Royal’s great escape

Anyone who thought that the game would be pretty one sided was in for a rude shock. I had indicated in the past that Royal’s defence was suspect and their tackling even worse. The big burly Josephian forwards exploited this to the hilt and Royal was in shambles.

There were 12 tries scored in the game and eventually what separated the two sides was the penalty that was put over by the Royalists. Midway through the first half the Royal skipper limped off with a rather serious looking knee injury. I was surprised to see him take the field a few minutes later with a heavily strapped leg. The foolishness did not last long as he limped off once again and this time there was a sense of finality to his absence. The medical staff that permitted him to resume must certainly have been persuaded by the fact that the Joes were going great guns and that Royal needed all the experience that it could muster in order to keep the rampaging Joes at bay.

As soon as the Joes were awarded a penalty they chose to take a short tap and run with the ball. It was quite refreshing to watch and it paid rich dividends. Joes ‘Man Mountain’ Keyser touched down thrice as a result of such a move leaving a number of Royal defenders scattered on the floor and looking bewildered. Whilst he may have an advantage in height and size, it is possible to bring him down if the tackler has got his basics right. In this instance, the Royal defenders decided to take him round the midriff with little effect.

The Joes three quarters are also quite nippy and have improved over the last three games, learning from past mistakes. With about five minutes to go, the Joes were ahead and all they had to do was to retain the ball or make sure that play was in the opposition half and run the clock down. In that aspect they failed and that failure cost them the game. Royal, it must be said never gave up and despite losing their skipper played with a sense of vigour and purpose. This eventually paid dividends as with minutes to go, one last raid into the opposition half yielded the desired results. When the final whistle went the Royal team and their supporters breathed a combined sigh of relief. I am sure that they were aware that they had just escaped defeat at the hands of the Joes.

In terms of tactical play, there was very little in evidence and the Royal flankers were inconspicuous and virtually did nothing to tackle the opposition three quarters. The Joes on the other hand seldom committed more than four men to a ruck and used the others to make inroads into the opposition territory with positive results. Both sides were guilty of some aimless kicking throughout the game with neither of them being able to either to gain possession or territory.

My player of the day was the Joes skipper for this tireless workload and his leading the team by example. It makes me wonder if the results of the games between the Joes and the Petes and Royal would have been different if they were required to play these teams at the end of the season.

It was good to see that the referee and his two assistants being wired up and now being able to communicate. It appears that there are some teething problems at this stage which is quite understandable. This is definitely a step in the right direction, and I would like to see a greater dialogue between the three wise men. On a few occasions I noticed certain infringements which had escaped the eye of the referee. I would like to see the two assistants bring such instances to the attention of the referee so that the overall quality of the game improves.

In the last few games, I have observed that members of the coaching staff of Royal are at times on the field of play whenever there is a breakdown barking out instructions to the young lads. Whilst I believe that the Physio and those entrusted with providing fluids are permitted others must remain on the bench and not even close to the field of play. I hope that the referees will take note of this in the future games.

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