The rugby gods did not smile on our first home game of the second half. We had several players still on the IR list and started our warm up with only 15 players. It was great to have Dustin and Russ back from their hiatus. Anthony and Jeke were late arrivals and they did help bolster our numbers. The Abby/Evergreen had close to 20 players from the get go. In addition to our limited numbers, the temperature continued to drop even though sun was forecasted for the afternoon.
When it rains, it pours.
Nevertheless the Abby/Evergreen kicked off to us to start the game. Because of the sudden downpour, neither team was able to generate much offence. Timely tackles by Cory, Preston, and Dustin kept the Abby/Evergreen off the score board. The weather only got worse as it started to hail and sleet. Jamie wisely called an end to the first quarter to avoid the miserable weather conditions. He would extend the 2nd quarter by two minutes to make up for the time loss. The Abby/Evergreen were very appreciative of the tent that was provided for their use. It was scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the foul weather conditions did not ease up. Play continued to be sloppy with knock-ons and dropped balls occurring regularly. Both teams squandered scoring opportunities, but the Abby/Evergreens eventually scored the first try on an overlap. Later, Dirk did return the ball off a punt for an amazing 60 metres. Unfortunately, he ran out of steam and we were unable to capitalize on it. Ted had another of his patented 20m runs, bowling the opposition over down the field. The ball finally bounced our way (literally) moments later. We were able to recover a loose ball which Cory picked up and ran the length of the field. As he crossed the goal line, he flipped the ball to Lauren for her first try. This tied the score and the half ended at one apiece.
At the beginning of the second half, Dave Irving made his debut at prop, a position that he was relatively new at. He held his own and with the return of Jamie L.and Jeke making tackles on their big men, we began to seize control of the game. We began to put phases together and were eventually rewarded when Preston scored our second try. This put us up by one. We still had control of the game until one of their big men tackled Anthony with a head-to-head collision. Anthony got the worst of it and had to leave the match. Anthony returned from the dressing room and declared he was fit to return to the game, but cooler heads prevailed and convinced him to sit out the rest of the match. The end of the 3rd quarter saw us up by one.
Momentum swung like a pendulum during the last 15 minutes. They penned us in our own half
for a good portion of the quarter. On two occasions, they had a two on one break close to the sideline, but our cagey red short winger, Rob Rumley, psyched them out and their winger dropped the ball, which landed out of bounds on both occasions. They continued to press and their big man finally crossed the goal line to tie the score. Undaunted, we regained momentum and came close to scoring. We almost pulled it off when Cory outraced their last man to reach the ball in the endzone off a Twit punt. Unfortunately, he could not quite touch the ball down and the referee disallowed the try. We were set for a lineout at their 15m line, but the whistle blew and the game ended in a draw at 2 apiece.
The weather may have been a deciding factor, but both teams were deserving of a win. The stellar play of Jamie L. and Cory helped stabilize the game for the Twits. Lauren was named MOM by the Abby/Evergreen and Dustin was the Twit’s MOM. Both teams were treated to a fabulous spaghetti dinner cooked by our very own Iron Chef Gord. Prior to the meal, Gord’s choir sang “On Top of Spaghetti” to put everyone in the mood.
(R) Lauren match M.O.M.
scoring her first try