Tuesday, September 21, 2004
OK, scratch that stuff about the meeting at Gritty’s tonight. That’s all wrong, and will probably be held next week. Practice is ON tonight at Riverton School, under the lights at 7pm. We will be continuing practice at this location from now on. Make sure you make it. Call for directions if you are unfamiliar with Riverton – 329.3630 (me) or 751.8029 (J-Wil). I’ll try to get them posted soon.
On a field more suited to water polo than rugby, Old Gold got the better of Portland this weekend, as both sides sought to come away with bragging rights in this ongoing DII rivalry.
Old Gold, fielding a new look pack, that seemed to have spent a good deal of time at the buffet table over the summer, looked to assert their physical presence early. Using the slope of the field to their advantage, the home team employed a strategy of crash ball that was always going to be hard to defend. While the conditions made it very difficult for either side to maintain possession for very long, ultimately Old Gold were able to break through the Portland defenses and register the first points. Place kicking was not going to be anyone’s strong point on the day, and the score line stood at 5-0 in favor of the “units”.
While Portland began to muster some offense of their own, the lack of predictable possession from the set piece, combined with the early departure of their fly-half, Joey D’Andria, meant it was difficult for them to muster much of a cohesive effort. As a result, Old Gold were soon banging the ball down the slope again, and the laws of physics prevailed, giving them their second score of the half. Unconverted again, the score stood at 10-0 “units”.
Late in the first half though, Portland found themselves at the “dry” end of the pitch and were able to secure clean ball from a line out, which they then drove menacingly towards the Old Gold line. Sensing trouble, the Old Gold forwards did what they know best, and set out to pull the maul down. Although they were unsuccessful, they were able to bring the maul to standstill, resulting in a scrum in their favor. Fortunately the ball managed to squirt out the of the back under pressure from Jerry Alves, and the vigilant Jeff Keating was able to jump on the ball in the try zone. Score one for the good guys. Jason Willey was able to defy the odds and make the conversion, leaving the half-time score at 10-7.
The second half began with Portland applying some gravitational pressure of their own, although they were unable to wade through and cross the Old Gold line. Eventually a kickable penalty opportunity presented itself, but Jason’s attempt to punch a four iron out of the water hazard drifted right, and did not trouble the scorers.
Although it seems as though Portland had much of the second half possession, they were able to do little with it, handling the ball sideways, and making little forward momentum. In the end Old Gold were able to put the game realistically out of reach with their final score, which is sketchy in my memory, but certainly left the final score at 15-7.
No excuses about the final result. Despite a one sided encounter at Attitash in the Spring, Portland have choked against Old Gold in the league for two years running. Time to get a little self belief, and git ‘er done.
In lieu of practice tonight there will be a team meeting at Gritty’s tonight, in the basement at 6pm. All should attend, or at least let J-Wil know why you can’t make it.
Old Gold, fielding a new look pack, that seemed to have spent a good deal of time at the buffet table over the summer, looked to assert their physical presence early. Using the slope of the field to their advantage, the home team employed a strategy of crash ball that was always going to be hard to defend. While the conditions made it very difficult for either side to maintain possession for very long, ultimately Old Gold were able to break through the Portland defenses and register the first points. Place kicking was not going to be anyone’s strong point on the day, and the score line stood at 5-0 in favor of the “units”.
While Portland began to muster some offense of their own, the lack of predictable possession from the set piece, combined with the early departure of their fly-half, Joey D’Andria, meant it was difficult for them to muster much of a cohesive effort. As a result, Old Gold were soon banging the ball down the slope again, and the laws of physics prevailed, giving them their second score of the half. Unconverted again, the score stood at 10-0 “units”.
Late in the first half though, Portland found themselves at the “dry” end of the pitch and were able to secure clean ball from a line out, which they then drove menacingly towards the Old Gold line. Sensing trouble, the Old Gold forwards did what they know best, and set out to pull the maul down. Although they were unsuccessful, they were able to bring the maul to standstill, resulting in a scrum in their favor. Fortunately the ball managed to squirt out the of the back under pressure from Jerry Alves, and the vigilant Jeff Keating was able to jump on the ball in the try zone. Score one for the good guys. Jason Willey was able to defy the odds and make the conversion, leaving the half-time score at 10-7.
The second half began with Portland applying some gravitational pressure of their own, although they were unable to wade through and cross the Old Gold line. Eventually a kickable penalty opportunity presented itself, but Jason’s attempt to punch a four iron out of the water hazard drifted right, and did not trouble the scorers.
Although it seems as though Portland had much of the second half possession, they were able to do little with it, handling the ball sideways, and making little forward momentum. In the end Old Gold were able to put the game realistically out of reach with their final score, which is sketchy in my memory, but certainly left the final score at 15-7.
No excuses about the final result. Despite a one sided encounter at Attitash in the Spring, Portland have choked against Old Gold in the league for two years running. Time to get a little self belief, and git ‘er done.
In lieu of practice tonight there will be a team meeting at Gritty’s tonight, in the basement at 6pm. All should attend, or at least let J-Wil know why you can’t make it.
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