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Senior XV vs Army14 Sep11 |
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Match Report by Maj Mark Stuart |
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The first half was a pulsating and intense affair that caught the Army off guard, not expecting to be on the receiving end of some well constructed and incisive play. A late penalty to the Army brought the score to 18-7 at half time; after a converted Taukei try was the reward for the attacking RLC play (you may have guessed that I was not present for the majority of the first half!). The second half started with end to end play and was very intense. The Army players were clearly rattled by the RLC challenge and passions were running high, as was evident when the scrum half got up close and personal with RLC scrum half Gareth Parry (who was obviously on the wrong team tonight!). The Army kept sustained pressure on the RLC defence, but were thwarted at every turn and eventually coughed up a knock-on to relieve the pressure. Unfortunately though the resultant scrum was won against the head and the Army No8 picked up and crashed over (a really bad scrum to lose against the head!). The conversion took the score to 25-7 to the Army. It was not long until the RLC were back into their stride, forcing the Army backwards once more. Excellent pressure through the middle forced the Army into conceding a penalty, and such was the confidence that a kick for goal was passed up for a kick to touch. The resultant lineout was expertly taken by the skipper, Andy Geary, and backs released directly into the defensive line. The Army defence remained resolute so Gareth Parry gave a perfect pass from the base of a ruck to allow Charlie Corderoy to slot a perfect drop goal. This decision making allowed the RLC to keep the scoreboard ticking over, something that was sadly lacking last season (25-10). Then came a bizarre phase of play that did nothing to help the RLC fight back and everything to provide succour to the Army. The Army restarted and clearly (well clear to everyone in the stadium, bar the referee) knocked on in an attempt to field the ball. As everyone waited for the expected whistle, the Army re-gathered the ball and cruised in under the posts to extend their lead (32-10). The Corps were now very much in the realms of catch-up rugby, which is never good when competing against the Army backs (fielding our own Malakai Magnus and Gavin Ferguson). This was evident when the ball was cleared from the RLC 22, only to find its way directly into the arms of Maggy, who then opened up the field of play with a perfectly weighted pass to the Army fullback. He took the ball on the gallop and raced through the first line of defence, eventually being brought to ground 10 metres out. With the RLC defence in disarray, quick recycling allowed the Army hooker to bustle over (39-10). That was not much the RLC could have done about that try, it was a perfect display of incisive, powerful and penetrative play by the Army. The game was now clearly out of reach and the RLC players began to look tired, especially after a very competitive game the previous Sunday. The Army were in no mood to dish out sympathy and exploited this period of malaise to weave through some ragged defending to touch down (46-10). Once again a poor kick out of defence found its way directly into the arms of the grateful Maggy who then brought the Army No8 into play. He proceeded to smash through several tired tackles before being brought to ground just shy of the line. The inevitable quick ball proved too much for the over stretched defence and the Army score to take them past the half century (53-10). To their credit the RLC then found a new lease of life and took the attack back to the Army. A period of sustained pressure ensued, containing some excellent support play from Ronan Bulger. Then a superb, fleet footed break from Junior smashed the Army defence backwards and after some superb recycling Vaka was released to glide through to score a fantastic team try under the posts. The conversion was easily scored by Gareth Parry before the referee brought proceedings to a close with the score 53-17. A step up in class of opposition brought out the best in a new look RLC squad. The first half performance certainly gave the Army coaches something to think about and although the Corps leaked tries in the second half, came back strongly to have the final say. There are some new faces to add to the stalwarts, and certainly a wave of optimism for the forthcoming Inter Corps on 21 Sep. With the same positive attitude and attacking play, this season could be quite productive. Final Score – RLC 17 Army 53
Squad
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