Teddy Hall reach final with epic performance

St. Edmund Hall 54 – 5 St. Peter's Some things never change. Teddy Hall are the most successful side in the history of Cuppers, and this dominant display against a confident St. Peter’s team was a performance that any Hall XV of the last century would have been proud of. In confidently racking up fifty four points, they have also sent a warning to Keble, the young upstarts, that this year might be different. The final, to be played in two weeks time, should be a fantastic game. Hall were in no rush to assert their dominance in this match. In fact, for most of the first fifteen minutes it was St. Peter’s who had the upper hand. They dominated territory and possession, keeping the ball close but unable to find a way through. When Teddy Hall scored the first try of the game, it was a breakout that came against the run of play. However, this unconverted score plus a further penalty settled Hall into the game. Even when they began to put pressure on St. Peter’s, it was not as though Hall completely kept them out of the game. Rather, it was the fact that they were able to soak up any pressure that Peter’s could put on them, easily turn over possession and then break down the scrambling defence in a few simple moves. Hall’s second try was a great example of this, with a period of Peter’s possession breaking down, before being penalised for holding on. The kick to the corner, the simple rolling maul followed by a basic switch between scrum half and number eight saw the big back-rower Chris Davies going over to make the score 13-0. With Will Stevens converting and then adding a further penalty, the lead was stretched to eighteen points and St. Peter’s were beginning to seek a score with some desperation. It was Hall that presented them with the opportunity, with the generally outstanding Sam Humphrey- Baker throwing a poor pass out of contact that was snapped up by Peter’s left wing Dawit Demetri, who ran the length of the field to score. The significant crowd, which included a giant orange cat sporting St. Peter’s green, felt that the away side may have had a chance of pulling themselves back into the game, even after the conversion was missed. Half time followed soon after, and with the score 18-5, Hall were certainly well on top. However, it was a strange and fragmented half of rugby, with no clear pattern to the play, and it was certainly possible that if St. Peter’s could find way to hold Hall off and retain the ball, they had the skills in the backs to make it a close finish. However, it was not to be. St. Peter’s crumbled under some sustained Hall pressure in the opening minutes. Some quick lineout ball sent their burley inside-centre Ben Cossey through the middle of the Peter’s defence. Brought down just short of the line, the second phase of possession saw his centre partner Humphrey-Baker running around the outside to touch down. It was the perfect demonstration of their excellent combination in the heart of the Hall midfield. It was this try that opened the floodgates for Hall, and they scored at will for the rest of the half. The St. Peter’s attack, and their defence, fell apart completely. Even their kicking game fell apart; their hurried and conservative kicks were consistently charged down and proved unable to relieve the pressure. A further try for Chris Davies came from a quickly taken Hall lineout catching the Peter’s defence unaware, and when Ryan Buckingham scampered over after some misplaced Hall passing worked to their advantage. It became a matter of damage control for Peter’s, with Hall running through their replacements bench and keeping up the pressure, and consistently running through tackles, with captain Philip Satterthwaite and outstanding number eight Chris Davies both making memorable runs. Further tries kept the scoreboard moving, and by the final whistle it had reached 54-5. This Hall side have shown in the last two weeks that they are far too good for all but one team in college rugby. This final test will come in two weeks time at Iffley Road.by Jack Marsh