Another frustrating afternoon for Teddington as they hit the road to take on fellow league newcomers Beaconsfield on Saturday. Beaconsfield have been in good form prior to this match, winning their last 4 games, and although the Antlers came away from this one with a losing bonus point, they’ll look back at some missed opportunities and chances to have got a bit more than that. The early part of the game was fairly even, with the sides trading early penalties, but the contest took a significant turn in the lead up to half time when Beaconsfield broke down the left for their first try and then quickly followed up with their second after Teddington, not for the first time this season had been temporarily reduced to 14 men due to a sin binning. The 17-3 half time deficit could never quite be bridged from there, although Will MAVIN narrowed the gap soon after the break with a try following an opportunistic dart up the blind side. Bob BEEVERS kicked a further penalty to bring it back to 17-13, but Beaconsfield responded with a score of their own after period of sustained tryline pressure. Again, Teddington came back though, as Rory MERCER drove over from short range to bring it back to 24-20 going into the last 10 minutes. The hosts kept the chasing Antlers at arm’s length by kicking a penalty late on before BEEVERS replied in kind to bring it back to 27-23, but alas there was no grandstand finale as Beaconsfield held on for another win, keeping them in the top half of the table. As with most weeks, there were positives for the Antlers; despite getting on the wrong side of the referee a few times the scrum was in the ascendency for most of the afternoon and Alfie RANSOM had a barnstorming game on the flank. However, penalties continue to be a problem, and opportunities need to be taken if Teddington are going to start to climb up this league. A rest from league action next week before Old Haberdashers RFC visit fortress Bushy the week after.
Final Score - Beaconsfield RFC 27 Teddington RFC 23. Man of the Match Alfie RANSOM.

The 2nd XV hosted Cobham on Saturday in the latest round of the Surrey Alliance League. Cobham came out of the blocks the stronger and they soon took a 7 point lead. The visitors kept the pressure on for much of the first half, but some resolute Antlers defending kept the scoreline that way up until half time. After the break Teddington scored through Jono VENTER before Cobham went further ahead with their second try. From there on in it was all Teddington as they ran the ball from deep at every opportunity. Trys for Euan GRAY, Sam AMES, Tom CRANMER, and Josh PENBERTHY completed an impressive second half performance and a fine win. Final Score - Teddington 2nd XV 34 Cobham 2nd XV 14. Man of the Match Euan GRAY.