Once upon a time God made a rugby pitch. He put it in a lush green valley among rolling hills and quaint stone houses along a winding road. There were green trees on each sideline and the practice pitch was made of the same soft ground and green grass as the playing pitch. The sheds were big enough for both teams, and there was a set of monkey bars for the kids. The posts and the lines were straight. He called it “Bedlinog” and he put it in Wales.
The on-field part of the Tour to Remember wrapped up against the Bedlinog Foxes. The Rowers kicked off in the first half, running downhill on a sloped pitch. The Welsh team was well organized, preferring to work up the middle and make use of a strong pack. They picked from the base and controlled the game well, communicating in a unique and unintelligible chatter that I was later told was in-fact English. The Foxes got on the board first, scoring a well-earned try and slotting the conversion. Germany-based Rowing Club tour fixture Mark Lovell was then able to put one in for the Rowing club, the conversion chance went begging, leaving the score at 7-5 Bedlinog.
The Rowers responded after a few inside phases by getting the ball wide to a seemingly unstoppable Maverick Seed streaking along the wing to create a 2 on 1 with Nik Samija. Maverick, having his third stormer of a game, worked a textbook give and go with Samija, committing the defender and making a feed into space for Nik to finish all alone.
Touring rugby sides don’t do much kicking. The Rowers Euro side did not carry anyone professing to be a kicker, and I’ll spare those who filled in when necessary the embarrassment of naming them. The Rowers didn’t kick for position, the Rowers didn’t kick for points and when it came time to kick conversions, we were nearly hopeless. However, on this lone occasion, Nik having put it in directly under the posts, somebody split the sticks. 14-12 for Bedlinog at half time.
Disco Stu Doesn’t Advertise |
In the halftime huddle, coach Mergui pointed out that the only thing working was getting it outside, and that we ought to do more of that. So we did. The Rowers received the 2nd half kick and immediately played it out to our talented backs, who made good yards. “Disco” Stu Holland carried an excellent first half into a dazzling second half, as he worked his trademark dance move / show and go successfully to create chances and breaks for the visitors. Playing with a nasty goose egg under his right eye left over from the Ironsides game, Stu put together a memorable run up the middle through space that must have left three or four defenders reaching at nothing or nursing broken ankles.
An off center penalty to Bedlinog in the visiting 22 gave them a chance to showcase their flawless kicking game, slotting a beauty that was solidly booed from the Rowers sidelines, making it 17-14 for the hosts. Undaunted, the Rowers battled for a good 15 minutes, holding on to the ball and building simple phases until a marauding Brett Illing picked and went from the base to punch one in and give the Rowers a 19-17 lead.
A Dapper Markus SK Observes With the Rowers Bench |
Up the hill at the clubhouse, we watched the Fiji-England world cup game together and ate sausages with chips and gravy. After losing the standard man-of-the-match boat race by only a few ounces, we were given another chance with our choice of contenders and still lost. We learned new drinking games and spotted a shirt on the wall from a BC club who had visited long ago. We lingered as long as we could, and traded shirts and stories. The clubhouse party was still hopping when we left.
“Honestly,” Lynch answered, “it never even occurred to me.”