On a sunny and warm spring day on the last weekend of March, 15 Lambs became Rams - the second only old boys game was played out at Bath university. From an initial squad of 25 through injury and other commitments the Rams were soon reduced to a diehard group of 15 ex Lambs who travelled far and wide for an unknown experience.
Let me tell you, if you are currently a Lamb this unknown experience is nothing like you will ever come across for years.
The team mustered at Bath university to play their freshers team at the end of their season - 15 Rams v 27 Bath players. What a fantastic spectacle followed - most Rams had only previously played with 2 or three other players but within 60 minutes of warm up, it was like they had played together all season - under the outstanding leadership of Captain Matt Harris- the team were split backs and forwards and soon running through drills everyone was familiar with.
Early in the game they showed intent when the Rams went two tries ahead and looking comfortable, but Bath were not to be put down easily! This was a physical game of rugby, but what was outstanding to see was the ease the Rams fell into the 'fast and free' no kicking philosophy that all the players had been brought up with. It was amazing to see and as a result the Rams gelled well very early on. The game was played at a high tempo and intensity and every single Ram put their heart and soul into the fight. In the ten minutes up to half time Bath were camped on the Rams line and the defence was superb - one score in it with the Rams ahead and they were still running penalties off their own line!
The character and metal of a Lamb emerging into a Ram became more apparent in the second half. The loss of Ben Mallet with a serous ankle injury reduced the team to 14. With the offer of an opposition player turned down they collectively agreed to fight on with 14 players - what an outstanding 20 minutes followed - every player playing heads up rugby 'fast and free' with no kicking all for the honour of the Lambs shirt, themselves and their injured comrade.
I have never seen an ingrained playing philosophy so replicated by players from different ages and years as I saw in this game and I could not pick out a single player who didn’t give 110 percent. Every player could be mentioned in this dispatch ten times over. Every single Ram should be proud of their performance on the day it was an outstanding effort against a well drilled and physical opponent. Final Score Rams 43 - Bath University 24
Based on this performance I very much look forward to the next OB's game..