Charlton Park battled bravely against both a strong Westcombe Park side and the extraordinary conditions created by Storm Boelo, but ultimately came away on the wrong end of a 38-14 scoreline.

The opening half was dominated by the weather as much as by the home side. Playing into a ferocious wind and driving rain, Park found themselves pinned deep inside their own territory for long periods. Kicks frequently travelled backwards and handling resembled trying to play rugby with a bar of soap. Westcombe Park adapted quickest to the conditions and made the most of their territorial advantage.

An early lineout loss handed the hosts momentum and they opened the scoring from a scrum move down the blindside before adding further tries from scrum and forward-driven attacks. With Charlton Park struggling to gain field position, Westcombe continued to apply pressure and stretched their advantage with a succession of well-taken scores.

Despite the setbacks, Park produced a moment of quality late in the half. A powerful scrum, driven on by the pack and featuring the influential George Crick, laid the platform for the scrum-half to dart over beneath the posts. The conversion reduced the arrears and briefly gave the visitors a foothold in the contest.

However, deep into first-half stoppage time, Westcombe struck again from a catch-and-drive following a lineout, extending their lead to 26-7 at the break and leaving Park with a mountain to climb.

The second half brought a subtle change in conditions as the wind shifted to blow more across the pitch than directly down it. The game became more balanced territorially, although Westcombe continued to enjoy much of the possession and added further tries through a lineout strike and another period of sustained pressure.

To their credit, Charlton Park remained committed throughout and showed greater attacking intent whenever opportunities arose. Chances were at a premium, but Park were clinical when those opportunities came, taking both of their clear openings to add a second score and ensure there was reward for their persistence.

As the match entered its closing stages, tempers occasionally threatened to boil over amid a series of breakdown disputes and refereeing debates, while the contest was briefly disrupted by an unusual pitch-side intervention. Westcombe nevertheless retained control and added late points to complete a 38-14 victory.

On a day when the weather dictated much of the narrative, Charlton Park showed plenty of resilience against the odds. With Storm Boelo creating some of the toughest playing conditions seen in many a season, the scoreline perhaps did not fully reflect the effort displayed by a side forced to spend much of the afternoon battling both the opposition and the elements.