PETERSFIELD 8, AYLESFORD 50

FOLLOWING last week’s league victory over Weybridge, Petersfield were expecting a weekend off, but somehow picked up an RFU Senior Vase match against Kent side Aylesford Bulls.

It was all hands on deck trying to pull a squad together for match-day and with the support of social media, coach James Alder, who should have been on holiday, managed to pull together sufficient players to fulfil the fixture.

Unsurprisingly, the scratch team suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Bulls, who lie third in London 3 SE and are unbeaten. But it was a testament to the togetherness of the senior section that these players were prepared to put their bodies on the line. Two brave players making their first-team debuts had a combined age of 102.

It was the oldest of the debutants, 2nd XV regular Gerry Devlin, aged 56, who set the record for being the oldest player to score for a Petersfield 1st XV in the club’s 90-year history.

The try came as the game drew to a close and the modest Devlin suggested that anyone could have scored it, ignoring the fact that he was on the pitch, fit enough to be up with play and fast enough to take on and beat the much younger winger to score in the corner.

Aylesford were keen to make sure their 80-odd mile trip was not fruitless and scored their first try within minutes. ’Field were 19 points down after just 12 minutes.

Stand-off Nick Blumlein kicked a penalty in front of the posts, but three minutes later the Bulls crossed the whitewash again, and then again.

In the second half, Aylesford added three more tries and a conversion to seal a convincing victory.

While Petersfield were well beaten by a well-drilled team, the game wasn’t as one-sided as the score suggests. The home side had a reasonable share of possession and territory, but lacked the cohesion and accuracy to make their chances count.

In defence, the Bulls were as canny as they had been structured in attack, ceding penalty after penalty in their 22 to slow ’Field’s progress to the line. Even when the visitors were reduced to 14 men for ten minutes, Petersfield lacked the cutting-edge to make them pay.

A jet-lagged Alder voiced his pleasure at young Blumlein’s burgeoning confidence, although his match ended abruptly at the start of the final quarter when he suffered a neck injury – hopefully not serious enough to rule him out of this week’s league match at third-placed Old Cranleighans.

“We coped better in the second half, but still couldn’t keep them out and the gap between the sides was evident,” said Alder. “With a lot of injuries in the game, it was time for the oldest player to take the field. Gerry’s first task was to tackle an Aylesford runner, the big number 8, and he stood up to the task, then finished the game with a well-taken try in the corner.

“I have always said that if you train and play for the development team you will get a chance to play first XV rugby. Today was a positive reinforcement of that message with five players from the development team, two making their debuts.”