flannan Mahony to go over in the right corner. Worryingly for Imperial, Mike Floyd suffered a stinger on his shoulder towards the end of the first half which lead to a reshuffle in the backs; Olly Cox took up position at 10, a position in which again, he did not look entirely comfortable; kicking the ball out on the full on more than one occasion. Imperial went into the break with a comfortable 17-5 lead thanks to a third try of the match from George Lane. Imperial really should have capitalised on their lead and used their fitness to overcome their opponents in the second half yet they got caught up in a messy struggle. Floyd had recovered from his previous knock and returned to the fray allowing Cox to move back to his usual position of scrum half where he looked more assured. Despite the balance of the team appearing to be restored, Imperial made hard work of overcoming their opposition. Portsmouth ran in two tries, both of which can be attributed to poor defence; firstly missed tackles in the midfield and secondly a mismatch in numbers out wide. It became apparent that Imperial were involved in a real contest and whilst being in control of the match, Portsmouth were only two points behind. Imperial’s fourth try came courtesy of captain Charlie Esberger, making up for squandering a scoring opportunity from a metre out previously in the match. Portsmouth were not about to give up without a fight however, and scored their fourth try of the match in the final play. Their kicker was not able to convert the extras however, which would have drawn the match.

Despite appearing to have suffered a let off for their inconsistent play, Imperial were able to come away with an important win in their opening fixture of the year. There were positives to take from the match and build upon as the season progresses during a year when the team looks to be promoted.