21-9-2019 – ASRV Ascrum 1 vs. EZRC Oemoemenoe 1

COMPETITION:	Ereklasse
HOME TEAM:	Ascrum
VISITING TEAM:	Oemoemenoe 1
VENUE:	Eendracht, Sportpark
DATE:	21 September 2019
REFEREE:	Daniel O’Connell
TEAM:	Oemoemenoe Senior Heren
CAPTAIN:	Andictor Petelo

RESULT

	HOME TEAM	VISITING TEAM
HALFTIME SCORE	26	0
FULLTIME SCORE	50	7

Ascrum. Our kryptonite! There were no illusions that today’s game was going to be difficult. We faced Ascrum last year in the plate final – they are a capable team. We arrived at Eendracht, welcomed by the sun and a slight breeze. Perfect conditions for a great game of rugby. Our team consisted of a mixture of experienced players and three brand new players to Ereklasse: Jose, Elliot and Anthonie. The week before we had celebrated the introduction of another 3 new players to Ereklasse: Bjorn, Mitchell and Oumar. So, with a third of the team fairly green, Andi’s leadership as Captain was much needed.

Ascrum wasted no time in putting points on the board. In the first 10 minutes the play was one sided. Ascrum capitalised on a weak defensive line and scored three times. The boys finally settled in the 15th minute and played some nice phases by quick recycling of the ball. We held defensively until the 39th minute, where Ascrum scored another try. Half time score, 26-0.

With a few niggling injuries, the boys went into halftime with a view to making some positional changes. Ascrum started strong and scored again within the first five minutes. The mood on the field was surprisingly good as the boys kept encouraging each other to keep their ‘heads up’. The score does not show it, but the positional changes did prove effective as the boys managed to gain more possession in the second half and had faster line–speed. Of note was Yedney moving into the centres with Devin. Their defensive combination was outstanding. Yedney, known more for his speed, had the best defensive play during the game. He made some solid tackles and worked hard at the ruck. He would later be chosen as player of the day.

Our scrum was solid with a 100% win rate. Andi made some tactical decisions to scrum all penalties which meant there was sure possession and territory. This lead to some very exciting attacks to the line but to no avail. Unfortunately, Ascrum were relentless and put another 19 points on the board. The talk was still positive amongst the boys. They were committed to finishing ‘strong’ and the leadership shown by Andi and Joey to maintain a positive spirit on the field was admirable.

In the last two minutes the boys were formidable! Six great phases built enough pressure to draw a penalty 7 metres from the try line. A scrum was called. After another attacking phase the ball was sent quickly out to Andi. He threw a 15 metre skip pass to debutant, Anthonie. Anthonie drew and passed on the last Ascrum defender and linked up with Matthjis who had wrapped him on his outside. Try to Oemie in the final seconds! Joey had a tight angle for the conversion but he easily slotted the ball through the post. Final score 50-7. A tough day in the office.

After the match, Alvaro said, ‘in the end we had to fight for each other’. Coach Monty also had the same sentiments, ‘I am really proud that the boys held it together as a team. Its easy for a team to fall apart with a score like that. But they kept encouraging each other and in the last two minutes they showed some real Oemie brilliance’.

Losing to Ascrum has put us in the trophy pool for season 2019/2020. Monty and Andi are philosophical, ‘We are in a rebuilding phase. In the trophy pool we will be competitive against other teams of similar calibre. This will give us the opportunity to grow our new players’.

~ Melanie Tarsua, teammanager