Wednesday 25 March 2009
Medway Cougars 48 - Jean de Prades of Castelsarrasin 0
Tries: Wardzynski, Brown, Clarke (3), Hardinges (2), Irons
Cons: Gowdy (3), Stone
It could have been Twickenham. It could even have been the Stade de France. In fact it was a Wednesday night on the Priestfields show pitch under floodlights that greeted the Medway Cougars as they took to the field for their first ever international fixture against Jean de Prades of Castelsarrasin. Emotions were still running high following stirring renditions of La Marseillaise and God Save the Queen as, with a bitter howling wind blowing in from the river, the captains exchanged club pennants prior to a 6:45pm kick off.
Medway kicked off and were soon into their stride playing some flowing rugby that saw them recycle via several phases before the ball went through the hands of the backs to Charlie Wardzynski, who went over in the corner for an unconverted try. There followed an intense period of pressure from the Cougars as they pinned their opponents back in their own 22 but some poor decision making led to a number of spurned opportunities to add to the score. Hooker George Simpson picked up an ankle injury and was temporarily replaced by Lewis Bailey. Although the French side were struggling in the ruck and maul, they proved themselves to be very skilled with the ball in hand, looking to run at the Cougars at every opportunity. When they couldn't run they showed they could kick as well, launching many superb kicks during the night that went high and deep, giving their forwards the chance to get up to the play and continually causing Medway trouble. A knock-on on the halfway led to a number 8 pick up at the base of the resultant scrum by Tom ("Legs") Brown who went on an excellent solo run beating four tackles and scoring under the posts. The try was converted by Luke Gowdy in the blustery conditions. Pinned back in their own dead ball area the French tried to run the ball out but a miss-placed pass and subsequent fumble was pounced on by James Clarke for another unconverted try. With half-time approaching there was just enough time for a trade mark Nick Hardinges solo run that saw him speed away from the half-way, beating off several tackles, to run in under the posts for a try converted by Gowdy.
With the score at 24-0 at half-time Head Coach Mark Marriott rang the changes and several fresh faces took to the field at the start of the second half. However, this did not affect the performance as the replacements all got stuck in with equal gusto, presumably with something to prove. Some excellent work by the forwards led to a flowing move through the hands of the backs as Hardinges joined the line from full-back to feed Clarke who ran over in the corner for a try converted by Dan Stone. Despite the superb kicking and handling skills of their French opponents, the Cougars continued to exert all the pressure and following a backwards fumble by Brown on the 5 metre line, Harrison Irons was on hand to pick-up and drive over for an unconverted try. From the French kick-off there followed a period of pressure from the visitors that saw the Cougars pinned back for the first time in the game. However, Medway were in a mean mood, refusing to ship any points, and excellent cover tackles and running with the ball, most notably from Matt Kennedy, Ian Patterson and Alex Morgan, saw play driven back into the French half. A simple backs move saw the ball spread wide to Clarke again who secured his hat-trick with an unconverted try. As with the first half there was just enough time for Hardinges to go on one of his mazy runs, this time from inside his own 22, as he ran through numerous attempts to tackle him before scoring under the posts for a try converted by Gowdy. The final whistle followed shortly with the score at 48-0 to the Cougars.
Following the game there were presentations made by both sides. Medway presented their opponents coaches with Shepherd Neame beer and club ties, whilst there was the gift of a rugby ball signed by the Vice Captain of the England Ladies side, Rachel Burford, which went to the Jeans de Prades Captain. Medway received from the French coach Olivier, a Jean de Prades shirt and a ball from the local French Montauban side. There was also the presentation of a bottle of champagne to Pat for organising the event and Castelsarrasin T-shirts for all the Cougar players. There was just enough time before we all sat down to dinner for Mark to say some warm words of thanks to our opponents who had played with fantastic spirit and heart and were a credit to their nation. There was a quick game of 'boat race' involving six boys from each side and which was won by the Jeans de Prades lads. All in all, an excellent evening and a great game of rugby. A big thank you to Gerald and Mel for supplying us with a fantastic playing surface, and to Mandi and the rest of the team in the club house for keeping us all fed and watered. Mark for being a fantastic host and the rest of the coaches for doing a great job with the boys. Finally, thanks go to Paul for his great photos, Jim for recording all the game stats and last but no means least, you boys who it is an honour to be involved with
(Match Report by Jim Kennedy and Pat Nolan)
