It was a game of two halves and a story of what might have been. Of contrasting styles of play too.

Today saw us travel to Matson to take on a large and physical team. We’d beaten them convincingly twice last year when they were mostly U17s but this time they were older and larger with a year’s more experience.

The plan was to move them around with quick ball and offloading which, for a while, worked like a dream. And it wasn’t raining either, which was a bonus.

Our initial intensity put the home side under pressure and some early penalties allowed us to kick ourselves deep into the 22. The pack hit it up for some phases before shipping it wide. A nice miss pass to Langers, lurking wide of the cover, saw him cross near the corner. 5-0.

From the kick off, Finn ran it back making valuable yards to get beyond the defence. With the cover scrambling, Johny stepped once, dummied twice to glide clear to the posts. 12-0. Matson had hardly had the ball and we were playing some lovely stuff.

It couldn’t last and with a sustained period of possession, the large and physical pack ground their way into our territory. Their captain and number 8 powered through a couple of tackles to score mid way through the half. 12-5.

It was becoming frenetic with multiple handling errors and a noticeable increase in the physicality. Having been pinned back in our half, a show and go from the rapid Barney HS put him clear making 80 yards before being hauled down just short. In close support was Andrew who held off the would-be turnover attempts long enough for captain MSJ to pick up and drive over. 19-5.

When we had the ball, we looked good and were getting success but, the barrage of heavy carries was tough to withstand. Matson’s game plan, much like the Springbok’s, was simple and brutal. Straying offside at a ruck, we were kicked back to our own line and a well-worked catch and drive brought their second try. 19-10 at halfway.

Frankly, after the break we lost our shape and our cool somewhat. Getting sucked in to an arm wrestle with a bigger team was not what we wanted and a series of errors plus a drop in our intensity emboldened the opposition. Another catch and drive and a neat conversion brought them within two points. 19-17..

We weren’t done though. Fielding a kick deep in our half and spotting the space out to the left, we spun the ball wide and Barney, now at left wing, raced clear to the corner. A brave dive through a tackle saw the ball spill in contact with the ground. Looked like a try from my vantage point. The ref thought it was a knock on. No VAR in this league and no further points.

We piled on pressure, playing all the rugby in Matson’s 22 and being awarded a series of penalties in the red zone. Was a card going to come? No, just a stern admonishment and despite knocking on the door, we couldn’t get over the line.

Eventually we got turned over and Matson cleared their lines. A mistake in midfield gave them possession in our 22 and, agonisingly, we weren’t able to hold out against the pounding of their pack. 19-24 with time ebbing away.

Despite heroic efforts to seize the ball and make ground, Matson’s defence held us out and we weren’t able to claim the win. We had chances, but it was not our day today.

On to next week: Allez les Pats

Tom Perris