Royal humble the Petes

Royal are the only team unbeaten so far after their clinical win against the Petes over the weekend. The rugby dished out was not open and fast rugby, despite the weather gods being kind on the day. Royal just kept the ball with their forwards and moved forward inch by inch. Thus the flamboyancy of the Peterite three quarters was nullified as they were starved of possession for most parts of the game.

To win a game you need to have adequate possession and must be in opposition territory in order to capitalise on the possession held. In admiration of the Petes they defended stoutly for long periods of time against a relentless Royal forwards wave. It was pretty energy sapping stuff and although not aesthetically pleasing it is pretty hard and tough to continue to defend.

The fact that there were only a few infringements during such moves speaks volumes of the discipline of both sides. One such rare indiscipline resulted in the yellow carding of a Peterite prop forward. It was more of over enthusiasm as opposed to wilful infringement. The bulk of the tries scored by Royal were as a result of rolling mauls and five yard scrum pushovers and that too, after almost ten phases of play and superb ball retention.

The Petes panicked as a result of the lack of possession and make a number of basic errors. Their ball handling skills was abysmal and the forwards looked suspect under the high ball. In a number of games this season the Petes have come back from behind thanks to their electric three quarters. Thus whilst they have been able to do the impossible on a number of occasions, miracles take a bit longer, and no such miracle was forthcoming. At times it looked as if Dulaj on his own would be able to slice through, but the lack of support from the others soon put said to such moves.

There were occasions when the third row forwards make a break covering forty metres at least, but the support play was poor and the move resulted in lost ball either by the isolation of the player or some super counter rucking by the Royalists.

At one point with the scores reading 20/14 in favour of Royal, Petes opted to kick for touch instead of getting the three points that was on offer and that too with plenty of time to go. I have always been of the view that the three points must be taken unless the gap is wide and the time remaining is short. In the final analysis, did SPC deserve to lose, and yes I think they deserved what they got.

The crowds at the game were massive and it was a tough task to find a parking spot before the game and quite a hassle to get out once the game was over. Those in charge of the Royal Complex are possibly low on basic mathematics. Tickets were pricey, with the promise of a grand stand view, but unfortunately the place was lacking in terms of number of chairs against the tickets sold.

With the Bradby on the next week, this aspect must be resolved, if spectator interest is to continue. Such was the atmosphere of the game, that there was no time to soak in the fact that SL had scored big against Pakistan in the second ODI including a century from Dilshan.

On Friday the club season kicked off under a new sponsor as Police took on a ‘new look’ Havies side, captained by a CR crossover. There was quite a bit of a ceremony as it was the first game with the trophy being carried out for display by an ardent rugby supporter. The game was pretty scrappy and could be attributed to the fact that teams have had little time to practice given that the Carlton Sevens was concluded a week earlier.

Police had the services of two expatriates under the new rules, and these expatriates must add value to the team. The Police # 8 looked rattled and out of his depth and if he is to make a mark occupying such a vital berth, the quality of his play must improve in leaps and bounds, for the team management to continue to persevere with him.

On the other had the Havies employed the services of a Samoan # 8, and he did make a mark on the game. The other forwards were able to rally round him and feed off his success. We hope that the quality of the club games improve over the next few weeks so that spectator interest will continue.

Whilst Havies ran out winners, some basic errors such as proper throwing in at the line outs and handling the high ball must be attended to if they are to make a bid for the championship title this year. Police on the other hand have some soul searching to do, and must recruit some more players who have played the game at school level as it was evident that some had not done so, given their positional play and not knowing what to do, with ball in hand.

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