The weather was balmy, the sky was clear blue,
Cooper's twelve gentlemen knew what to do.
He’d roused them with passionate words from the heart,
‘Intensity', ‘running', ‘attack from the start’.
He reminded them all their points tally was thin,
And today was the day to record their first win.

At the start of the match Bourne took the ball,
But South put on pressure and caused them to fall.
Switching the play, they found space on the right,
With Matson marauding and showing his might.
The left fared as well, Chalk played out of his skin.
And Captain Cooper thought, ‘There’s a good chance we will win.’

The deadlock was broken from a break down the flank,
Watson involved with his hit like a tank.
The ball pinged around before falling to Chalk,
He pressed the defence and made them all squawk.
He hit across goal and Dom tapped it in.
‘Huzzar,’ shouted Cooper. ‘We’re going to win.’

‘Concentrate’, ‘marking’, ‘let’s keep it tight’,
But Bourne had the Southerners’ goal in their sight.
They pressed very hard, Cambridge started to bend,
And scored from a free hit, to wreck South’s weekend.
The ball looped past Farmer, a tear it did bring.
‘That’s torn it,’ sobbed Cooper. ‘We’re not gonna win’.

But his passionate words still rang in all ears,
And South stepped it up and moved through the gears.
They battled and probed, put Bourne to the sword.
The pressure paid off, a short corner was scored.
Menzies deflected it home, though chances were thin.
Capn’ Cooper breathed out, ‘We’re still on for the win.’

The second half was a very even affair,
Harrison threatened with his skill and his flair.
Annsy was stoic, Walshy showed class,
Doug got a green card for using his arse body.
The tension was mounting, to lose was a sin.
It can’t be this stressful to pick up a win.

Legs started to buckle, lungs started to hurt,
But Cambridge stayed focused, sharp and alert.
Edge was chaotic and causing commotion,
The personification of Brownian motion.
Time seemed to stand, Coops’s head started to spin,
‘Blow that damned whistle, I must have this win!’

As the seconds died out Bourne started to wane,
South rode out the storm and were steady again.
They smothered the ball, to run out the clock.
The whistle was blown and they all run amok.
Coops looked to the sky and said with a grin,
‘Well done my brave boys, you’ve won your first win.’