An early start of 6:30 meant most of us had only just arrived before rushing for a quick warm up before being thrust into action against the curiously named Pull My Pigtail.

GoodGym Newcastle 0 – 12 Pull My Pigtail

They may have lacked the titular pigtails, but they made up for it in tries. They were a well drilled team and definitely our toughest opponents so far. They were also incredibly nice and offered us advice as the game progressed.

We did, however, make it to the try line once or twice in attack which was really encouraging but sadly ran out of touches before making the elusive first try.

GoodGym Newcastle 1 – 8 Osbit

Dan (Assist: Unknown)

There’s only one thing I remember from this game and that’s Dan’s heroic dive for our first try! It took 5 games for us to get it but we’re off the mark now! I felt there was an element of pity from the referee in awarding the try despite appeals for a touch. Dan assured me the try was legitimate, commenting in a post-match interview:

I have sustained a head injury. The ball was grounded with downward force. It’s a try!

Dan’s head injury means he can’t remember who played him in for our historic first try, so unfortunately the assist is uncredited. I didn’t sustain any head injuries, but I can’t remember a single other thing that happened in this game.

Who actually remembers anything else from this game?

GoodGym Newcastle 2 – 11 Run Chicken Run

Nick (Assist: Andrew)

Evan (Assist: Dan)

With the confidence from our first try coursing through our veins we managed two more tries in this game! For much of this game I felt there was actually a contest happening. A series of late tries has made the final score look one-sided but our first try made the game 2-1 and our second try made the game 4-2 which is very encouraging for next week.

Nick scored our first(?) try of this game, latching onto a pass before tip toeing through the defensive line, dodging touches left and right and calmly grounding the ball at the try line.

Here’s how Evan recalls his first try:

Dan called as I sprinted around the corner to receive the pass 5m from the line. I made a dog leg and straightened up at full speed to seize the gap. I dived between both defenders. Fully committed, I grounded the ball on the line.

Complete gibberish.

We had a couple more chances in this game and displayed a more composed passing game as we searched for imperceptible gaps in the defensive line but couldn’t make the breakthrough.

After the game we met up with Aimee who has deserted us for a different team but I’m sure we’ll see her pull on the red GoodGym shirt for a game or two somewhere down the line. We also enjoyed some exquisite cinnamon rolls which had been loving made by one team member, although there was some debate over who the master baker was. (#NickTheCakeGod)

MVP

The MVP this week has to be Dan for a try, an assist and some composed passing from dummy-half.

I didn’t do an MVP last week but it has to be Abi, we were all so impressed last by the meters gained with her strong forward running.

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