The new season in the division 1 opened at East London's home ground with a visit from Romford and Gidea Park, and Romford brought a serious threat. With their pace and width kept stretching East London's defensive line, and the visitors ran out 66-10 winners.

The visiting side certainly came with a winning attitude, taking each opportunity to win back the ball in a relentless defensive onslaught. Their attacking play allowed Romford to take a 34-0 lead into half-time in an gruelling contest, and two quick tries with conversions early in the second half stretched it to 49-0.

East London answered back in the second half. Around the midway point of the half, number 4 Mohammed Mohammed found the opening in Romford's 22 and darted for the line from a maul to score our first. The response after that was full of character. With composure regained, East London pressed forward, won a penalty five metres out, and produced a dazzling attacking move that ended with Mo diving over the line for his second.

Romford added further 3 tries before full time. Undeniably a challenge, for the Wyverns as they have recently been promoted to division I, nevertheless still showing their fighting spirit. Evidenced in our flanker and league debutant, Simran Dhaliwal, whose ferocious aggression and relentless defence never dropped. Reminding his teammates that the fight was still on until the final whistle and rightfully earning him Man of the Match for East London.

For a side that needed two borrowed players to get through the afternoon, due to a number of early injuries, there is a lot to build on.The Energy from The squad was great despite the loss and The maul, the patience and the finish that produced Mo's two tries are the pieces to carry into the next game against Millwall in the coming weeks.