Medway RFC Cougars

Sunday 11 April 2010

(Match Reports by Pete Cornell)

Pictures

The 2010 tour for the Medway Cougars was by invitation to the Republic of Ireland where they based themselves for the weekend in Bray on the west coast, before making the short trip on Sunday to play in a round robin challenge tournament hosted by Greystones where their opposition also included the Irish teams Dellasalle Palmerston (DLSP) and Arklow. The event was generously sponsored by London Bridge Associates (LBA) Ltd. Medway found themselves in a very tough, hard fought competition where they did themselves proud, emerging undefeated with two wins and a draw but narrowly missing out on the trophy to DLSP who had secured a bonus point for scoring four tries in one of their games.

Cougars Squad:

Greystones 5 - Medway 22

Tries: Fitzpatrick, Whitnell, Brown

Cons: Gowdy 2

Pen: Gowdy

After a rousing pep talk from head coach Mark 'Jabba The Hutt' Marriot the Cougars came out for their first game looking so much more awake than they had during their warm up and straight from the kick off Max Fenton, Harrison Irons and Charlie Wardzynski starred in the initial drive which broke down not far short of the Greystones try line. The push continued and Liam Fitzpatrick drove over to become the first man to score. Luke Gowdy stepped up to the tee and struck a fine conversion for an early 7-0 advantage. The Cougar forwards were working well and fast reactions from Jack Johnston won a ball which broke from the Greystones' scrum and the subsequent kicked clearance was chased down by Sam Cornell to put pressure back on the Greysones' line. These phases ended with a penalty which Gowdy converted. Greystones then got some ball and threatened for a while but Medway defended well with some particularly good tackling from Johnston and Ben Wellard. This solid defending saw us through to half time with the score at 10-0. After the break Greystones took the initiative from the kick off but their move broke down and Cougars pressed back. Another penalty which was the product of hard work by the pack forcing Greystones errors went just wide. Medway continued to pressure with Wardzynski kicking well and David McManus having a solid half then George Simpson who had been nailing his throws put a well worked short line out ball to Tom Whitnall who made it count by breaking through to score. Shortly afterwards Tom Brown picked up a loose ball from just inside the Cougars' half and sprinted the full half to score under the posts for an easy conversion for Gowdy stretching the lead to 22-0. Greystones then started to move the ball around and some good passing phases ended in a try for the hosts, the game ending 22-5.

Arklow 0 - Medway 10

Try: Wardzynski

Con: Gowdy

Pen: Gowdy

Arklow came out fighting having narrowly lost their first game against DSLP by a single try. They put the Cougars under early pressure but this was soon cleared by an inspired clearance kick from Wardzynski. Arklow managed to clear their lines and the rugby got a little messy. Little ground gained, no clear breaks, the two sides just moving back and forth until Fenton powered through and broke away down the line making many valuable metres until he was caught witrh a superb tap tackle by a slightly quicker winger (he'll never cut it as a plumber). The ball was recycled though and the pressure told as Arklow conceded a penalty. Gowdy's fine effort fell just wide. The next Cougars drive was led by the forwards until it was eventually fed down the backs where Wardzynski sold a masterful dummy, cut inside and lapped up the remaining 20 metres for a fine try. Gowdy converted and the half time score was 7-0. Arklow started the second half with a long high punt which wasn't held. They drove over from the resulting scrum but the Cougar defence kept it up and no score was given. The pressure was relieved when Arklow were finally penalised for not putting it in straight at the scrum. It was a hard fought second half and the Cougars put together some great phases thrusting the ball forward through hard work from the forwards and some good play through the backs. This won Medway a penalty which Gowdy slotted away to give us a 10-0 advantage. Arklow turned it on again and pushed for the Cougar's line but again solid defence held the ball up and Arklow were frustrated, unable to score and the game ended at 10-0.

Dellasalle Palmerston (DLSP) 10 - Medway 10

Try: Stone

Con: Gowdy

Pen: Gowdy

And so to the final game. Medway and DLSP both undefeated, separated by a point as DLSP won by scoring 4 tries against the hosts in their previous game. This meant that Medway had to win to claim overall victory. It started well as early on there was a great drive inspired yet again by a fine dummy by the players' player of the tournament Wardzynski. He was caught this time though but the ball was recycled and fed out to the wing where Dan Stone ran for the line, was caught and tackled, but momentum and a superb roll enabled him to squeeze into the corner for a fine score. Gowdy stroked the ball brilliantly through the posts. DLSP responded and drove into Cougar territory, their battling won them a penalty under the posts which was gratefully taken pulling the score back to 7-3. Cougars continued to move the ball around though and were soon on the front foot again, no one more so than player of the tournament Simpson as he danced through several tackles making valuable yardage. There followed a really tough period of play with neither side gaining much until another Gowdy penalty gave the Cougars a 10-3 lead going into the final half. The second half was all grind. Medway found themselves under continued pressure as DLSP fought tirelessly to claw back the points. Cougars' defence held out well but eventually conceded a try and the extras were taken with a fine kick from wide. The scores were now level which was enough for DLSP. Both sides continued to fight to the last and a final drive from the Cougars nearly saw them seal the victory as they spread the ball wide to the right wing where Stone was away and in again. However, as he was about to put the ball down for the winning try the referee brought play back for a forward pass which everybody on the sidelines thought was a very tight call. With Cornell going down injured in the build up to the move and time being lost there was only enough time for a scrum and clearance kick by DLSP, the draw probably being the fair result.

Greystones are thanked for their hospitality and a splendid day of running rugby. For Medway it was an excellent day's rugby, the Cougars undefeated, a result in which the whole squad played their part. Congratulations to Charlie Wardzynski and George Simpson for their awards - Player's Player and Player of the Tournament respectively - captain Jack Johnston for his leadership, Luke Gowdy for his 17 point contribution and any players that haven't been mentioned by name but were just as valuable. Thanks also to the coaching and management staff for all their efforts, and of course Duncan 'Salacious B. Crumb' Bailey who without whom we would have no tour. Finally a big thank you to the parents that supported the team on tour and of course you the players who make it all worth while. Thank you one and all. Anyone for Pizza?

Your roving reporter - Dack Ralter