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KILBURN COSMOS 25 - OLD ACTONIANS 16

The Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV finally played to their potential in a stunning upset win over Old Actonians in their Herts Middlesex 1 clash on Saturday. The 25 – 16 victory at the Old Actonians Sports Ground was just the start the Cosmos needed to the second round of matches and ends a run of defeats to Actonians stretching back to 2005.
A brilliant first 30 minutes was the key to the win with the Cosmos forwards dominating the rucks and mauls, pushing the Old As back in the scrums and the backs running hard.
Sick of losing tight games this season the Cosmos went ahead early when Chris Garvey kicked a penalty in the 5th minute and from that point they were never behind. Garvey added another penalty in the 20th minute and flanker Del Bousfield crossed for a try after sustained pressure close to the Actonians line after 25 minutes.
The last 10 minutes of the half saw a drop in intensity from Kilburn and Actonians scored from a dropped goal and 2 penalties to give Kilburn a narrow 11 – 9 halftime lead. A blow to Kilburn was the loss of fly half Dave Alagna just before halftime with a suspected dislocated shoulder after he had put in a crunching tackle on his opposite number.

At halftime, despite having lost numerous games from similar situations this season, there was a steely determination from the Cosmos that they were not going to let victory slip away again and so it proved.
Captain Scott Aitken crossed for a try shortly after the commencement of the second half which was converted by Garvey, and centre Boyd Davis drove over from close range with 3 Actonians hanging on to him after 20 minutes of the half, which was again converted by Garvey, to open up a 25 – 9 lead and seal the game for the Cosmos.

Actonians only answer to the Cosmos attack was an excellent kicking game from their fly half and a rolling maul that proved hard to stop but yielded no points due to Kilburns committed defence led by loosies Aitken, Bousfield and Tom O’Connor and centre Boyd Davis.
The only Actonians try came after a bad pass to replacement centre Tane Taitoko in the in goal forced him to run the ball out and a lack of support led to a penalty for not releasing. Quick thinking by the Actonians centre and saw a him take a quick tap and dive over for the try to make it 25-16 with 10 mins to go which was how the score remained at the final whistle.

Total commitment and uncompromising defence was the key to the victory for Kilburn. So many times this season they have been in a winning position but a drop in intensity and lack of concentration have cost them dearly. In this game it was only the 10 minutes before halftime that Kilburn looked vulnerable and hopefully this victory over a top 4 opponent will give them the confidence to kickstart their season. The challenge for Kilburn is now to keep up this form and the key to that is the commitment from the players to make trainings and be available for the remaining games.

It is hard to single out individual players as the entire team played well. The tight five dominated the scrums and got round the paddock well, the loosies were outstanding making numerous turnovers and putting their bodies on the line in defence. Paul Nolan at halfback had an excellent game, putting pressure on Actonians with has darting runs, Chris Garvey had an great game with the boot and controlled play well at fly half after the injury to Alagna. Centre Boyd Davis was again a standout with brutal defence and strong running and wing Theo Freed had his best game for the club with several strong runs.

Overall hooker Declan Magee, in his debut for the 1st XV, was voted MVP after a brilliant game featuring numerous barnstorming runs followed by hard working flankers Aitken and Bousfield.

TEAM

2006/2007