The Cubs Come Good in Hilversum
No complaints about the weather. No complaints about the performance. The BSN-Te Werve Cubs travelled to Hilversum to play out a 41-22 win in the sunshine, in what was their best team performance of the season.
The first half fluctuated. BSN were the better side, but conceded first and found themselves 12-10 down mid way through the half, before pulling away to a 24-12 lead at the break.
BSN applied pressure from the start, but a turn over ball on the Hilversum line led to a break by the home side on the right wing. Although a covering tackle stopped the initial break, Hilversum worked the ball out left to score the opening try in the corner.
The try did not change the pattern of the game and BSN continued to dominate territory. A Hilversum scrum on the right wing was won by BSN after a big push. The ball came to the centre. Alex delayed the pass and was swallowed up, but the forwards piled in and Dario drove over for a try through a gap.
BSN were on top and Dario was at the heart of it all. With Hilversum missing tackles, a drive by Dario created space for Alexander to stretch over for BSN’s second try.
The game briefly turned from a Hilversum scrum. The ball went out wide and BSN missed tackles, letting the opposition in for the score, which took Hilversum into a narrow lead.
Now the home team were on the front foot, until their big forward was tackled by William. The ball spilled in the tackle and was collected by Lachlan, who ran at an angle to find space on right wing before cutting in the score under the posts. Adam converted for BSN to retake the lead.
There was still time for Eddie to evade a couple of tackles on the left wing and break away for another try under the posts. Adam’s second conversion put BSN into a 24-12 half time lead.
The first half performance and commitment was good. BSN were getting the basics right; going into rucks with a good body angle and winning scrums. The hard work in training was paying off.
At the start of the second half, Lachlan again dealt the damage on the right wing, taking advantage of slack tackling by Hilversum to score under the posts. There was no conversion this time, with the ball hitting the posts and bouncing back.
A break by William on the left wing was stopped by a covering tackle, but the Hilversum defence was turned and Dario drove through the middle to score under posts. An Adam conversion took BSN’s lead to 36-12.
The game looked to be out of reach for Hilversum, but they continued to play. BSN were penalised for being offside deep in their own half and one of the Hilversum forwards stepped inside to score.
BSN replied with a try by Eddie. From a scrum on the left, the ball passed wide through Alexander and William for Eddie to brush off a tackle and score.
With a 20 plus point lead, the game drifted, slowed down at the set pieces until the last action, when Hilversum’s forwards scored a try under the posts. A good driving maul took the ball close, before one of their forwards peeled off to score at the foot of the post.
The game ended with the score 41-22. It was BSN’s best performance of the season and came from working hard on the basics in training. There is still more to do, but it was an encouraging day in the sun.
Coaches: Darren, Graham, Andy, Scott
Captain: Adam
Team: Alexander, Andrea, Andreas, Daniel, Dario, Duncan, Eddie, Lachlan, Matthew, Moritz, Munnik, Olivier, Thomas, Vicente, William