Gravesend Bruised but not broken

G’s guilty of a bad day at the office

On a day perfect for open free flowing rugby Gs fallibility in defence saw them come out on the wrong end of a 38-6 scoreline.

It all looked so different in the opening exchanges where Gs started brightly and after gathering the Wild Geese kick off went through several phases before the Irish number 8 was adjudged to have deliberately knocked the ball on in front of the posts. That resulted in a yellow card for the number 8 and 3 points to the Gs. (3-0)

Irish though were not to be outdone and having driven the ball through midfield the flyhalf produced a well placed kick out wide which found the winger in acres of space and an easy march into score. (3-5)

With only 9 mins on the clock Irish once again crossed the line after a marauding run by the second row was followed by slick passing through the backs for the winger to be on hand again to score out wide. This time the conversion was kicked and Gs found themselves 12-3 down. (3-12)

As the half wore on it was apparent that Gs makeshift front row was beginning to struggle against a more effective Irish tight five. Penalties started to come from either not driving straight or coming round the side. From one such offence Irish were awarded yet another penalty and made mistake (3-15).

Gs play became increasingly scrappy and on far too many occasions were guilty of kicking away good position. But for some profligate Irish passing the score would have been extended still further. Gs though stuck at it and were awarded a rare penalty at the scrum for blocking by the flanker. George Montgomery stepped up and made safe the 3 points (6-15). At the restart Gs received the double benefit of a penalty and another yellow card for the Irish for taking a man in the air. Gs made there man advantage count when Irish transgressed at the breakdown. Uncharacteristically, Montgomery skewed his effort to the right of the posts. That miss was to prove expensive as another Gs effort was turned over and slick passing by the Irish back saw the ball pass through several pairs of hands. With the conversion made what could have been 15-9 at half-time ended up 22-6.

The second half started in much the fashion as the first had finished with two penalties to the Irish one of which was for Marcus Klus pushing the referee when he blocked off the cover tackles (6-28). The half became increasingly scrappy and was characterised by poor tackling in midfield and squandering of good position. What little good play did come from the Irish backs and once again swift hands saw them score out wide left. (6-33)

Gs forwards who up until now had played most of the game on the back foot surprised themselves and the large crowd when they managed to take a scrum against the head. From the resulting scrum a break by Moorey saw him clean through but when the line beckoned sought to offload instead of trying to outpace the defence. Unsurprisingly, the ball went to ground and Gs once again conceded possession.

The final score on this frustrating day summed up an indifferent second half from the official when he alone saw the Irish back put the ball down after a fine midfield interchange. To be fair, as the Irish player crossed the line scoring was the only thing he could do. But an element of showboating allowed two Gs defenders to get across and interfere with the ball dislodging it at the crucial time. Still the only man that counted gave the try and Gs found themselves 38-6 down.

As time ticked away there was still time for a London Irish player to receive his marching for his second yellow, this time for a high tackle as Gs battled vainly to add more points and respectability to the score.

There can be no doubt that the best team won on the day. Gs have built recent success on a strong scrum and having had this taken away the backs were simply not up to slick moves of the Irish backs. Next week sees Gs travel to CS Rugby 1856 and hopefully a few players will return and we see a much improved performance.