| On a day when for once we had more than 22 players available we might have hoped for more. Playing on a pitch reminiscent of an African dust bowl this was not a vintage British performance.
With a slow start from BRFC the first quarter of the game proved to be decisive. Some poor tackling and a lack of defensive organisation let PORC in for a couple of early tries in the backs. These were converted by the opposition's kicker who also went on to add a successful penalty kick. A third converted try was added through the PORC forwards whilst BRFC's points came from two well struck penalties by Barks. A half time score of 24-6.
The second half saw a better performance from a more awake and committed BRFC. The British pack asserted greater pressure but crucially there were no further scores to come. PORC had a player sin binned for a dangerous tackle but BRFC also lost Steve 'Bad Boy' Emm to the bin for a white card offence.
BRFC took advantage of the available substitutes to rotate players, however Sebastiano coming on as a wing replacement suffered a cruel blow. A broken wrist was diagnosed and a lengthy spell on the sidelines sadly awaits. Rick was also the victim of the rock hard surface with a late tackle resulting in a nasty knock to the head.
A few half chances in the backs could not be converted but towards the end of the game the forwards felt they had got over the line only to be denied by TV official Stuart Dickinson.
Positives can be drawn from promising performances from some new recruits but in the end a lack of team cohesion and some shaky defending proved to be costly
Many thanks to those who watched and supported from the sidelines. Best wishes to Sebastiano for a speedy recovery. |
