By Luke Gill in Concepcion

Tuesday 4th August saw St Ambrose 2nd XV kick off their campaign against hosts Wessex on a crisp winter's afternoon in Concepcion. Under the direction of tactical magician Mr T Furlong, the boys took to the field slightly hindered by lungs full of dust from a pre-match rumble in a disused mine. Well done Mr Handy for once again displaying excellent match-day organisation.

Early exchanges saw both teams seeking to impose themselves and gain the upper hand. Ambrose enjoyed the bulk of the early possession but struggled to penetrate a determined Wessex defence. Some good carries by the forwards, in particular Dominic Gandy and Captain Tom Gomulko continually put the Chileans on the back foot. However for the demanding coach, the hard yards were not enough. He wanted Furlongs.

Wessex school then went on to launch a number of strong counter attacks, coming close to the line on 2 occasions only to be denied by some determined Ambrose defending. The third sweeping Wessex attack came to an abrupt halt with a thundering tackle from Gandy that smashed the Chilean into neighbouring Argentina. Hopefully we'll collect the unlucky Wessex boy later on the tour. It was reported that the crunch was even heard as far away as the Liverpool area where well- known scouser Mr P Rush, overwhelmed by his city's cultural status, was busy preparing his summer thesis on the changing landscape of contemporary art in the post-modern arena.

The tackle proved somewhat of an inspiration for the Ambrose team who began putting attacking phases together aided by the excellent tactical kicking of James Taberham. The forwards soon gained the upper hand providing a good platform for Joe Ingram to feed the increasingly dangerous back-line. Towards the end of the final period of half time, the forwards began dictating play in a manner not seen by the locals since the days of Pinochet. No wonder they were worried. The Ambrose crowd sensed an imminent try which duly arrived with Adrian Bevin's quick thinking, offloading to James Taberham who hopped and skipped to the line scoring a fine opening try. Unfortunately, he had Morcombe prematurely in mind with the resulting conversion and decided to aim under the crossbar.

The second half began with a a rampant Ambrose side piling the pressure on Wessex, undoubtedly moved by the wizardry of Coach Furlongs half time team talk. A try soon followed when Tom Gomulko continued his fine first half form and rose like a gazelle at the lineout, winning clean ball that bulleted through the back's hands and resulted in a try for John Newsham. The Chileans attempted another fight-back but we're kept at bay by excellent Tom Gury defending.

Ambrose remained in control for the remainder of the second half and another sensational backs move was rounded off by Mr Bevin under the posts. James Taberham continued his fantastic kicking and cemented his man of the match position after chasing his own high up and under and beating three Wessex defenders to touch down for a great final score. The blue and reds continued to hold out and comfortably overcame the hosts 22-0. Bring on Orchard school!

Reaction:

Mr Elwell commented "it was very pleasing to see the win, showing skills from year 8 and 9 coaching."

Ingrid the tour guide: "I had to go home."

Magician Furlong offered the opinion that it was "rough and ready." One can only assume he was speaking about the performance rather than the aforementioned Ingrid, although he did go on to say the game was very promising.