St Andrews Rugby

St. Andy's Goes Down to Augusta 29-12

On Saturday January 23rd Saint Andrews RFC got their spring season off to a great start with a convincing 29 – 12 home loss to the visiting Augusta Rugby Club. And their coach feels like everything went according to plan…….

When asked what that plan was and how it could possibly involve considering a loss as being “According To Plan” this is what he had to say. “Over the next three to five years within the South territory we intend to progress from the social club that we are now to eventual D3 and D2 champions”. Several veteran members of the club joined the conversation and all agreed with Dave Edwards when he said “Within the South there is no reason to believe that playing at the D1 level is not out of the question assuming that our numbers and talent level continue to rise over the next few years”.

Bringing things back to the here and now their coach added, “For now the game plan will be to remain as a social side until next Spring. At that time we will enter D3 and remain there until one of two things happens. One when we win D3, or two after we spend two years at that level. Either way whichever comes first we will be moving up.” Until that time to help us prepare for the progression we intend to face a mixture of social sides that we should beat, D3 clubs that we can expect to split 50-50 with, and of course stronger D2 sides such as Augusta where our main goal is to learn from our defeat”.

Now that you have some idea of where the club is going in the future let me share some of the details of what according to plan felt like this past weekend against Augusta.

(First Half)
Even though they only had two practices under their belts before the match Saint Andrews was keen on pushing the tempo against the much larger pack oriented Augusta side. And as the early stages of the match began to unfold it was clear that there off-season touch program was paying dividends. After nearly 15 minutes of territorial jockeying Saint Andrews managed to secure a lineout on their own ten-meter line and they finally had the right platform to launch a meaningful attack.

Lockwood barked out the calls “99-16-31 – Red River Whiskey” and his throw found a willing receiver in the form of second rower Harrison Swadley. The pack brought him back down to earth and began mauling him forward. As the drive approached the half way line substitute scrum half Mike Miller dug out the ball and spun it wide to an eager hooker eyeing up the opposition flyhalf. As Lockwood hit the line and their flyhalf with a flying elbow number 8 Joffree Swait was in close support for a nicely timed pop pass. As Swait thundered towards the second defender it became clear that straight hands to his number 10 Dave Edwards would lead to some serious trouble for the remaining Augusta backline. Swait to Edwards, Edwards to Seay, Seay to Ledford and the floodgates were open for a 45-meter jaunt. Some good cover defense swallowed Ledford up about 7 meters from the line but the only temporarily. As Saint Andrews blew over the ruck it was a perfectly timed pass from Seay to Miller that left them with only one man to beat. And we all know what that means…. OVER! Miller covered the last 5 meters and dove in for the first try of the match for an unconverted lead of 5-0.

The remainder of the half was a hard fought battle with both sides pushing the issue in different fashions. Saint Andrews opted for clean hands and team support while Augusta honed in on their physical dominance in the forward pack. There were some spirited exchanges at the break down with boots flying in from both sides at ruck time (which thankfully enough the Scottish ref allowed with good cheer) but eventually the pressure and lack of experience led to several Saint Andrews penalties. Augusta eventually capitalized through their powerful number 4 who managed to tap quickly and catch Saint Andrews in an offside position. As they tried to reload and get back he tapped again and barged his way over the line for an unconverted tie of 5 –5 with roughly 10 minutes remaining in the half.

As time wound down the penalties continued to mount up against the home side and Augusta kept Saint Andrews pinned deep in their own half. Eventually pressure turned into points again as Augusta blew clean through a 5 meter Saint Andrews scrum. As the pack skated backwards Miller tried to dig out the ball but was put under immediate pressure from the Augusta back row. As he was taken to ground he ball was picked clean and the Augusta flanker was able to muscle over the line for a converted try and halftime lead of 12 – 5
(Second Half)
Saint Andrews did a good job of refocusing their efforts to open up the second half and they were able to put the inferior Augusta backline under a lot of pressure. Unfortunately that pressure typically resulted in a knock on which allowed Augusta to assert their dominance against the inexperienced Saint Andrews pack at scrum time. The first 20 minutes of the half was a back and fourth battle capped off by numerous scrums. Eventually things settled down but then open play turned into penalty fest which Augusta took advantage of with quick taps. Saint Andrews was caught off guard again and Augusta punched in a tap and go for an unconverted try which stretched their lead to 17 – 5. Several minutes later after blasting threw another Saint Andrews scum they were able to pick up clean ball and cut through some truly horrific team tackling attempts for another unconverted try and a comfortable 22 – 5 lead.

At that point it was determined by the ref that all remaining scrums for the afternoon would be conducted as “Non-Contested”. And on cue at the very next scrum Saint Andrews was able to reply with a nicely taken try by number 10 Dave Edwards. From ten meters out from the line with clean non-contested ball at the base of the scrum PNG was able to work his typical wizardry by dummying two defenders and coasting in under the sticks. For good measure he converted his own try to bring the score to 22 – 12 in favor of the visitors.

Although it would be fair to say that had scrums not gone to “non-contested” the match very well could have ended at 22 – 5. Having said that they did and Saint Andrews was able to take advantage of that fact. With roughly 7 minutes remaining Saint Andrews moved deep into Augusta territory and were awarded a penalty for foul play at the breakdown. Tapping quickly Edwards went left to Miller for what looked like a simple 3 on 2. Miller moved it to Lockwood with Swait in support but rather then moving it wide to the giant he opted to back himself for the line. There was a massive collision and he did cross the line but he was unable to touch it down which ended the last real chance for Saint Andrews points. To add insult to injury (Lockwood hurt himself trying to make the line) not only did Augusta get out of jail but they snuck in another converted try at the final whistle giving them a solid 29 – 12 victory.

(Third Half)
Both sides were joined at the Wild Ace in downtown Greer by the local Greenville Highlanders ladies side for food, drink, songs, and match day awards. Augusta was complimentary of their host’s efforts and Saint Andrews remains encouraged by the fact that they were not blown off the pitch by a D2 side. Everyone understands that the best way to learn and get better is by playing an opponent from a higher level. Saint Andrews looks to continue learning and competing this coming weekend against the Charlotte Barbarians.

Published on February 10, 2010 at 11:12 am | Permalink | 0 Comments