Game Report: June 9, 2007

Senior Men's First Team
Aurora Barbarians RFC (ABRFC) 19 - Brampton Beavers RFC 15

After the excellence of the first two weeks of 2007 season the week 3 fixture against Brampton Beavers RFC was very, very disappointing - this was not a good game for anyone on the field or for the viewing public on Rogers Game of the Day. Brampton will be pleased to have picked-up their third bonus point, while Aurora maintained their unbeaten record, but failed to collect a bonus point for the first time this season.

It is not enough to say that a win is a win is a win - we have all come to expect Aurora to play with flair, consistency and control. On this day all three of these critical elements were totally missing, and the team looked strangely confused, disjointed and lacked the normal rhythm, control and drive that is so critical to the expansive style that the Barbs play. This is not an easy game report to write but let's try to figure out why and what happened.

First off this was a horribly disjointed game with over 35 penalties and five movements called back for forward passes - second, Brampton to their credit, set out to frustrate the Aurora running game - in this area they were successful and lay very shallow in the backs and tackled anything moving, (on at least three notable occasions by taking a player out of the play by baulking or late tackling after Aurora chip kicks), more on this later.

Third, the large number of player and positional changes over the first three weeks of the season has resulted in players reacting tentatively and without the clear understanding of support play and patterns of running by their team mates. Two of the player changes resulted from injury and player availability, (or "un-availability"), but three other changes from week 2 were rotational, designed to build experience and depth for the balance of the season, (11 more weeks of Marshall, the very important National Invitational Club Championship, NICC, over Labour Day, and the McCormick Cup in October, plus player commitment to the RCSL and NA4).

Put simply, these changes brought into question the buy-in of the first team squad to a game plan developed over the past two seasons. This was, in large part, a direct cause of the five forward passes, timing and angle of running resulting in mis-timed passes at key stages of the game that cost the Barbs at least three clear tries in this game. The Barbs looked confused for much of this game and this had a disastrous impact on their play.

Given the length of the season and the large number of potential games over the next six months, (a potential for as many as 30 more games, including any potential RCSL or NA4 commitments for club players!!), recovery time from injury and rest must be worked into the team roster. In addition, given the large number of players in the First and Second teams with the potential to play a major role in the clubs success this season, the coaching staff will be challenged to ensure that players have an opportunity to work as "playing units" and remain relatively fresh and injury free, (or with the appropriate time for recovery) - not an easy balance, but critical for playing continuity and success in all of the three major tournaments that the Barbs can participate in (League, Cup and NICC).

And now to the actual game report.

Any game against Brampton is going to be difficult as there is a long and chequered rivalry dating back to TRU and Keenan days. Brampton are an ambitious club, striving to move into the established or top four clubs in the Marshall and a goal of winning the McCormick Cup. The 2007 season has started frustratingly for them as they entered week 3 at 0 and 2 with a total point differential of -5. In addition, every team in the Marshall will want to beat the defending Champions and there will be no "easy games" in 2007!! In this game, Brampton set about upsetting the Barbs running game by any method possible - their mid-field tackling was outstanding, there were no missed tackles all day, although at least three late tackles or "take-outs" went undetected.

Brampton started with all out offensive and at 6 minutes scored through a well executed pushover try from a rolling maul that the Barbs were unable to stop - the conversion attempt was missed, Beavers 5 - Barbs 0. Two minutes later, Aurora scored a well taken try after a break by Andrew Zircino and a strong finish by Dave Nielsen, with Dave Poettcker adding the extra points, Barbs 7 - Brampton 5.

The next 15 minutes were most notable for 8 consecutive penalties against Aurora for not releasing and/or going over and killing the ball - the Barbs appeared to be incapable of figuring out what they were doing wrong and making the necessary adjustments, but all continuity disappeared from the play. At 25 minutes Shaun Allen made a break which resulted in a maul at the Beavers 5 meter line and Robbie Carter drove in for the second try and Dave P. kicked the conversion, Barbs 14 Brampton 5. The Barbs momentum was stopped dead by a combination of more penalties and four forward passes in the space of five minutes. Aurora was all over Brampton, driving the visitors off the ball in three consecutive set scrums. Gradually the frustration reduced the Barbs effectiveness and the Brampton team drove to the Aurora 5 meters - an almost unbelievable mistake for this level of play resulted in Brampton's second try, when a loose ball was fly hacked straight into the arms of the Brampton #10, who scampered home unopposed in the corner and the extra points were added with an outstanding place kick from the corner - the score Aurora Barbs 14 Brampton 12. The first half ended with an Aurora try in the 40th minute of play - #8 Shaun Allen, enjoying a good game in a new position, made a clean break and fed Dave Nielsen in support who passed the ball to Andrew Zircino who in turn crossed for a well taken try, with the conversion being missed, Aurora Barbs 19 - Brampton 12 at the half.

Aurora started the second half with the wind at their backs and the prospect of taking the game away from Brampton, but the second half was the worst that the Barbs have played for the better part of a season. There was little continuity and poor communication. The frustration was clearly mounting throughout the second half - Simba Sithole went close to scoring when he followed-up on an Andrew Zircino chip but was tackled three meters short of the line. Brampton immediately struck back with a beautiful break by #10 McDermid, who was only stopped by a determined cover tackle by debutant winger Fulton. At 10 minutes of the second half the momentum shifted dramatically when flanker Will Sorensen took a bad penalty and a resultant yellow card for a deliberate off-side - Brampton kicked a penalty to close within one score Aurora Barbs 19 Brampton 15. And still Aurora persisted in taking penalties with 5 additional infractions in five minutes!! The Barbs failed to put the game away through a combination of poor decisions handling mistakes Simba came close to breaking the play when another break by #8 Allen linked to Marco di Giralomo and Deej flipped the ball to Simba who was dragged into touch by the Beavers cover at the 10 meter line. Play in the last 10 minutes became even more frustrating for Aurora as mistakes mounted and when Deej made a clever chip ahead but was late tackled and held by a Brampton forward - in the resultant "frustration fracas" Deej received a Yellow, a complete mistake by the referee, and Brampton went unpunished for this and for a jump on Robbie Carter in which Robbie received a heavy bruise to his upper arm - Robbie was forced from the field and Aurora played out to full time with 14 men.

The final whistle bought this wholly unsatisfactory game to an end - Brampton did what they had set out to do, keep the score reasonable and gain a bonus point, Aurora Barbs got their third successive win but no bonus when, in all honesty, they should have put this game away in the second half - fact was that Aurora did not score in the second half with the wind in their favour.

So where do the Barbs go from here? Maybe it is good to get the bad games out of the way with a win!! Three key lessons emerged from this game:

1. Consider all points when they are on offer -the Barbs passed up 9 points from kickable positions.
2. Learn to play the referee - the continual back chat and failure to address the penalty situation took Aurora out of their play and will have a cost over the season - basic discipline.
3. Control the game and establish strategies to build continuity and consistency - at times players looked confused and tentative and perhaps over confident of success - the overall work rate was below par and must improve in the next few weeks if Aurora Barbs are to establish dominance in the 2007 Marshall.

While this has been a tough summary, there is every indication from the first three rounds of the Marshall that Aurora Barbs can play excellent rugby. Let's hope that this game was an aberration and that better things are in store.