J3 A and B Cup Round Up.
03/04/2007
J3 “A” and “B” Cup Round up.
The “A” and “B” Teams both had mixed results this last weekend.
The “B” Team took on Monkstown on Saturday in merrion road and lost 0-23 to a very experienced opponent. Monkstown started aggressively and took the game to Wanderers , with their pack taking control especially in the loose and they controlled the game from start to finish.
Wanderers lineout worked well , with Gareth McNamara and Rob Ennis winning some good ball , but the scrum was under pressure from some “old heads” in the Monkstown pack. It was in the loose that Monsktown dictated the game with Wanderers struggling to come to terms with this area.
As a result , the Wanderers backs had little clean, fast ball to work with and found it hard work to break through the Monkstown defence.
All in all it was a tough day for the “B” Team who all gave 100% and who`s commitment and effort could not be faulted.. All the Under 20s that played did themselves , the 20s and Andrew Spraggon proud, particularly Ruain and Robbie. The other players to perform well Jonny , Alex, and Eoghan in the backs , whilst up front Gareth and Steve Campbell played well.
The “A” Team took on Old Belvedere in anglesea road on Sunday , and came away with a hard fought victory. The match started at a frantic pace , with the heavier Belvo pack taking the game to Wanderers , particulary in the tight exchanges, but the wanderers pack managed to defend stoutly with some massive hits being put in .
The Belvedere half backs were kicking to great effect , pinning Wanderers back in their own half , but Wanderers countered by some good play from the backs to get us back in good field position. The opening half was fought out between the two 22s with both teams failing to make many try scoring opportunities thanks to ferocious defending from both teams. The only scores in the first half were from penalties , with the score at half time 12-3 to Wanderers
On resumption of the second half , the wanderers scrum and lineout started to improve and more ball was won for our backline , but try as we could , Wanderers still could not get over for a try. It took continous and franctic last ditch defence to keep Belvedere out but the Wanderers 15 kept fighting away for the 40 mins and held out for a deserved victory.
Again the only scores in the second half were from penalties .
Credit must be given to Old Belvedere both on and off the pitch . They were a very tough and experienced team who played well and were somewhat lucky not to have won, and the match was played in excellent spirit throughout. Also , credit to them too off the pitch, for having a large dressing room kept aside for us well in advance of the match despite the fact that there was a huge mini rugby blitz going on at the same time.
All 16 players played their part in a excellent victory . We now play Barnhall at home.
Dom Maxwell/Richard Springer,
J3 Coaches,
Wanderers.
