Game Report: July 18, 2007

Under 18 Men - U18s edge Brock in Physical Encounter
Week 4: Aurora Barbarians RFC (ABRFC) 14 - Brock 12

Last Wednesday night, the u18s defeated Brock RFC 14-12 in a very tough, physical game at the cow pasture in Blackwater. It was a key match for Aurora has they needed to win to keep pace with the division-leading Ajax Wanderers who had an easy night against the Irish. Aurora remains second behind Ajax but with a rematch on the last night of the regular season anything is possible.

It was a rather make shift line up that took to the field for Aurora as the team has been hit by injuries, vacations and, on this night, travel problems. Nonetheless, it was Aurora that dominated the opening minutes of play; unfortunately it was Brock that scored first. It looked like it would be a long night as Brock continued to press taking advantage of Aurora errors and having a few dubious penalty calls go their way.

Aurora responded by matching Brock tackle for tackle and hit for hit. Soon the momentum began to shift and Aurora took the lead when newcomer Mark McKittrick dashed down his right wing to beat the opposition to the corner. He crossed the line and made for the uprights in order to give JD Otten an easy conversion. The game was now tied.

The second half brought even more pressure from Brock. An adventurous call that backfired near their own goal line put Aurora in a difficult position. Brock took the lead with a hard fought try, but they were unable to convert. That miss would be vitally important.

Aurora brought on fresh legs in the middle of the second half and the pressure shifted onto the home team. Aurora launched a series of attacks deep into their opponent’s end only to come up short each time. Either it was a knock on, a penalty or even held up over the line.

With ten minutes to go scrumhalf Eric Shannon darted 20 metres from a ruck to score the essential points to tie the game. As calm as can be JD Otten added the convert and Aurora was ahead. The question was could they hang on?

Brock had only one foray into Aurora’s end as the final few minutes wound down and they were stymied by the stalwart defense. It was a great cheer that went out when the final whistle blew.