Bromley RFC VS Park House RFC

BROMLEY OVERCOME DEFIANT PARK HOUSE

In the final league game of 2024, Bromley were matched up against oh so local rivals Par House in what is now dubbed ‘ The Battle of Barnet Wood Road’. The home side had a few changes from last week with Godden and Taylor coming into the back row and Haisell dropping to the bench. With centres Powell and Laws unavailable, Tommy Scott joined George Rice to form yet another combination in that area. The equivalent fixture back in September had been a tense affair with the result in doubt right to the end with Bromley hanging on for a 15-20 win. This game followed a similar pattern but this time Bromley eased away in the final quarter.

In the first ten minutes, Bromley were the dominant side keeping Park House penned in their own half with astute tactical kicking. The pressure told on nine minutes when scrum half George Scott made a rapid break leading to the ball being passed down the line and a gap was created for Rice to charge through to dot down and with Johnny Griffiths converting the score was 7-0. The home supporters were expecting more of the same but Park had other ideas and two minutes later they kicked the ball deep into the Bromley twenty two and the cover was thin leading to George Scott having to hare back and retrieve the ball but he was isolated and Bromley did not deal with the situation. Park House got hold of the ball and after a couple of powerful surges, they were over. No conversion 7-5 eleven minutes played. For the next fifteen minutes, there was a ferocious contest to try and gain the upper hand. Bromley had the edge but could not make it count until the twenty fifth minute when from a scrum in midfield George Scott darted away and released the onrushing Hawkins who drew the cover to put Richardson, who had replaced Pillow, into space about thirty metres out. This young man has serious gas, he put the afterburners on and he was away to cross the whitewash in the corner. The conversion drifted left of the posts leaving the score at 12-5.

With half time approaching this seemed a fair reflection of the half but this is the local derby and Park House had other ideas and mounted one last assault on Bromley’s line. The pressure was constant and after several thrusts, their scrum half wormed his way over. Conversion good and with the whistle for the break coming shortly afterwards the match was tied at 12-12 and all to play for. For Bromley, the first half had been mixed with a more than fair amount of possession and territory but they could not make it count due to a combination of factors. Their handling, which is usually good, let them down on a number of occasions, they were under a bit of pressure in the scrum, the lineout was far from being a thing of beauty and they were thwarted on a number of occasions by giving away needless penalties again. For Park House, their set pieces were very good as was their defence and they made ground on a number of occasions mainly through little inside pop passes which Bromley did not deal with allied to uncharacteristically missing a number of first up tackles. Putting that together the score was probably a fair reflection of events.

Bromley had a few things to fix but they had no control over the weather which took a turn for the worse with the temperature dropping, the wind swirling and continuous steady rainfall. No matter the home side were soon into their stride and had their rivals under constant pressure and they began to concede penalties leading to one of their players being yellow carded after five minutes. Bromley were now camped in the opposition twenty two and the forwards took control and after several attempts, they crashed over close to the posts leaving a relatively simple conversion to ease them ahead 19-12. Time to push on and trouble the scoreboard. No, that old self destruct button kicked in for about fifteen minutes giving Park House an open invitation to take the game away from them. In that space of time, they offered up a penalty in front of the posts, 19-15, had two players yellow carded and were thus down to thirteen men for the second week running. The opposition supporters were now in full cry and their team responded with thunderous charges up the field and although Bromley defended stoutly they could not resist. Park used their power up front to muscle their way over wide left but the strength of the wind prevented the conversion from reaching the posts but they were ahead for the first time 19-20. The game was now really on and both sets of supporters in the very big crowd were giving it large in the best possible way.

Twenty minutes to go and all to play for. He who dares and all that. Bromley took the bull by the horns and went for it. Their scrum began to wreak havoc, the lineout began to function (keep it short and simple lads), moves began to flow and passes stuck. On sixty four minutes Banfield made a powerful break down the middle of the pitch sucking in several defenders, the ball was beautifully set up leading to a rapid transfer down the left hand side of the pitch. The last pass went to that try scoring machine Tommy Scott, two in two consecutive games, who gleefully romped over. No conversion 24-19 and still plenty of time to go. The home team had the bit between their teeth now and were relentless, geeing each other up and crucially not giving penalties away. In fact it was Park House who began to cough them up which gave Bromley what they wanted – territory and possession. Going into the last few minutes and Bromley really put the heat on and Park transgressed again under their posts. Kick the easy three points and take the game. Not the Bromley way. Tap and go, a few plods, long pass to Alex Griffiths on the wing and he was not going to miss. Try scored, Magnificent conversion by Johnny Griffiths and with the final whistle going shortly afterwards Bromley took the spoils 31-20.

As ever in these match ups it was no quarter asked and none given and both sides are to be applauded for delivering a game of this intensity in trying conditions. This was aided by an excellent referee who had total control and was very clear in his decision making and explanations. Bromley had to dig deep to overcome dogged opponents but are also to be congratulated for having the bravery to go for the fourth try bonus point at the end when the game was in the balance. It was far from a perfect performance but they found a way to win and they will know. as will the coaches, there are still areas to tidy up which keep repeating themselves game after game. In the final stages, the players stood up and were counted. My man of the match would be Alex Griffiths who was absolutely solid in everything he did, exhibited moments of trickery to get himself and the team out of trouble, took his chance at the end to seal the win and above all else he was constantly encouraging those around him to keep going and up their effort and follow the game plan.

The second team travelled to Old Colfeians for a difficult looking fixture. They had a terrific game and only lost out narrowly 29-24. There was again no third team game and it is pretty hard to keep track of what is actually happening in their Merit Table. All I do know is that Blackheath Bandits and Elthamian Seconds are streets ahead of anybody else and Bromley Thirds can give any of the rest a good game when they can find someone to play. Next games are on January 4^th 2025 with the firsts away at Deal (Happy New Year), the seconds at home to Footscray. Two o’clock kick offs.

Saturday saw the club in its best light with over one hundred sitting down for an excellent Presidents Lunch with money being raised for The Wooden Spoon Society and many old faces being present. Before the game their were two exhibition matches highlighting girls and boys rugby which showcased the excellent Junior Section of the club. There was the terrific local derby, a barbeque, a match commentator (who knew), an extremely lively bar afterwards including dancing and singing and then the players descended on Bromley for the 12 pubs of Xmas. Lucky innkeepers. Merry Christmas.