| We set off, understandably anxious but; in true BRFC spirit, optimistic as well. Nicolas Dolo�s driving soon took some members of the team�s minds off things and onto more pressing (potentially life and death) matters as the Lexus went off-road down a closed road. A long story. We eventually reached the ground and trudged our way over to the changing rooms. As we were already late, our warm up was short and intense, claiming Amery who was forced out of the starting line up after dislocating his shoulder. Things were not looking good and the weather was getting worse. Driving rain and gusty winds swept over the pitch with dark clouds overhead. Kick-off was pushed back slightly but this only meant it was getting later and later and darker and darker�
A proud BRFC team marched onto the pitch, battling against the adverse (to say the very least) conditions but starting very well. The forwards made their mark early on, bullying the opposition off the ball and winning early battles. A suspiciously late hit went in on Renault�s fly-half inside the first five minutes to the delight of the BRFC travelling support and bench, fortunately going unnoticed and more importantly unpunished by the referee.
Renault quickly recovered and after the shock of being pushed off the ball by a team they clearly felt they were going to crush. The game was tight with both teams defending strongly and almost cancelling each other out. Excellent kicking from Barks helped relieve spells of Renault pressure and he always managed to find an expensive looking car to land the ball on when aiming for the left touchline.
Our injury woes continued after kick-off and within the space of about 10 minutes we had seen two broken noses. First Toniol took a rough hit and then Steinheart tried to tackle someone with his face. Yves came on and managed to last the rest of the game but it was suggested, albeit in a casual joking manner that I play on the wing at one point. Thankfully I was not needed in that position and am still waiting for everyone to realise that I am in fact a born winger. With the large turnover of wingers clearly playing on our minds ES Renault saw their chance and took it as a gap opened up and all of a sudden and they were in; scoring their first try but missing their conversion.
BRFC nearly replied instantaneously when the ball was shipped out to the wing, unfortunately the curse of the number 11 shirt that day reared its ugly head once again as Yves was unable to ground the ball properly in the corner. This disappointment after great work by both forwards and backs, linking well to create the chance, came just before half time and turned out to be a turning point in the match.
With only a 5-0 deficit at half time against the reigning league champions, this represented one of the best performances of the season however, spirits had been dampened, not only by the rain but also following the missed chance to draw level and potentially even take the lead. The light was waning and the weather was getting worse but the BRFC started the second half as we ended the first. We battled hard and had chances, spending a lot of time inside the Renault 22 but indiscipline and poor decision making let us down and we were becoming increasingly frustrated. Again the kickers deserve a mention for good positional play, kicking us out of dangerous situations when Renault broke on the counter attack.
The indiscipline continued and the referee became increasingly annoyed, mainly but not solely with our team. The match was nearing an end and getting increasingly tense as both sides had chances to score. First Ned then Justin decided to demonstrate just how committed they were to the BRFC cause, unfortunately, they both waited until the ball had gone (and the kettle had boiled) to smash their opposite man to the ground. Both great hits, both yellow carded. BRFC down to thirteen men. Next. We were stretched to say the least, and this; combined with our lack of penetration and the fact that the daylight was almost completely gone contributed to our eventual downfall.
Renault pounced, first scoring an extremely dodgy try that appeared to have been held up. Unfortunately the referee was so sick of our moaning that (I reckon) he actually enjoyed blowing the whistle to confirm their score. Then as the darkness closed in, the Renault boys found a gap and stumbled over for another try in the dying seconds.
The final score was ES Renault 17 BRFC 0 but this in no way reflected the heroic effort put in by a team stretched to the extreme with injuries (and then sin-bins) against the reigning league champions whilst also battling against adverse conditions that certainly wouldn�t be encountered anywhere other than in France. We deserved more but lacked penetration when we found ourselves in the right positions. Indiscipline cost us the game in the end as we squandered attacking positions and Renault capitalised. We were extremely unlucky not to get on the scoreboard and the chance to draw level before half time that somehow managed to escape us, weighed heavy on our minds throughout the second half.
A sterling effort from everyone involved and if we played like that every week, we would be challenging for the title. Maybe next year boys!
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