What a difference a week can make in terms of weather and with some positional changes and one or two changes in the backline the Wanderers team made the short journey to Donnybrook with only one thing on their mind, to win the game. However like so many games this season we only came away with a losing bonus point much to my frustration. We as a team have to learn not to keep thinking we are doing our best but that in order to succeed we have to do what is necessary.
The game started at great pace and within the first 5 minutes Bective had successfully achieved two easy line breaks in the backs and with a well controlled maul got the first points on the board. The try was successfully converted putting Bective 7 points to the good. We quickly remedied the defensive frailties in the backs and came to terms with their mauling game and managed to get a steady supply of possession particularly off the lineout. This enabled us to start gathering momentum and ascendancy on the possession and territory stakes. We were now putting considerable pressure on Bective and a quick tap penalty from Thomas Hontebeyrie nearly put Alex Byrne in the corner, however he was held up, we showed good control in retaining possession and through good building work we managed to get Victor Ball over just to let of the goalposts which gave James Ritchie an easier conversion which he slotted, 7 points a piece game on! Straight from the kick off, we returned Bective to their own half and continued the pressure on them. The backs and forwards were combining well and gaining territory with relative ease. Good building work through the backs put Peter Burke through a gap and a deft grubber kick for Rory Pratt nearly put us in for our second try. Roy was taken out and James Ritchie slotted the penalty. 10 – 7 halftime playing well and in a position where we were able to manage whatever Bective were throwing at us and playing some good go forward rugby.
Bective started the second half with greater conviction and quite possibly their pressure aligned with our inability to continue our good form from the first half led to this defeat. Our lineout which started well in the second half started to crack, it wasn’t that we weren’t wining the possession but the possession was so scrappy that we couldn’t build any momentum from our lineout. Our kicking game deteriorated and when Philip Roe was sin binned the scrum felt the pressure. Therefore we were now struggling for any quality primary possession and Bective piled on the pressure and converted a drop goal to level the scores. The times when we attacked off good ball we were getting way in behind Bective, however unfortunately these were few and far between in the second half. We have to understand how to keep pressure on the opposition rather than constantly putting ourselves under pressure through our own mistakes. The game now looked destined to be a draw as our defence was strong and Bective weren’t going to score a try unless it came through an intercept or some fortuitous play. However with 5 minutes on the clock when we had possession, Peter Burns got isolated 5 meters inside our own half and the referee deemed he held onto the ball, penalty Bective 13 – 10. We now had to chase the game in the final minutes and on the stroke of full time we got a penalty to level matters 5 metres inside the Bective half. James Ritchie earlier in the game had a penalty from a similar position but it just dropped short. This time he had the distance but the ball went left and wide. Final whistle and another game gone from us.
