A dreary, drizzly day meant a greasy ball, and handling errors were to be expected. The question mark was the extent of the Thursday-before-Leave Away fatigue and lethargy.

For the first time this season Radley didn't score first, and were soon 10-0 down against a quality side with some real danger men. The resolve and strength of character was apparent, and Ollie Beard hit a great line to make a clean break, before racing over in the corner. Freddie Braybrook nailed the conversion, scraping over via the crossbar, and it was 10-7 at half time.

Radley began the second half brightly, and that man Beard emerged with the ball from a breakdown before putting speedster Nick Woo away to race in under the posts from halfway. Another Braybrook conversion and it was 14-10 to Radley.

The advantage didn't last long, and Eton scored to take a 17-14 lead. A sustained period of pressure in the Radley 22 followed, and some physical attack was matched by dogged and determined defence. With time running out, and Eton ready to exploit a huge overlap, a desperate attempt at an interception failed and Eton crossed the line once more to seal victory.

Despite being the first defeat of the season, this was almost certainly the best performance against the strongest opposition so far. The boys should go into the break with their heads held high.