18.10.2008 J2 XV v Bective (A)

18/10/20082.00pmLeagueBective Rangers15 – 22St. Marys J2 XVAway

St Mary’s College  J2 V Bective J2
22                            15
18th October 2008

This was a game that could have gone either way in the end. In truth it was a very scrappy affair not helped by poor refereeing but it was a good wake up call for our lads which will hopefully get rid of any complacency that had set in after the last few results. Playing in fits and starts we managed a try after 15 minutes with Barry Cahill going in under the posts after a good break through Bective’s midfield. Then when Jonny Ellis ran in another a few minutes later, it looked like the team had settled down and we would start to put together a good performance. However this did not happen as again we lost our momentum through a mixture of poor play and bad refereeing. Then just before half time the Bective out half slotted a kick, after another crazy decision from the ref (think your getting the idea here!) which left the score at 12-3 going into the break.

The second half began well and we started to get some good phases together, the pack began taking it to the Bective 8 and from a lineout and pre planned move Jonny Ellis found himself at the bottom of a pile to score again. At this stage we were in control and after good work from Alan Shirley, Jason Verdon went over under the posts. 22-3 ahead you’d think the floodgates would have opened, when up stepped the ref again, he yellow carded our full back Gary Roche for a dubious high tackle and Bective took immediate advantage of it by scoring two tries which brought them to within a try and conversion. Another yellow card was shown to Scrum half mucker, for what no one really knows, but it nearly cost us the game, luckily we managed to close it out in the end. Taking the positives from the game it was a bonus point win which put us top of the table and hopefully it dispelled any lingering complacency.

Rob Ryan