Last Saturday saw 4th placed Acton take on 2nd place (and unbeaten) Old Millhillians. In dreadful conditions, the opening half was a battle of attrition. The visitors may have had the upper hand at the set piece but the A’s were dominating the contact area, the defence looking impregnable as wave after wave of attack was repelled. With the rain lashing down furiously, fullback Adam Lee got the only scores of the half, toe-punting through three penalties in response to the visitor’s one (he also missed two but it was probably the rain? Let’s blame that) With not much else happening, Acton took a 9-3 lead into the break.
The second half saw more of the same from Acton but with the added benefit that the scrum was no longer stuck in reverse. With the set-piece now firing, the A’s started to impose their will on the visitors. With phase after phase of forward graft, with big carries especially from Sam Andrews, Paddy Heekin and Tom Larner, their patience was rewarded when the ball was bundled over from the back of the ruck from Adam Lee. We still don’t know why he was there, but that doesn’t matter.
Millhillians wouldn’t lie down, however, and they kept on coming. After a series of penalties, they used their scrum to form a good basis of attack to score in the corner and reduce the lead back down to 6. Unrelenting, Actonians roared back into the game. With the rain stopping, the backs could finally start playing properly. Winger Dom Pitt was put through from a lovely ball by Zak Taylor and showed great footwork to keep the ball in play, volley it through to the try line and score. Like watching Messi in full flow.
With the Actonians now starting to increase the pressure, the visitors started cracking. 2 yellow cards meant that Acton really needed to increase their score. Thankfully, Sam Andrews managed to burst through the defence to add more points onto the board. Annoyingly, Millhillians kicked the ball out to stop the home team claiming the bonus point.
Full time saw Acton win 28-8 and move into 3rd. Sam Andrews grabbed MOTM whilst Adam Lee got DOTD for a) toe punting his kicks wide and b) wearing a shocking fleece post-match. Next up we travel down to Staines.