Louis Beer was in disbelief after his hat-trick helped Championship newcomers Caldy down the previously unbeaten, reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders.
Having trailed by 10 points at half time, second-half tries by Nick Royle and a quick fire brace by winger Beer meant there was a feeling in the air that semipro Caldy could topple a professional giant. With seconds remaining, flyhalf Rhys Hayes produced a pinpoint looping pass to pick out Beer who grounded in the corner to spark euphoria among Caldy's supporters.
Beer said: “I couldn't believe it. When I went over the line for the match winner I actually laid there for a few seconds thinking have I just done that? I got up and all the emotion and energy came flying out of me. My family were watching metres away from where I scored and everyone came running over. The emotion of the whole 80 minutes just escaped as soon as I went over the whitewash. It was an incredible feeling.”
Ealing were firm favourites before kick-off having not dropped a point all season, winning all their 10 previous games with bonus points.
However 22-year-old Beer said the team always believed that they could cause an upset.
“Whatever team it is, we'll always go in with that mentality that we can win this,” said Beer, who joined Caldy at the start of the season from Cambridge. “Caldy are in the Championship for a reason. We've all worked hard this season, so were thinking in the back of our minds that we can win this. There's nothing stopping us from winning because it's 15 men on each team with one ball, so anything can happen.
“We knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park because it's Ealing and they hadn't dropped a point all season. Our coaches said do the basics, play our rugby and play our style. We did what we were told and got the win.”
Despite the huge achievement, Beer says the squad don't have time to revel in the win and must now use it as a catalyst to build on their season and rise up the table.
He said: “It gives us a massive boost in confidence but that has passed now, we've got to focus on the games to come. It was a great day but we've got to be professional and move on because we need to replicate these performances.
“If we keep playing well and getting results then we'll prove to everyone that we're not a one trick pony and are here to do business.”
Having only played in two Championship Cup matches this season, Beer was trusted with a start by director of rugby Gareth Davies and the former Northampton Saints academy flyer showed exactly what he could do with an unforgettable treble.
He added: “To get the call up to start was a massive honour and I'm grateful for the coaches to trust me as it gave me a great confidence boost. I've got to keep performing and looking after myself. We can continue to shock a lot of people this season.”
