Reserves game report
Submitted by Bad Boy
A cluster of crispers and a clutch of young gals from our women’s team ventured to the hinterlands of Langford yesterday to support our mens’ rugby teams as they took to the field against Westshore. Speaking of the field, it was freshly rolled and aerated making for good footing and fast-paced contests, despite the considerable evidence of recent geese gatherings.
Our reserve squad spent the first ten minutes of their match mired in midfield with their opponents, with both groups guilty of atrocious kicking. Ironically, a clever kick by Bay’s husky #10, Mike Nieuwenhuysen, allowed the speedy phenom Jyhe Graffi to gather and score the first try of the game to give the visitor’s a 5-0 lead. After a serious leg injury to Wyatt Pilz, veteran Jordan Brown comes in to replace him and makes an immediate impact with his aggressive defence. JS Cook (Chris Mooney’s cousin) slots two penalties, spaced 5 minutes apart, to lengthen the Bays lead to 11- nil, as the Brits say.
Wth 10 minutes in the first half remaining, an errant JBAA pass sails out of the end zone giving Westshore a set scrum on the five. They push the smaller Bay pack over for their first score of the game. It is clear at this stage the home team strategy is to use kicking, rolling substitutes and heavy forwards to wear the visitors down. Despite this strategy, the metronomic Cooke is able to stroke his third penalty and close out the half at 14-5 for the Navy Blue, giving our contingent of supporters a chance to gobble a hot dog and enjoy the carnival-like atmosphere.
The second half proved to be somewhat of a disaster for JBAA. The rolling-sub, forward-bashing strategy, accompanied by aggressive defence by Westshore, enables them to score 2 more tries and take a 15-14 lead. The visitors defend valiantly and with another Cooke penalty re-take the lead at 17-14 with 6 minutes left to play. At this stage the game became very scrappy with mini-skirmishes alighting with increasing frequency. Once again the home team scored an unconverted try leaving only two minutes for the Bays to respond; their valiant effort sputters at midfield as the whistle blows during another melee of harmless pushing and shoving with the scoreboard favouring Westshore 20-17 and leaving the contentious issue of rolling subs to the adjudicators of such transgressions.
Photo courtesy Dave Nicholson
Prems Game Report
Submitted by Bernhard the Brewer
JBAA beat a mostly mulleted Westshore team 40-28 on Saturday in a game that was a lot closer than it should have been.
The weather outside the Q Centre Arena was just cold enough to make Barry shiver (thanks to an unknown Reserve for providing him with a winter jacket). Thankfully rain didn’t fall.
Things happen quickly after the kick-off. Mitch intercepts a mulleted opponent at four minutes just inside the Westshore forty. He has the jets and touches down just to the right of the posts. Chef Burton slots the convert. 7-0 JBAA.
Three minutes later, following a decent kickoff and three phases between the forties, a penalty for reasons unbeknownst to us is awarded to the mullets. Their small kicker with a big boot slots it. 7-3 JBAA with not even seven minutes played.
The next ten minutes take place entirely in the forties. JBAA wins a penalty, but Thomas can’t slot it. Barry, teeth no longer clattering, mentions the JBAA fullback might be moved to the dish pit next shift. A few minutes later the small kicker with a big boot slots another penalty for the mullets. 7-6 JBAA.
The JBAA defense, led by Teigan White, forces an error or two, and the Bays win another penalty. Thomas, fearing the pit, smartens up and slots this one from about forty. 10-6 JBAA.
Westshore gathers the next kickoff quite well, but our defense is sharp. Then something we don’t see often happens: the now svelte I-don’t-eat-Chicken-on-the-Run-or-Ice-Cream-anymore Blake van Heyningen, Captain Bay, gets a bit bullied at the scrum. More on that later, but we think Andrew McPherson and Slobo Chabal talk some sense into him almost immediately.
The Mullets still can’t get past the JBAA forty, but are awarded another penalty just outside their half at the twenty minute mark. The small kicker slots it. 10-9 JBAA - a little too close for comfort.
A quick comment here about what happens at the twenty five minute mark. Everytime we travel to Westshore something weird happens (like me getting in trouble for a report like this that might result in me having to write a poem next time). This is a good one, though.
Mitch clears the ball after Westshore finally forays into our twenty-two. His kick is a bit high, giving the Mega Mullet winger time to get comfortable. The Bays’ spares, of course, try to put M-squared off his game, thinking (hoping?) he’ll knock on. He gathers it quite well, it turns out, but before going for a jaunt, he turns and stares down the spares. Like a square, when he turns to make for the JBAA lair, he trips, falls, errs, and then gets laughed at by the Bears.
We see some murderous boshes, mostly from Mostyn, Teigan, and Isaac; a few killer fends, mostly from Thomas, Crosby, and Sean, and a yellow card for a Westshore face-tackler to round out the half. 10-9 JBAA at halftime.
A few minutes into half two sees a decent play. After hearing from his pack, and knowing meat’s back on the menu, Blake and the Bays lay a solid foundation from a set scrum just inside Westshore territory. Mitch, Crosby, and Mostyn connect before finding Craig Doublename with a grubber, who touches down in the corner. Thomas, now destined to be running the line again, makes no mistake 17-9 JBAA.
A few minutes later, after another powerful scrum, Sean fends and scores in the same corner. 22-9 JBAA.
Full credit to the Westshore mullets who come roaring back a few minutes later to score, making it 22-16. The game devolves into a bit of a crapshoot here, but since you already know the final score, you know it’ll be OK.
After a few minutes and a few stoppages, JBAA comes roaring back. After a number of hard phases, Mitch scores in the opposite corner. Thomas slots it again. 29-16 JBAA. Unfortunately, the mullets do the same a few minutes later, and then again ten minutes later. All of a sudden, it’s 29-28 JBAA. If the brain trust was in attendance (they’re still afraid of the Carnival) I’m sure they’d let the expletives fly. And it would have been nice if they were there because we could have all discussed how Brian Spanton is not good at commenting on rugby games.
With about twelve minutes to go, the field gets a bit more frugal, a bit more utilitarian, a bit more taller, and a bit more sarcastic after the successive Westshore tallies, as Jim de Goede and Mike Nieuwenhuysen join the fray.
JBAA score almost immediately. Apologies, we’re not sure who scored, but we’re sure that Thomas missed the convert. 34-28 JBAA. The wind comes out of the Westshore sails after that tally. They struggle for territory or possession for the next ten minutes. Thomas slots two more penalties, one with nine minutes left and one with two minutes left. The last minute is an error festival, but who cares? JBAA wins 40-28.
