Chips Revenge!

Chips kicked off and re-gathered driving up field, however Conor ripped the ball from the Chips player and drove on ably supported by the Cats forward pack. The ball came back to Rory who passed quickly to Aaron who made ground up to 10 m inside Cats half. Taken on by Lewis then back to Aaron and onto Trent who made good ground before being tackled inside Chips half. A penalty against Cats saw Chips put in a long kick which went over the goal line. A rush of blood to the head saw Cats attempting to run the ball from that position but were caught 10 metres out and although the forwards, ably led by Conor and George, did dome sterling defensive work Chips managed to work the ball out wide and they scored in the left hand corner – unconverted. Chips 5 – 0 Cats.

Cats kicked off and reclaim the ball following good pressure from Dan Dolce and Toby. However the ball went to ground and Chips kicked ahead and then launched an attack within the Cats half. A good tackle by Jack sees Chips knock on and from the ensuing scrum Cats attach through Rory, Trent, Gordon and Will Mac who gets to the Chips 22 before being tackled. Lewis drives on ably supported by Conor who gets close to the line. Cats win quick ruck ball which goes through the hands but is lost forward in the tackle giving Chips some breathing space. Chips kick and chase and notwithstanding some fine defensive tackling get numbers on the ball and drive over for a try wide out on right hand side. Unconverted. Chips 10 – 0 Cats.

From the Cats kick-odd ex Cats player Paddy runs up the side line but is well tackled by Dan Dolce and Scott. Cats win penalty and a quick tap sees Conor, Dan D. and Dan O. make ground into the Chips half however ball lost in tackle and Chips immediately attack. Cats reclaim ball following good mauling from Conor and drive forward through Will Mac, Dan D. and Scott. Following sustained pressure the ball is again lost in the tackle and Chips clear their lines, working the ball up field before winning a scrum 10 out Cats line. From the scrum Chips run the ball in under the post – converted. Chips 17 – 0 Cats.

Chips again take clean restart ball and work their way into Cats half. A speculative kick by Chips is grounded over the line by Cats defence but not picked up by referee or linesman and a try is awarded to the following up Chips player – converted. Chips 24 – 0 Cats.

Cats kick off into space and again good pressure from Lewis and Toby sees Rory gather the ball and feed Trent who makes good ground before passing on to George. Conor then drives on but the ball is won on the ground by Chips who clear their lines. From inside Cats half Conor makes ground before passing to Will Mac who gets within Chips 22. Conor backs up and gets within 5 before passing to Toby, onto to Rory, back to Toby who goes close before passing to Jack who scores a good try in the corner – unconverted. Chips 24 – 5 Cats. Soon after the half ends.

At the start of the second half Cats kick off and reclaim possession driving deep into Chips half. Good work by both forwards and backs with a scrum eventually awarded to Cats on Chips 22. Good short side move with Lewis taking the ball from the back of the scrum, drawing the man feeding Rory who then pops it to Aaron for a good score in the corner – unconverted. Chips 24 – 10 Cats.

Cats then go to sleep and from the kick off kick it straight back to Chips, initial pressure not kept up and Chips player runs through to score under post – converted. Chips 31 – 10 Cats. Cats then kick the ball straight to Paddy and watch him run the ball back to score immediately – converted. Chips 38 – 10 Cats. As if things couldn’t get worse, after sterling work by George from the kick-off in creating a turn over, from the ensuing ruck the ball is taken by a Chips player standing so far off-side he was behind Rory when Rory took the ball from the ruck!! Converted. Chips 45 – 10 Cats.

However Cats were not going to let their heads drop – simple errors and a couple of lucky breaks for Chips had seen them score 5 of their tries. Cats knew they were just as good and were determined to finish the game on a high. Although Chips attacked from the restart good work from Cats forwards led by Lewis, Dan O. and Conor saw Cats attacking into Chips half. Following a penalty against Chips for offside the ball is moved through the hands with Will Mac, Gordon, Rory, Dan O and George prominent. From a ruck the ball is taken on by Rory who feeds inside to Dan O who runs through the Chips defence for a good try – converted by Kieran. Chips 45 – 17 Cats. Following a brief passage of play the ref blows for full time.

The scoreline did not accurately reflect the game. Although it could be argued that Chips took their chances and rode their luck, Cats were not outplayed in the forwards or backs and on another day could well have won. All the players deserve a clap on the back for their efforts. The front row of Dan O, Toby and Conor were solid with all three taking the ball up strongly – a special mention for the amount of work Conor got through. George and Jamie provided a strong locking combination ensuring the scrum was strong and provided good support around the field. The loosies of Dan D, Will Morris and Lewis at No. 8 contested well for the ball and tackled well in close while Rory and Trent ensured that ball won was go-forward ball with some good running. Gordon and Will Mac ran strongly in the centre putting pressure on their opposite numbers and were ably supported by Scott, Aaron and Jack who also had to do their fair share of defensive work. Kieran and Kalem offered good options off the bench and ensured no continuity was lost when they came on.