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| Game 1: Bayside Sharks 20 - Rowers / Ridge Meadows 10 Game 2: Bayside Sharks 20 - Capilanos 10 |
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Sunday November 2nd, Klahanie Park
Game 1: Bayside Sharks 20 - Rowers / Ridge Meadows 10 Game 2: Bayside Sharks 20 - Capilanos 10
With 5 of their Big Guns missing, it was always going to be a tough ask for The Bayside Sharks to travel to the Capilanos and play 2 back-to-back games against the highly competitive Rowers/Ridge Meadows and Capilano Grade 8 teams. Losing influential half-back Austin Llewellyn to a knee injury in the first few minutes did not help matters.
Every Bayside player needed to produce their own individual performance of the season and dig deep, not only drawing on all that they had learned in their mid-week practices, but being able to execute these skills in wet, slippery conditions to have a chance of keeping their dreams of an ‘unbeaten season’ alive.
And ‘dig deep’ is what they did – each and every Bayside Shark - without exception!
Just when I thought I had run out of superlatives to describe this special group of players, they treated not only their own parents and coaches, but the whole crowd to a memorable performance of ‘team rugby’ which will long live in our memories.
The first game against The Rowers/Ridge Meadows proved to be the toughest test of the day taking a lot, both mentally and physically out of the young Sharks.
If this was a boxing contest, their Heavyweight opponents spent every round chasing the shadows of the fleet-footed and agile Lightweight Sharks, unable to land a punch.
You can’t hit what you can’t catch, nor can you tackle a player who doesn’t have the ball (though this did not stop some of the opposition players who became quickly frustrated chasing Bayside shadows!).
Bayside’s ability to catch and then pass the ball in the same movement to put a teammate into a gap and then to support that player set Bayside apart from their bigger and stronger opponents.
Defying their tender ages, The Sharks remained cool, calm and collected under pressure and kept their shape and position on the field while their opponents overcommitted players to every ruck and maul, enabling the Sharks to take full advantage of the gaps and space out wide on the flanks.
The side-stepping Jeremy Tremblay and hard-running Levi Howlett capped their finest performances to date with excellent tries. Half-Backs Andrew O’Connor and Braedan Wilson steadied the ship playing a controlled game of ‘percentage - go forward’ rugby – taking the right options at each and every play. Liam Wilson and Gordo Dobson ran some excellent lines and showed great handling skills in the centres and tackled their opposite numbers out of the game. And the tireless Rupert Peers, playing in the forwards for the first time, capped another mesmeric defensive effort highlighted by several text book, bone-jarring tackles with a brace of tries for The Sharks to run out comfortable 20 -10 winners.
With minimal time to re-group, Bayside were back at it against the rejuvenated Caps, seething after a disappointing loss to The Rowers/Ridge Meadows in their first game. Almost out on their feet, Bayside Sharks opted for a wide expansive game – playing a brand of ‘keep-away’ rugby that The Harlem Globetrotters would have been proud of.
Alex Root was a stand-out and richly deserved MVP for the game with 2 bulldozing runs – the first after fine link play saw Cameron Dalinghaus (Grade 7 hooker) and Daniel Johnston (Grade 7 prop) - both immense in attack and defense - display better passing skills than any opposition back on the park - to put ‘Big Alex’ into space for a 40 metre run, committing 3 Capilano defenders to the tackle before offloading to Max Wellis who left the Capilano defenders for dead with a scorching 50 metre run to the tryline – a sure contender for ‘try of the season’.
With the scoreline tipped 15-10 in Bayside’s favour after 2 excellent tries from Rupert Peers, a nail-biting finish was in store.
It was only fitting that Alex Root be yet again the architect of ‘The Play of the Game’ when after another fine foray deep into Capilano territory, Alex stepped off his left foot to run an outside line pulling 2 Capilano defenders toward the touchline to slip a deft, behind the back pass to supporting winger Josh Mahlman, who having tackled brilliantly all game was rewarded with a fantastic try by selecting a superb inside running line to The Capilano’s tryline, completing a memorable and thoroughly deserved victory over their archrivals Capilanos 20 -10.
Each Bayside player deserves a special mention as every one of them produced their ‘best game of the season’ and taught their opposition players, coaches and fans alike, a lesson in how to play ‘12-man rugby’.
It is difficult to imagine how they can improve on these performances – however, I have learned in my short time with them to expect the unexpected and to not put any limits on their potential and their ability to rise to the occasion time and time again and produce performances which defy their inferior height, inferior weight and tender ages.
What is now abundantly clear to all and sundry is that the young Bayside Sharks possess superior skills, superior rugby brains and superior teamwork, not to mention superior courage and bravery, all of which more than make up for any lack of physical attributes.
Posted by Andy Blackburn, Mon Nov 3, 2008 @ 8:40 AM 0 Comments |
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| Tue Apr 23, 2024 |
| No events are scheduled. |
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