Game Report: Sat. September 25, 2004

Senior Mens 1sts
ABRFC 19 Markham 8
Commentary to come

Senior Mens 2nds
Aurora 36 Markham 11

A great crowd had come out early and stayed on to cheer all three teams to victory on this special "Old Boys Day". Many visiting sides commented on how great it must be to play in front of so many supporters. And it is!

The second team had much to improve on after a last minute victory over Markham early in the season. A great training session on Thursday night had everyone prepared, as we were very competitive against the first squad in scrimmage.

We took the field following a great victory by the 3rd XV that set the stage for the day. The first 10 minutes or so were a bit of a see saw, seeing both sides exhibit some good attacking and good defense. It was Markham scoring first with a penalty straight in front of the posts. The Barbs charged back and scored a great try that saw the ball go through several phases, and touch virtually everyone's hands.

Another couple of scores for each side, had the half time score at around 14-11 for Barbs. After some disciplinary issues were dealt with, and a few players slated to go off as replacements for the 1st XV chose to stay on and battle it out, we prepared to turn things up in the second half.

Barbs scored 22 unanswered points in the second half after improving on discipline, sticking to the simple game plan, and working together. Line out play was much improved over recent weeks. A slow but definite improvement as a result of hard work and great instruction from Marco! Not only did we win nearly 100% of our ball, but managed to disrupt and/or steal a big chunk of Markham throw in's. The back line was tremendous when we could get them the ball. It has been a long summer without a consistent set of backs, but today they worked very well together.

It was a great team effort all around.

Some of the tries were scored by Brian D'Andrade, Nick Taylor, Simon Hirtenstein, Paul Payne, and obviously a few others (sorry). Conversions and penalties were shared by Brian D'Andrade and Stu Hulbert.

It was a convincing victory for our last game of the regular season, and showed why we do belong in the upper tier of the Marshall!

Looking forward to seeing what the playoffs will bring. Keep fit, and see you all at training.

Senior Mens 3rds
ABRFC 46 Markham 3