Peterites were outclassed

Even the most diehard rugby supporter will agree that the Peterites were outthought, outclassed and outplayed last Saturday. The Trinity Lions had come in with a definite game plan and key Peterite playmakers were well marked and were not given enough room to manoeuvre.

The Pete’s have only themselves, to blame as time and again they lost the ball in contact, which is a cardinal sin. With ball in hand, they relied more on individual brilliance and the support play was nonexistent.

The Pete’s tackling was abysmal as was the winning of the lineout. Even in a three man lineout, they were unable to win the ball on the own throw in and was to my mind the height of absurdity. The Lions bounced back from a loss in the previous week to the Thoras and played some very well coordinated rugby. After the loss to the Thoras, the Lions had brought back two key players and they did prove a point.

Their defence was immaculate and they are great spoilers. They tackled hard and in doing so ensured that the Pete’s lost possession of the ball. The resultant turnover ball was put to good effect. The hero of the game was the Lions skipper who picked up the ball in their own 22 sped down the left flank, and with support stretching across the field fed the ball at the opportune moment and the try was scored far right.

They had covered almost 80 m and the width of the pitch was used. The villain of the game was the Pete’s replacement No. 10, who was clueless in positional play and just ran with the ball like a disoriented prop forward straight into the waiting defenders. Anyone who believes that he be given a second chance and can be considered a future No. 10 needs to consult a psychiatrist.

The Pete’s were so rattled that they made some positional changes in the second half adding to their own woe and misery. The regular fly half was switched to the role of scrum half and he was seen with the three quarter line at the time of a Trinity put in. All in all the think tank of Pete rugby needs to go back to the drawing board once more and some serious soul searching is required.

Referee Jamaldeen had a pretty decent game but could have done better with some assistance from the two assistant referees. As of now the two assistant referees are limited to flag waving when the ball is out of play or when the kick sails between the upright. Surely we can have some form of basic communication hooked up for the betterment of the game and the improvement of skill of the local referees.

In the other games, Wesley’s’ unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt at the hands of Royal. Science got the better of Pathana, and it is sad to see the Pathana side in tatters with some internal rift as well. Having had such a good season last year, they were expected to put up an even better performance this year. Politics in sport is a bane that we could all do without.

The SLRFU appear to be thinking ahead of the next Asian 5 Nations tournament. A meeting is to be held with the President and club captains on Friday to unveil their plans for the future. This type of thinking and planning ahead is vital if we are to make an impact. Last week Japan got the better of Hong Kong by a margin of 38 points. We cannot expect miracles in the first year but with a little bit of planning and foresight, we can give a good account of ourselves.  

(The writer can be reached via [email protected])