Cubs keep the spirits up

Our young Cubs team had their second game in Gouda on Saturday October 10. The weather was soft and the sun came out quite a few times to warm the parents who were lucky to come and watch the game. The clubhouse was closed, but some coffee was served, which made this morning quite enjoyable if you were next to the pitch.

On the pitch however, although at this stage of the competition with a young team, let’s face it : Wassenaar lost by 57-10. What the score doesn’t show is the intensity of the game: a high level of engagement by both teams sent the game into a teeth clenching atmosphere, with fierce attacks and rucks, good contests, a lot more tackles than the previous week and a fighting spirit that kept the team going until the end.

The scrums improved a lot since last week, and the tackles by WWIRC were far better, although need to be improved. However, missed tackles and intercepted passes would often lead to a counter-attack by Gouda who scored 8 or 9 tries with the same player. As soon as he had the ball, he’d run past our players, pushing them (sometimes a little hard) and score. After 10 minutes, it was 19-0.

Plamen, one of the team’s fastest players and captain of the day had to leave the field due to an ankle injury (all well now, we wish you a safe recovery). Things looked pretty grim at that stage, and Gouda scored again. But being 24-0 down in the first half didn’t stop the team from scoring a good try, following on a good tackle, a good contest, quick movements and passed and Matt changing direction and rushing through their defense. The team came back for the second half with good intentions, but obviously with every little mistake made, the ball would eventually get into the hands of same Gouda player… who would score again. 57-5, and 10 minutes to go until the end of the game.

Everyone thought the game was over (even the referee), but the Wassenaar Warriors didn’t let their spirits fade away. They kept on running, pushing, passing, contesting, and Matt managed to score a try, after the team had spent 5 minutes near the try line on Gouda’s side. The aim for the team was to keep the spirits up and score at least a try. They scored 2, and scoring one in the last minute is a sign of a great team developing its wings. There still is a lot of work and training to do, but the attitude the team has showed is stunning!

Report by Sebastien Bonnefoy