Cubs: an intense rugby game by 2 great teams
A beautiful sun peeped out this morning, and even though the wind was blowing, the clouds stayed out of the blue sky.
We welcomed the tall players from Bredase Rugby Club (who we lost against 29-14 in November), and they started warming up on the pitch left by the Benjis, and practiced running and passing: no doubt, they wanted to put a lot of speed in the game. If Wassenaar Warriors wanted to compete, they’d have to be quick and disciplined in defense.
Breda kicked off at 12, and Wassenaar kept the ball for 10 minutes in the middle of the field. Tackles by Breda were solid, and the ball changed sides a few times, won through either good tackles or nice contests by both teams. Both teams were showing strong defence and good speed, and under pressure handling was harder.
Breda kept pushing though, and out of one of their rucks they would send their runners straight in to our defence – it finished by working and Breda scored (5-0).
Wassenaar pushed harder after this first blow, and kept on passing to the wings, and rucking hard whenever the ball was lost. The few scrums were solid, although you could see a difference in size between the two packs.
They finally managed to push it at the far right of the field and sent one of our backwards running to the try line in the corner.
What then seemed like an impossible kick was converted and this lifted the teams spirit: a beautiful kick for a great team. With their spirits up, they managed to score a second try, again pushing to the wings.
Score at halftime was 14-5
Shortly after kicking the ball in the second half, Wassenaar managed to get the hand on the ball and one of our players went running through the defence and scored a try between the posts. Warriors were leading 21-5 and seemed to have the higher hand. But Breda is no little team that lets things down easily and they pushed hard, running into our players and managed to score 3 tries, 2 of which were converted. The score had turned from 21-5 to 21-24, and Breda was gaining confidence, although maybe getting slightly tired. The Warriors did a few changes in the team, and especially pulled their spirits together as they had done in Amstelveen and managed to score not one but two tries, pushing through Breda with an impressive collective effort.
The players who showed up today put up with a great game, tackling with speed, passing quickly and staying disciplined in alignement – Warriors improved their game, and for such a young team it’s going to be promising for the next season as well.
Breda is a great team to play – they are dedicated, intense and honest : it was a pleasure hosting them!
Thank you to the coaches, first aiders, bar tenders and parents who came to the club to cheer!
Sébastien Bonnefoy
Team manager Cubs
