“Why did Summer go so quickly? Was it something that you said?” – Noel Harrison
“When Autumn winds blow chill and cold, I’ll remember…” – Simon & Garfunkel

The anticipation was palpable. Two debutants about to be bloodied in the most brutal of season opening encounters; seasoned, returning Casuals ready for the struggle after a month of intensive training. Theirs was a subtly different game to before; now the kick-off, the catch and the run up field; now competing at the scrum. And so putting lazy summer days behind them, and armed with new knowledge of the game, Casuals got to work.

The very first Casual to make his mark was the very latest to join the Fraternity; Rupert taking the ball from deep and running fast and fearlessly into the Melbourne throng. This looked promising! The crowd held their collective breath; could it be that Casuals had cast off the habit of starting slowly, gaining confidence over the session and finishing the game by realising that, actually, they are at least as good as the opposition if not better? No. They did play their hearts out, of course, and well. Very Well. But it was Melbourne who had the ruck drilled to impressive oiled machine rapidity and perfection. 4 tries were shipped in the first game by a Melbourne team that were excellently prepared, gelled as a team and knew where their strengths lay.

Heads did not go down for Casuals. A measure of the spirit, determination and togetherness of the team. Here was adversity from the off and Casuals met the challenge with pride, skill and endless endeavour. By the end, Casuals had the measure of this Melbourne side. The weaknesses to be exploited were identified and exploited. No longer was it only Melbourne who could ruck, Casuals had remembered that they are pretty good at that too. And the scrum! Here was a facet of the game where Casuals surpassed their esteemed opponents. By the end, Casuals were Melbourne’s equals and we can hope that Casuals will ‘have em’ on the return match.

As for the players? Well there was so much to admire. First mention goes to the debutants: Rupert’s impact was immediate with a tremendous powerful run right into the heart of the Melbourne throng from the very start. Any pre-match nerves disappeared very quickly, and Rupert kept up this commitment and intensity throughout. Nii Yartey took the field a debutant and came off as the Player of the Week. With Impressive tackling and involvement in every break down Nii Yartey proved to be an excellent addition to the Team and well deserved his award. Well done to both!

I scribbled notes as I went and present some observations of your Casuals, if I can read my own writing. Try to imagine this as some sort of difficult to hear radio commentary from the past.

“Felix into the tackle. Nii Yartey down the wing. Stan unlucky, maestro.”

“Nathan, excellent leadership!”

“Liam catches kick-off and RUNS!”

“Archie tremendous tackle, scrums aplenty, knock-ons. Excellent quick ball off scrum”

“Spencer kick-off with intent, scrum, pushing hard in ruck, mazy run”

“Oscar H getting stuck in, tackle!”

“Bradwell quick precise passing, reading the game”

“Liam strips ball, superb”

“Otto & Felix attacking the ball from lost ruck, Spencer powerfully forward, ruck lost, Spencer chasing tackle, quick ruck from Melbourne, again, again, try”

“Stan run, lost, half-time”

“Oscar W – fired up ‘Come on Casuals!”

“Great ruck Stan, sent down the wing, ooh, pushed out” (I think that was nearly a try to Casuals)

“Sam powerful rucking, right over!”

“Bradwell [indecipherable notes] for Emmet into space, Emmet again…Owen holds up on the line! Scrum won against the head, and AGAIN by Owen”

“Players asked ‘who wants back on?’ Emmet arm straight up ‘ME!’ – there’s the game face, scary”

“Nii Yartey into the tackle, quick pass, presence of mind”

“Quick run down the line by Nathan, again” “Nathan tenacious – holding shirt”

“Felix steal, better rucks 1-2-3, Owen run, ruck again, again, Stan pass [indecipherable notes], Felix, Sam, ruck, scrum 5, fire in bellies – out to Otto carries forward, Nii Yartey bad luck…in their faces, won ball back, scrum, ruck much better, Brilliant Archie! Mazy run, Felix scores!”

As we all know, the actual score is determined, completely biasedly, on the basis that Casuals always win in some way or other. Yes, Melbourne scored more tries, if that’s your measure of who wins, but Casuals played with spirit, unwavering endeavour and as they always do, grew as a team before our eyes, leaving the field better players, a better team and better people for the experience. Well cone Casuals! DRAW.

p.s. Sorry my homework was late.