In a match that had so much on the line for both teams it was Bective that came to play with plenty of spirit and hunger before the four week break for the festive season.
With our local rivals only a few points above us on the AIL points table it was expected to be a closely fought match until a horrific start had us thinking that all our nightmares not Christmases had come at once.
There were 7 changes in our 20 from the UCC match the week prior. We welcomed back Captain Bevan Cantrell, outhalf Billy Treacy and winger Paddy Brophy. We were missing tighthead Garrett Fitzgerald through suspension and Greg Thompson who was overseas with work commitments. As openside David Burns had finally succumbed to a shoulder injury, Gerard Lambe from the U20s had to make the huge step up to start the match.
The pre match build-up went smoothly and the focus and concentration was sharp prior to kick-off. So after Bective ran riot for the first 24 minutes it seemed like some hadn’t actually got out of bed with the score at 26-3 and Bective already having banked a bonus point.
We had to figure why we had such an apparent disregard for the basic fundamentals of the game of rugby that we all picked up when running around the paddock on a chilly Sunday morning playing with the minis. The one skill that, after basic tuition, comes from within the individual and how much his heart and head want to implement it is Tackling! Bective were playing some positive Rugby but were being gifted line breaks that led to tries from the amount of one-on-one tackles we were missing. This spread like a disease through other areas of our game like passing and catching and holding on to hard earned possession for longer than a couple of phases.
Halftime and we were standing shocked at the 29-6 score line and the demand that we had to wake up switch on and toughen up if we were to stem the flow of further embarrassment. Ten minutes into the second half and number 8 Kiripati was testing Bective’s line, bursting through and popping a perfect of load to mid-fielder McNamara to score. Fitzgerald converts to finally get us into the match. The next Twenty minutes was a balance of controlled structured rugby from Bective and frenetic tempo style from Wanderers with the obvious need to score points quickly. This didn’t happen and after more poor defence out wide any chance of reversing the nightmare of the first half was gone with a Bective try to their speedy winger under the posts taking the score to 36-13.
No more points and the match ended with Bective deservedly very happy with the result and 5 competition points that are like gold at this time of the year.
To our credit we were able to come back after our horror start and play some Rugby but we were always going to battle after that first 25 minutes. Players that stood out were Kiripati, who was a huge presence with and without the ball, Scrum-half Brendon O’Brien who was again very accurate and effective. Special mention to flanker Lambe who stood up to the plate and tackled all day showing some of his more experienced peers a lesson in what the mind can conceive.
We have a month to consider what we have to do in the New Year. So much can be achieved yet in this season but a change in attitude is essential. It is back to basics, with fitness and commitment key to our efforts to turn things around. We have shown what we are capable of in our positive results but need consistent development in order to achieve this.
