Portland put up a scrappy and determined performance against Hartford Wanderers this past weekend, but in the end they were outmanned and outgunned by a well disciplined visiting team.

Last time I checked, the HOV lane out of Hartford only runs a couple of miles, so gas prices in Connecticut must be a lot cheaper than Maine given that Hartford decided to bring along about 45 players, plus assorted hangers-on. Portland meanwhile displayed a much more minimalist approach, with the usual dribble of players arriving up to five minutes before game time. As with baseball, the differences between big-market and small-market ball can sometimes be painfully apparent, but just like the Twins, the Portland team were able to do a lot with a little.

The first half was largely dominated by Hartford, as Portland worked to develop some cohesion between their team, and some belief that they could take the game to Hartford. In the mean time however the visitors were able to score a couple of tries and a penalty, leaving the half-time score at something like 13-0. After the break, Portland camped in the Hartford Red Zone, although they were unable to pile on any points early. The visitors did eventually yield, giving up a couple of scores, although Portland lacked the means to convert either of them.

Despite the apparent comeback, Hartford were not idle, running in 3 or 4 fast break tries of their own, displaying some impressive discipline, and putting the final result beyond and doubt. What the final score was exactly, I'm not sure, but I would guess it was something like 35-10.

The B game offered much of the same, with a completely different bunch of Wanderers, all with the same haircut as the first lot. Given the long drive, and all the time sitting around, their B side was annoyingly gung-ho, and did not let up on the now tired Portland players. As a result, Portland tried to pull some of the oldest tricks in the book, much to the consternation of the ref. Despite all their guile however, they could not supress the Hartford side, who came up eventual winners, 17-10.

Practice continues this week at the new time of 6pm, in advance of this weekends away trip to our old pals, Old Gold. Last time I checked their website, they were still running the following ad: "Old Gold Rugby is currently looking for a new coach to help direct this team to D2 champs." Holy shit, if there are any coaches out there that can do that, then their talents might be better served creating world peace or finding a cure for cancer. But be warned, the last bloke that pulled off a miracle on a par with getting Old Gold to the D2 finals was crucified. Amen.