Imperious Win

Sandy Bay U16 Boys continued their league campaign in the second tier (Championship) by playing league leaders USRC 2. With their last game scheduled against the league's bottom dwellers, the Sandy Bay boys understood this game against USRC 2 was a must-win match if they were to have any aspirations to be promoted from the competitive Championship league up into the top-tier Premiership.

With so much riding on the result, it was a bit disappointing to have been met with overcast weather and light drizzle. While temperatures were moderate, the misty rain was continuous.

Unlike the weather, however, the performance from the Sandy Bay U16 boys was nothing short of glorious: full of harrying, commitment, and maximum concentration.

As was the case last week, Sandy Bay had a decent turnout of players. As was also the case last week, the large turnout did wonders for the team's performance. Having an ex-Sandy Bay player (Paul Dally) visit for the weekend meant the team was looking quite strong on paper.

It was clear from the pre-match warm up that the boys were up for the game and aware that there was much riding on the outcome. Kick off at 9:30 saw Sandy Boy deliberately choosing to kick to their opponents, to test their handling with a wet ball.

Early exchanges were even with both teams trading punches, but unable to secure a knockout. Sandy Bay drew first blood with their strong forward play as captain Faisal Sharif barged forward with a few USRC 2 players clinging on as he made his way towards the try line, seemingly certain to score. Unfortunately for his team, he was brought down a couple of yards from the try line but with quick ball recycling, the backs played it out to the wing who took advantage of the crowd drawn in by Faisal, for Calum Tang to touch down in the corner with the game's first try. The tight angle meant the conversion was unsuccessful -- 5-0 -- advantage Sandy Bay.

The remainder of the half saw most rugby continue to be played in the USRC 2 half and, inside their 22. Deep towards the end of the first half, USRC 2 made a rare foray into the Sandy Bay half and earned a penalty because of foul play from Paul Dally earning him a yellow card. From the ensuing penalty, Andreas Heinrich was penalized also with a yellow card for a high tackle. With two yellow cards awarded within 30 seconds, the referee chose to award USRC 2 a penalty try.

Going into the break, Sandy Bay puzzlingly found themselves not only 7-5 down, but also down by two men for the first 10 minutes of the second half.

As expected, USRC 2 came out for the second half with renewed fervor, eager to take advantage of their two-man advantage. Sandy Bay boys defended as if their lives depended on it, and on one occasion Jack Diestel, who otherwise had one of his best games in a Sandy Bay shirt, was also adjudged to have committed yet another high tackle. With the referee in no mood to allow any high tackles to be made, he sin-binned Sandy Bay's third player to reduce them to an unbelievable 12 players.

If the Sandy Bay boys were drawing on their reserves earlier, when down to 12 men, they moved into kitchen-sink mode with every single on-field player using every ounce of energy they had as well as their tactical nous, defending with their hearts and souls while carefully slowing down the game at the set-pieces.

With their first two sin-binned players back on in tandem, Sandy Bay threw a counter punch by going further ahead with a try from James Darracott picking up from a ruck and doing what Sandy Bay did superbly all game long—playing forward (or bully) ball. The punches they made in the USRC 2 defense and the yards they gained ultimately became too much for USRC 2 to handle, as their defense showed a gap through which James gleefully ran through to score the team's second try. Although the conversion was unsuccessful, Sandy Bay were up again by 10-7.

All three sin-binned players completed their required 10 minutes out and Sandy Bay were back at full strength halfway through the second half. The full complement of players continued to press and continued to largely control proceedings. Full-back Aodhan Baynes moved up a gear in the second half to show some majestic catching under the high ball, wet and greasy. His renaissance since his father’s departure has been nothing short of astonishing.

In one passage into the last quarter of the match, with multiple phase play sucking the USRC 2 defense in, Omar Sharif went over to score under the posts. Two tries scored by forwards, and the third try made by a forward. It was clear what the main ingredient for Sandy Bay's success was. A successful conversion took them up to 17-7 lead.

The last 10 minutes were played in the middle of the park, repeating the pattern of the first half with each side trading possession. With their bodies wilting, the referee finally blew for full-time as Sandy Bay celebrated their hardest win of the season (17-7).

The win was a result of grit, strong cohesiveness through teamwork, and some hitherto unseen high levels of aggression. No player could rightfully claim the ‘man of the match’ award, as every single on- and off-field player from 1-20 including (including some unused subs) each contributed to a massive four points for the team.