Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Millhillians - 24th Jan 2008

Kilburn Cosmos 58 Old Millhillians 5
Kilburn regained form on Saturday to crush the hopes of fellow Herts Midd 1 strugglers Old Millhillians in a 58-5 rout.
The game was slow starting however and favourites Kilburn were frustrated by good OMs forward play until hooker Declan McGee smashed over the line 15 minutes into the game. He was followed 5 minutes later by skipper Scott Aitken. OMs answered immediately with a try of their own, and for the rest of the half, both sides toiled in terrible conditions on a rain affected pitch. Despite two scores to keep them ahead at half time, for much of the first 40 minutes Kilburn were faced down by a spirited OMs side, determined not to let up the pressure on the home side.
The pressure was on Kilburn until after half time, when OMs began to flag and Kilburn took control of the game. The Kilburn counter attack was led by man of the match, prop Hayden Mackenzie, who was devastating in both attack and defence. With Ben Zaug and Declan McGee, and later with replacement prop Ehi Alonge, Mackenzie overcame a good start by the OMs front row to dominate their pack in scrum and line out play as well as out-playing comprehensively in loose play and taking a try himself as the game swung to the home team.
The one way second half traffic also saw tries from Scott Aitken, Dan Riley, scrum-half replacement Chris Protherough and two for winger Gavin Smales. Kurt Shrubsole scored a brilliant forwards try from a 5 metre scrum, but try of the game went to winger Mo Taguri who took a long pass from Fly half Shayne Whyte and sprinted through the defence from 30 metres out to touch down. 4 of the tries were converted by fly-half Shayne Whyte.
The game saw excellent work from number 8 Shrubsole, front row replacement Alonge and number 10 Shayne Whyte. Hayden Mackenzie however, turned in a personal best game and was awarded MVP. Aly Bursey took the 2 points and Kurt Shrubsole 1.

Kilburn Cosmos 58 (Scott Aitken 2, Gav Smales 2, Declan Magee, Mo Taguri, Dan Riley, Chris Protherough, Kurt Shrubsole, Hayden McKenzie tries, Shayne Whyte 4 cons)

Team: Hayden McKenzie, Declan Magee, Ben Zaug, Paul Ledington, Tom O'Connor, Aly Bursey, Scott Aitken(C), Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Shayne Whyte, Gav Smales, Richey Cunninghame, Chris Coane, Mo Taguri, Dan Riley. Res: Ehi Alonge, Chris Protherough, Karlos Gordon

Kilburn Cosmos 2nd XV vs Belsize Park 2nd XV - 24th Jan 2008

Belsize Park 2XV 0 - Kilburn Cosmos 2XV 8
Kilburn Cosmos 2xv gave their fightback in the Middlesex Merit Table a boost with an 8-0 win over local rivals Belsize Park.
The scrappy game was notable for excellent defence by the Kilburn backs and gritty performance by the forwards who took on Belsize up front and gave no ground in the loose play, even if they were outweighed in the scrums.
The 2xv back line, ably led by veteran centre duo Dan Loftus and Rohan McNaughton punched holes in a weak Belsize defence and peppered their full back with high kicks. Kilburn debutant Full Back Chris Hocking put in a brilliant display, running the ball back at Belsize and forcing some desperate cover tackles.
Dan Loftus eventually rounded off the first half with a try which saw several attempts at the Belsize line fail due to eagerness and over enthusiasm rather than lack of determination but the performance of the half belonged to Rick Nunes who rampaged around the pitch and forced the Belsize forwards backwards with every run.
The second half saw a more determined Belsize attempt to pull back a score to draw level but great defence by Kilburn kept them out. As the clocked ticked by the effort and desperation mounted and on more than occasion the match descended into handbags. A last minute drive by Belsize was undone by Kilburn, who applied pressure to the attacked and earned a penalty, which Chris Hocking slotted to make it 8-0 on the final whistle.
Great credit should go to Jon Church who led the Kilburn 2xv to a rare victory!

Kilburn 8(Dan Loftus try, Chris Hocking pen)

Team: Phil Morgan, Jon Church(C), Phil Brides, Andy Butcher, Rick Nunes, Dave von Dadelszen, Ed Horn-Smith, Charles Winstone, JP Le Rouzic, Dan Boyle, Gav Smith, Rohan McNaughtan, Dan Loftus, Sebastian Bisley, Chris Hocking. Res: Simon Huxtable, Ben Thorne, Niall Coghlan