Close..but no cigar

All of the talk on the Gannets group chat during the week was how they were bracing themselves for a tough physical battle against Lordswoods big pack,especially after the narrow 5-3 win on the banana pitch in November.What they faced on Saturday however,was a more youthful side more geared towards running rugby.The Gannets gameplan remained the same though because well,they don't really have one.

As ever it was all change for the Gannets with regulars missing so new boys Ryan Lane and Ash Tester made their first appearances for the club.Jamie Feighery came in for his first start on the front row and fourth team rugby wouldn't be the same without a ringer so Adrian Perrett aka Velcro aka the worlds angriest estate agent was pinched from the fives.

Bouyed by four letter words of encouragement from Gary 'Paddy' Curran watching live through the Gannets periscope channel,they took to the field in high spirits.

And it was the Gees that made the early running by using their unexpected physical advantage to good effect,driving the ball upfield with a mixture of forward and inside centre crash balls until the referee gave them an early penalty shot at goal which Dan Grant coolly converted.

The resulting restart was an utter disaster from the Gannets point of view as no one seemed to want to field the difficult kick and when it was,it was knocked on.With the Gannets in total disarray,Lordswood seized their chance and quickly moved the ball out to the left wing where he had enough to beat the tackle and score in the corner.A difficult conversion from the touchline was superbly dispatched by the Lords 10 and it was 7-5.

Despite this setback the Gees were still comfortable and confident in their abilities and immediately started making headway into the home half,this time involving Jetski and Connor in affairs only to be thwarted by some great openfield tackling.

Cue the Gannets rolling maul.Marshalled once again by Dan Grant a good 30 metres or so was made until touch was found by the Lordswood defence.From the resulting lineout which functioned well all game,the maul came into effect again and Dan Grant crashed over the line for an unconverted try and a 7-8 scoreline at halftime.

All the Gannets had to do was come out for the second period playing with the same intensity and discipline as the first but they simply did not show up for the first ten minutes or so as Lords pressed through their forwards along the far touchline.Some sloppy,upright tackling ensured that the visitors defence were drove back and it was no surprise when the home side went over in the corner for a deserved try.

A contact lens malfunction and not as Martin Taylor feared,blindness meant a personnel change with Velcro coming on and the predator moving into centres and the Gannets subsequently threw everything at the home defence for the remainder of the game,finally drawing a penalty on 70 minutes which brought them to within a point.

Further Gannets attacks came to nothing as the Lords D held firm and it was the home side that had the final opportunity of points at the final whistle but their penalty was sliced wide.

So while a loss is always disappointing,especially by such a slim margin,the Gannets can hold their heads high as every man gave his all in a tough,hard tackling game which saw several players leave the field with various injuries.Also,and I didn't think i'd be writing this,the game was played in good spirits,marred only by the bizarre sight of an elderly supporter coming onto to the field to remonstrate with Dan Grant,possibly over his choice of hair product.But they kissed and made up after which I guess is why rugby will always be better than football.

Finally,Gravesend RFC would like to send everyone at Lordswood RFC their condolences after the loss of Shaun Tandy and we're sure that todays memorial game was a fitting tribute to a man that you guys call 'a legend'.

Until next time...