By Hillary Carr
October 7 2003

The national pastime of debate as to whether Saddam Hussein and Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction and if, or when they will be found has taken on a significantly local complexion surrounding the performance of the Amateurs in the opening games of the season. The squad training ground performance promises so much, but still fails to be converted into points and wins on the playing field. No one denies that we have the capability; it’s just a question of when something will emerge from the dressing room prior to a match. And it means making certain that when we bring our prime components to the battlefield that they are all fully functional when called upon to perform.

The squad has been bedeviled by injuries and absenteeism from the start of this season, otherwise unknown in recent seasons (resulting in the second consecutive cancellation of a Wanderer’s game through lack of numbers). Missing from Saturday’s squad altogether were, Shaw, Stevens, Thompson, Van der Westhuizen and Wigley through injury, while Ah-sun was benched, also through injury, and Robinson remains suspended. The rest of the squad has filled in commendably to take up the challenge of the positions vacated, but it is clearly evident that this team has not gelled yet and the Juggernaut needs a lot more power and verve to get to full speed and potential.

As with all our games this season, the Amateurs got off to a promising start, and despite falling behind to a penalty after three minutes, Newman carried the ball over the OM’s line for an opening try in the twelfth minute from a sustained forward drive and rolling maul following a penalty. Eaton secured the two points from the conversion (3-7).

The match then became a staccato affair throughout as the referee deemed it necessary to stamp his authority over every aspect of the game and pedantry failed to allow the teams to provide a spectacle of fluent rugby that the near perfect conditions promised. Having said that, Old Millhillians started to show signs of greater fluency in the backs than Quins and ran in their first try after 19 minutes, converted to edge the lead 8-7.

The familiar pattern of bickering with the referee peppered the Quins game and as Fairweather was sin-binned in the thirty-eighth for a misplaced comment OMs crossed the Quins line again for another soft try, unconverted (15-7), basically due to poor tackling and allowing the opposition to play their own game to cross the advantage line before being challenged by a static defence. To add salt to the wounds, OMs capitalized on our weaknesses and having the extra man to score another unconverted try right on the stroke of half time (22-7).

A game of two halves you might ask? Sadly it seemed not to be when after only a minute played in the second half, OMs scored another try, converted, to extend their lead to 29-7. Matters became increasingly worrying when Richards sustained a cut to the head in the 48th minute but was able to continue.

Quins at times in the second half showed strength and determination both in attack and defence, Ross particularly making and taking some big hits. A period of sustained pressure on the OM’s line failed to be converted into points by The Amateurs and conceding another penalty pushed us back into our own half again. But Quins managed to put together the best move of the game when in the sixty-eighth minute, a driving maul in the right hand touch line saw Eaton link with Coyle to loop round and score in the left hand corner, which he narrowly failed to convert (29-12). The final minutes were spent in our own half after Wells was carded and sin-binned for handling in the ruck. Final score 29-12 to Old Millhillians.

With next week providing a ‘rest‘ due to the withdrawal of Wasps from the League, and a Wanderers game now ensured, it should allow sufficient time for nearly all ‘absentees’ to resume their rightful places on the field. Then we eventually expect to see those WMD in action that we have been told about but have yet to see any evidence of.

Mark Hillier, the 1st Team Captain undergoes his vertebral disk operation this week and we wish him the very best and speediest of recoveries.