Cubs against Amstelveen: don’t stop until the end

A cloudy day for a clouded game by Wassenaar Warriors thisSaturday (25/9).

We were meeting Amstelveense Rugby Club, who could probably play at Cup level, and who had won their first game 102-0. They had prepared their best players (mostly 2nd years) to play our team after our first victory.

First a word about Amstelveen, who deserved to win this game: they were very consistent in their placement in attack, fiercely quick and agressive in defense, cunning and cheeky when intercepting our passes out of the rucks or scrums (at least two tries scored after an interception), had a massive number 2 player, taller than most of the adults around, a good scrum half who would send long passes to get the ball out of the rucks on to the wings, and they’d find themselves at 4 or 5 against 1 or 2 Warriors. We knew from the previous game they’d wouldn’t stop until the end, so when they managed to score after just a minute or two, thanks to their fast winger (#27), the Warriors knew they were up against a good team.

Amstelveen managed first to gain the ball in rucks, and then send out their wingers or big guys to run to the try line. Bigger, quicker, better discipline in their positions – they built their victory try after try.

But to be fair, the score misses out on an important point : the Warriors were behind by a lot, but the team didn’t lose energy or dedication, and even with all those tries against them, they kept on defending and attacking.

The last 10 minutes of the game were epic: they set the hand on the ball, patiently gaining meter after meter, forcing Amstelveen to make a few mistakes up to 5 meters from their line. They’d been playing for almost 45 minutes, and never had the Warriors been so close to the try line: parents were cheering, Amstelveen was trying to contain our brave Warriors but couldn’t stop the team from scoring a try. The game ended there, with a sense of accomplishment despite the score: the Warriors were able to face a very bad scenario and still manage to play together to score against a superior team that day. The Warriors also now know what they need to work on to compete with teams like Amstelveen – it might take some time, but sooner or later, we’ll get to that level!

Thanks again to all coaches, first aiders, non playing players who came to support and parents that cheered all along!

Sébastien Bonnefoy
Team manager Cubs