Wanderers v Belfast Harlequins Pictures and Match Report.
30/10/2007
IF’S AND BUT’S AGAINST BELFAST
With fourteen weeks of pre season behind us it was time to finally get our year under way with our first AIL match, a home one versus Belfast Harlequins.
Plenty of chat about how tough the Harlequins would be freshly demoted from the First Division and bubbling full of contracted players within the Ulster province determined to spend as little time in the Second Division as possible.
With an unsettled build up due to injury and sickness it was pleasing that our match day preparations went smoothly with a collective belief that if we stuck to our plan we could knock off our highly rated opponents.
We played with the wind behind us in the first half and spent the majority of the 40minutes at the right end of the park. One of the few times BH made it down into our territory was from a failed lineout take that was kicked in behind our backline, where a clearing kick was charged down and unluckily it flew out into the middle of the park, where a Belfast centre picked up and dived over under the posts untouched. We continued to apply pressure on Belfast but only came away with a penalty kick to out-half David Fitzgerald after 37 minutes with the halftime whistle blown at 7-3.
The need to create quicker ball by clearing bodies more effectively at the breakdown was the half time call, not to kick too much ball to an opposition that would punish any miscalculated play against a strong wind. A trading of two penalties each meant the score sat at 13-9 with thirteen minutes to go.
With a reversal of the first half as far as the amount of defensive questions been asked of us, we finally failed to hold some good phase play, went too high on a front rower running a good line from an off loaded ball to score, taking the score to 18-9 after the referee over ruled the touch judges on the conversion.
Credit goes to our never say die attitude as we camped ourselves in Belfast half and applied serious pressure to a well structured defence. Unfortunately we were punished for our endeavour right on fulltime when we gave up a 90 metre intercept try.
The score 25-9 was a disappointing result but we have to take it on the chin and make positive progress.
We have to make sure there are no if’s or but’s against Barnhall on Saturday by converting the opportunities that we work hard to create.
ANDREW SPRAGGON
HEAD COACH/DIRECTOR OF RUGBY
