Portland RFC 22 Old Gold Rugby 3

Note to self: Don't try to piece together a match report two days after the game. Note to team: next time I'm trying to mooch a drink off you in Fore Play, make sure I've taken down a few details about the game before you hook me up.

Alright, here goes. One thing I do know; it takes more than a fancy new website to play rugby, and Old Gold learned that hard lesson at Fox Street this Saturday. To give them credit, it was a bigger and more physical Old Gold side than we've seen in recent years, but if anything that only serves bring the best out of the Portland boys, who are always up for a bit of push and shove.

At the start of the game both sides were pretty evenly matched, with the home team adjusting to some new faces in their own scrum, and the Old Gold backs trying to string together more than two passes at a time. Keep working on that one lads....

Before long though the Portland pack settled in to their groove, and found themselves with a line-out, five meters out from the Old Gold line. Credit to Leo Caoullette (well, that's how I'm going to spell it), who stepped in at short notice and put his throws on the mark, allowing Portland to take clean ball in this instance, and maul it over the line for the first score. When I looked down it was both Tractor and Jeff Keating with their hands on the ball. $20 from either of you will secure sole credit for that score.

For the next 20 minutes Portland forwards took the game by the scruff of the neck, and soon found themselves on the Old Gold line again. This time Jimmy Hendrix picked up the ball in loose play and was able to bully/wriggle his way over from five yards out. After that, I think a back scored, and I'm going to take a guess that it was Spider, but please feel free to set me straight on that.

Half time brought a couple of substitutions, and as Portland adjusted, the game fell a little flat, and Old Gold were able to get themselves within kicking distance. The home lads gave up the inevitable penalty, most likely for "hands in" or "going over the top", because we're all a bunch of cheaters in the end. Old Gold stepped up and took the three points, thinking that it might somehow give them the impetus to get back in the game. Did they have a Plan B?

Apparently not, since Portland soon regained their compusure, and made sure they only gave away penalties at the other end of the field. More importantly, Portland still had another score in them, and Jeff Keating tells me that this one was all him. If anyone wants to e-mail me and let me know how it all happened, I might even post it.

That was about it for the match, although we should give credit to Old Gold for not doing their usual dissapearing act when they get 15 points down. As we all know, it's NERFU that counts, so let's see which two sides show up down there. "See you in the Azteka", as Bobby Moore said to Pele after England had lost 1-0 to Brazil in the qualifying rounds of the 1970 World Cup. [The Azteka Stadium in Mexico City was to host the final that year, which Brazil made it to, but England sadly did not, thanks to a heartbreaking extra time goal by the bloody Germans in the Quarter Final - who else?]

But I digress. Old Gold were able to redeem themselves a little in the B Game by playing with a passion that was lacking from their A Side performance. Shame it was just the B Game, eh? Final score of that one was probably about 12-5 in their favor, but I'm not sure.

Man Of The Match went to Leo in the A Game for stepping up and getting it done (quietly), and to Bernie in the B Game for continuing to raise his game, and just getting better and better.

That'll do it for now. Practice on Tuesday at the usual time and place. We have a bus to fill on Saturday, so bring your mum.