And we’re back! The endless three-week lull in rugby activity is finally over and we can enjoy our great game again. Hope you all enjoyed the break!

And what a great start to the new season!  The very definition of a game of two halves: the first an arm wrestle with two excellent defences keeping the margin to a penalty goal at half time; the second delivering flair and mistakes from both sides, leading to a cliffhanger finale.  But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Ollie Campbell Park looked resplendent on this lovely sunny summer evening, none the worse for wear apparently after all those years in the wilderness. Likewise, newly minted Lansdowne captain, Andy Marks looked fit and sharp as he led the team out for the first time, he too none the worse for his spate of seven recent weddings at which he was voted MVP.

Lansdowne had a marginal early advantage in territory and possession, but the Belvedere defence was robust and impregnable.  Then it was the hosts’ turn in our half for a lengthy period and our “D” was similarly watertight. The only edge was in penalties, and we were well ahead on that count with a succession eventually leading to a yellow card in the first quarter. Enthralling as the give and take between the two sides was, it didn’t yield any points so the cheerful and well-tanned crowd entertained themselves by taking bets on when the first points would be scored, much like bets on the duration of speech’s at one of Andy’s weddings. 

Other sideline diversions included the usual erudite and at times controversial banter. One anxious mother back from the summer recess was heard to remark, “Rugby is so much rougher than I remember!” But who would have thought that club stalwart, Dec Drummond would be the one to controversially suggest that “sometimes it’s better to concede a try than a yellow card!”  Really, you think you know somebody …

Finally, on 35 minutes, we were awarded a penalty just inside their half and outhalf Stephen Madigan struck it beautifully to give Lansdowne a narrow lead and for Ciaran “Caeser” O’Reilly to collect the kitty on when a score would finally come.

The balmy evening meant that half time was more like “stopping for tea” at a cricket match than the usual rush for shelter in a mid-winter AIL game.  But the two teams weren’t there for cucumber sandwiches and they came out all guns blazing for the second half.

Dec Fassbender, Rhys Ruddock and the rest of the coaching team must have given similar pep talks as the Belvedere coach Quenton O’Neal because both sides loosened up their defences in favour of more open attacking rugby from the restart.  Belvo seemed to favour the wider lines, counter attacking with panache, while our approach took the more central route, quick inter-passing and hard direct lines gaining ground and bringing us close on a couple of occasions.  Our strategy paid dividends after ten minutes when we set up a series of rucks and mauls from a throw in on their 10 meter line.  Fresh legs after a good summer rest meant that all the forwards were breaking, driving and clearing out like mad things but, true to his excellent game all night, it was second row Juan Beukes that drove the crucial last five meters for the match’s first try. Mads slotted over the extras and we enjoyed a fleeting double-digit advantage. 0 - 10.

Fleeting indeed, because the hosts got one penalty and then another within five minutes of our try, quickly narrowing the gap to 6 - 10.  Lansdowne picked up the gauntlet and resumed their driving central attack with gusto, Andy Marks being stopped short on one occasion only by an excellent tackle from his opposite number. But he wasn’t to be denied for long as moments later the fast moving ball came to him again and he broke through the last line to crown his debut as captain with an excellent try. Replacement outhalf, also on his debut for Lansdowne, James Tarrant did the honours with the conversion and it was 6 - 17, with just over 10 minutes to play.

If the first half allowed our minds and chit chat to wander, you couldn’t take your eyes off the second for a moment. Now Belvo came back at us with a vengeance. Capitalising on our willingness to kick possession away, they counter-attacked again and again, each time stretching our back three up to and occasionally beyond their limits.  It took them only two minutes after the restart to score their first try and just another three minutes for their second.  Happily for us, both were in the corner and, impressive as he had been with his earlier kicks, both conversions were just beyond their outhalf’s range.

So, it was 16 - 17 as we entered injury time, but Belvo looked more menacing than ever launching yet another attack, this time down the middle. Yet again they met a brick wall and possession was turned over in a ruck allowing Tarrant to hoof the ball deep into their territory where we kept them pinned for the remaining, nail-biting minutes of the game.  

The final whistle brought a sigh of relief to the visitors and agreement all around that it had been an excellent game, a fitting curtain raiser to the season and a welcome back to “The Lodge.”

Match Report - Brian Whelan


Match photos can be viewed here. - Michael O'Brien