With everyone still out of town, neither our seconds team nor their opposition could put 15 players on the field. Only the development side could rise to the challenge… though with an average age of about 75. It also saw the one game return of the fantastic hooker, Alex Yu.
DEA were a bona fide development side and were feeling a bit nervous before the match when they saw the many URFC first- and second-teamers step up to support the handful of HKU players that were available. But we agreed to give them the points for the match and play a game anyway – it was a great day for rugby.
DEA were quite game, but it was more of a training run. The front row of Midas, Alex and Aaron took it easy on the opposition – though Alex’s enthusiasm was somewhat difficult to restrain at times. New player Morgan – despite protestations that he is a centre – played his first ever game in the scrum and learned a thing or two. Nicholas Gibbs got his first real action as well at No. 8.
The backline had good ball most of the day and scored the first try as Will “the Wall” Chan took a ball in from just inside the 22-metre. Stepping inside a tackler and taking a strong inside line to gain better kicking position (and find someone else to pummel) Will touched down not far from the posts. Scrumhalf Jamie “Only the hard ones” Poolton expertly missed the kick.
They made a penalty kick and then Chris “the Line” Jackson took control. Looking dangerous with the ball on a few occasions, Jackson took a pass on the wing 22-meters out (perfect place for a shagged prop to hang out) and offloaded a lovely forward pass inside to Alex who rumbled in for a try near the flag. The pass was certainly forward, but perhaps Jackson’s excellent karma for all his touch-running duties was finally paying off. Scrumhalf Jamie Poolton slotted the kick (!)
Gray “the flesh is weak” Williams was quite vocal on the pitch and found running space most of the day. It seemed the only person on the field that could convincingly tackle him… was himself. Left, right, spin left, spin right, fall on arse. Mike “Muscles” Allen found work in the scrum and was a strong coaching presence as well. Nice job gents.
DEA was not without some fight. They chipped and chased all day but Dicky “Up-and-Under” Chan was cool under pressure and returned their kicks with interest. They had some very good open field runners though (certainly not development players) and one of them made our often staggered defensive line look very foolish. Dustin “the Rumbler“ Ciarla made a valiant attempt to knock the ball out as their player touched down for their only try, but perhaps we’d have been better off to stand together in a line. Seriously boys, we’ve been lining up (queuing) since kindergarten, why can’t we remember to do it on the rugby pitch?!
They got close, but we won a fun match. Final Score: 12-10. They were happy to play close with us, we were happy to have a nice run-around on a lovely day. We played pretty disorganized rugby, but it was a long break and most players had never played together. Not bad. The boys hung around after the match to enjoy another priceless day down by the Bay. Good stuff!
Two Points to Remember:
1. When in a ruck, you must stay on your feet
2. On defense, find someone to stand beside (flat line defense works)
Cheers,
Aaron |
