Match Report vs London Springboks 1st XV
18 February 2008
British Airways Rugby Club exacted revenge for a heavy away defeat back in November to London Springboks to show the progress made this season. That said, BA were made to work hard through to the last whistle but just about edged a thrilling contest 27-24.
“Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, PW Botha, Francois Pienaar, your boys took one heck of a beating today!!”
British Airways Rugby Club exacted revenge for a heavy away defeat back in November to London Springboks to show the progress made this season. That said, BA were made to work hard through to the last whistle but just about edged a thrilling contest 27-24.
Fitness Coach Craig McQuade’s work with the team seems to be reaping dividends as BA followed up their traditionally strong first half showing with an improved second half performance that allowed them to survive a strong final quarter from the Boks.
Fred Levesque opened the scoring, getting reward for his efforts in chasing a long kick and putting pressure on the defence to make a mistake. The Springboks struck back, but the lead was restored when Pete Downey made the Boks pay again for mistakes in their own 22.
The pack continued to dominate the scrums, but it was not until the second half that this was converted to points when first Julian Moseley and then Martin Flatley skipped through the defence from close range.
It was a physical game that occasionally got a little too ‘excitable’, seeing the Boks concede a number of penalties and get one player sin-binned. BA, by contrast, kept their heads and did enough to stay ahead on the scoreboard throughout the game.
However, just as it began to look comfortable for BA, the Springboks came back at them again, taking advantage of injuries being carried in the BA backline to create overlaps and score two tries. In the end, the result came down to single penalty slotted over by man of the match Rick Mee - a hard won victory that was thoroughly celebrated afterwards!
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British Airways Rugby Club exacted revenge for a heavy away defeat back in November to London Springboks to show the progress made this season. That said, BA were made to work hard through to the last whistle but just about edged a thrilling contest 27-24.
Fitness Coach Craig McQuade’s work with the team seems to be reaping dividends as BA followed up their traditionally strong first half showing with an improved second half performance that allowed them to survive a strong final quarter from the Boks.
Fred Levesque opened the scoring, getting reward for his efforts in chasing a long kick and putting pressure on the defence to make a mistake. The Springboks struck back, but the lead was restored when Pete Downey made the Boks pay again for mistakes in their own 22.
The pack continued to dominate the scrums, but it was not until the second half that this was converted to points when first Julian Moseley and then Martin Flatley skipped through the defence from close range.
It was a physical game that occasionally got a little too ‘excitable’, seeing the Boks concede a number of penalties and get one player sin-binned. BA, by contrast, kept their heads and did enough to stay ahead on the scoreboard throughout the game.
However, just as it began to look comfortable for BA, the Springboks came back at them again, taking advantage of injuries being carried in the BA backline to create overlaps and score two tries. In the end, the result came down to single penalty slotted over by man of the match Rick Mee - a hard won victory that was thoroughly celebrated afterwards!
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