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Triple header against Nomads ends in whitewash

Triple header against Nomads ends in whitewash

Alex McIntosh12 Aug 2014 - 00:58
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The men's regular season came to thematically typical end on Saturday, with all three sides losing out to the Nomads in similar fashion.

The Dragons travelled to Fletcher's with 40 players in total for three games. Not a horrendous figure for a mid-August fixture with nothing on the line, but one that made winning any of the encounters an uphill struggle. While doubling up is admirable in it's own, underdogish, Zulu-esque rearguard action sort of way, it does absolutely nothing to make us competitive. Credit in particular goes to club Captain Jay O'Callaghan, who played over 160 minutes of rugby on the day over all three games, but this is not the way it should be if we harbour any ambitions of improving our standing, both literally and figuratively, in Toronto rugby. Thank heavens this was the last game of the regular season.

The 3rds started brightly, with flanker-cum wing Antoine Blanc almost crossing within the first five minutes, but the Nomads and in particular their talented but personality-free outside centre quickly got on top of the game, scoring a brace of tries in succession, with a third coming late in the half to give them a solid lead.

The Dragons' own Luigi Iantosca was making an interesting fist of it as lawmaker - he tolerated no backchat, but seemed to be a little more laissez faire with knock-ons, off-sides and crooked feeds. He should be given a lot of credit though, because in spite of the (admittedly often justified) rumblings from the Nomads, without him there would have been no game for them to indulge in. Luigi's decision, along with Brendan Smith and Gabe De Nota, to become a referee should be applauded - they are a hugely important and rare resource, especially at this level. Fantastic job gents, just need to learn the rules now...

The second half was more competitive, with the Dragons able to get on the scoresheet. But in the end they went down 5 tries to 1 (or thereabouts), having used a raft of 2nd teamers in the process.

The Second team began in a similar vein to the 3rds, showing some decent composure in attack and with the occasional midfield break. But some tellingly weak defence started to filter in - telling in the sense that those responsible hadn't been training all that much in recent weeks. The likes of Rob Ricci and Junior Murphy were fighting valiantly but holes opened up all too often and the Nomads ran away with it in the second 40, an exhausted Dragons only able to score one try in a 40 plus point thumping.

On the sidelines, the immaculately dressed 1st XV (theirs, not ours), had changed from their chinos-man look into more appropriate attire in time for kick-off. The Dragons equivalent having been largely ring fenced from the previous two engagements (Donny Mac and Antoine being the two major exceptions), were given their marching orders and, like their 3rd and 2nd XV counterparts, started well. They twice came close to scoring in the first five minutes, and remained competitive for a solid 20 minutes more.

But the flagging heat was taking it's toll on our players more than theirs, who were a fair bit fitter, not to mention leaner, across the park. And when Kelvin Yu went off for an injury ten minutes before the mid-way point, giving way to O'Callaghan, you knew what was on the cards. The second quarter was all Nomads, who scored four tries in fairly quick succession, with the Dragons defence that worked so well against that Pigs a few weeks ago not on song here.

The second half continued where the first left off, with the Nomads scoring two further tries before the Dragons opted to make a fist of it. They were at last able to get on the scoresheet through two long range tries, the first a typical Orlando Jones crazy maze run resulting in a 50 metre try, the second a little more direct from Robbie Egan, but from close to the same distance out. Both efforts required the scorer cut through the first line and outrun the covering defenders over distance - no mean feat in that heat and at that stage of the game. Egan's effort brought the curtain down on the encounter, final score 50-12.

A disappointing end to an equally disappointing regular season . But all is not lost, with next weeks game against Balmy Beach Academy offering the Dragons medically approved relief from having to play in Toronto B next season. Apply liberally to all sore parts...

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