BBRFC - RC9

Written by Nicolas Becuwe Thursday, 06 October 2011 15:51

2011 Sunday October the 2nd - 3 PM

The previous Sunday saw the Baa-Baas winning their first game against Leuven 2 (36-20). A good game where the Baa-Baas dominated their opponents by scoring 6 tries (Charlie, Boule, Simone, Simon, Pieter and Charles).

This week brought another battle against RC9, a team from Flanders that nobody seems to be able to place on the map. As last week, the sun was beating down, and before kick-off a water break each 20 minutes was decided by the referee.

Unlike the two first games, where the Baa-baas scored in the first minute, the team was largely on the back foot during the first minutes.

A few tackles missed, a lack of concentration, of aggressiveness and the energy-sapping sun were hampering the Baa-Baas, and saw RC9 leading in the first 5 minutes. The first try came from a scrum in the Baa-Baas 20's, where the pack came under a lot of pressure and the opponent number 10 found the opportunity to score. The Baa-Baa's coach, furious at the passivity of his players, was screaming on the line: but there was nothing to do, the Baa-Baas were sleeping. A good line-out in RC9's half could have seen the advantage swing to the Baa-Baas - but RC9's number 8 succeeded in intercepting the ball in the lineout and ran in to score the second try.

Five minutes later RC9 were scoring yet another, meaning that after 20 minutes, the Baa-Baas were already trailing by 19 points. Yet as in the first game the Baa-baas revived themselves, now defending hard against each attack and starting to assume control of the game. Some good moves from the backs and the forwards lead to a penalty in RC9's 20. Scrum-half Ollee tapped the ball, passed to Simon who- as last week - broke the defensive line to score the Baa-baa's first try. They were now back on track. Special mention should also be made of the entrance of Matteo as an impact player in the second row: another decisive factor in the Baa-baa revival.

The second half continued in much the same vein, with RC9 attacking but the Baa-Baas showing renewed spirit, and cutting-edge in the form of Charles and Andrew. They were responding with hard tackles and a defense of iron: Except for two penalties, RC9 were destined not to trouble the scorers further. In contrast, the Baa-Baa's were working as a unit with Ulli, Fausto, Matteo and Simon putting pressure by attacking the lines and forming promising mauls. The backs were also finding interesting gaps and Nick, following a good kick, scored the second try for BBRFC.

The suspense grew all-consuming and the Baa-baas were continuing to resist RC9's assaults. Once again, the Baa-baas were taking control of the game which led to a third try scored by their captain after an opportunistic penalty. Now the arrears stood at just 8 points, with the Baa-baas looking better than the opposition. Yet a yellow card incurred by Michel after a very good game reduced the Baa-baas to playing 14 against 15 and took the sting out of the game for RC9. The match ended in defeat by 15 points to 26, but with parity in terms of tries (3 apiece). Needless to say, the return game will be an interesting one.

Despite the defeat, the Baa-baas showed again that they could come back from a difficult situation. We saw a team with greater aggression in defense and a real desire to win and control the game. But this match should also hammer home the point that the Baa-baas have to be in the match from the beginning.

The day ended in the Europa with a rousing rendition of Iron Maiden's "666 the Number of the Beast" and another good session of celebrations that lasted longer than is customary (and, England take note, no dwarf-tossing or 'mystery blondes'). A sign that a team is born?

Squad: 1. Ulli; 2. Nico (cap.); 3. Fausto; 4. Simon; 5. Marco; 6. Charles; 7. Andrew; 8. Tom; 9. Ollee; 10. Nick; 12. Michel; 13. Pieter; 11. Fabio; 14. Ken; 15. Fadi.;16. Matteo; 17. John; 18. Sven; 19. Nico; 20. Francesco; 21. Paul Coach: Arnaud

Awards: Man of the match: Ollee/ Matteo - Dick of the day: Tom