My first game of the new 2008/09 national Malta rugby season was last weekend with out first game being the Preseason "Ray Elliot" Cup vs Kavallieri.
I think our team played strong in parts however this being the Stompers very first game we were rusty in patches of the game which showed in making simple mistakes and turnovers.
We didn't win... losing 22 - 17.
Here is the local
sports write up of the game:
Kavallieri Megaman Cisk Excel started the new rugby season on a high when they clinched the Ray Elliott Cup after a 22-17 win over
Stompers TGI Friday.
The rugby season opened at Marsa with a bang as a host of matches were played on the two pitches now available to this swiftly expanding sport, before several hundred spectators.
Traditionally the main match on the first day of the season is between the two top teams of the previous season in which champions
Kavallieri started as strong favourites.
However, despite a big growth in playing membership and a comprehensive pre-season training program, they were disappointing.
Had it not been for the fitness of hardened forward veterans and their current internationals they could easily have lost this to the faster
Stompers backline.
The
Kavallieri backs were slow in thinking and action, with the only real penetration coming from Micalef and Doublesin.
By contrast
Stompers enjoyed a selection of speedsters who were always dangerous, and in the first half showed that a number of their younger forwards were ready to move up into senior rugby to make a mark. However, in the end fitness was crucial and
Kavallieri had the edge.
Scoring was opened when
Morton ripped open the Kavallieri backs to put M. Attard in for an unconverted try for Stompers.
After further pressure by
Stompers the ever dangerous Debattista broke well on the blind side but his scoring pass inside was dropped in the touch down so wasted. M. Attard also missed a short-range penalty to waste further points.
Kavallieri Schembri earned a yellow card for an illegal trip on Mirabelli, but
Stompers lost the initiative with a series of errors and gave away ground until a stupid penalty allowed
Kavallieri to kick touch close to the line and from there it was almost inevitable that their superb lineout maul drill would lead to a score.
Sure enough, Borda burrowed over out of the maul converted to grab the lead, against the run of play.
The second half began with a more focused
Kavallieri exerting the traditional forward grind on their less fit opponents, and after Stomper errors gave away many meters of ground they played a brilliant switch lineout which wrecked the defence for Grima to score.
Rob Bonavia made a great 40 metre run, well supported by his fellows deep into
Stompers half but they then broke out to win quick ball for
Morton to slice through for another fine try to bring Stompers right back.
More
Kavallieri forward pressure including a big run by D. Borg, setting up close range attacks, and Doublesin scored for
Kavallieri , thanks to a perfect handoff which flattened a tackler.
As the
Stompers tired against the grinding
Kavallieri spent more time pounding their line, but suddenly the fast backs broke away and only a brilliant cover tackle by Mike Bonavia stopped a try.
Another burst by Rob Bonavia made a second try for Grima to stretch the lead but Stompers hit back with the best try of the match by Debattista, converted by Attard, but it was too little too late and
Kavallieri took the Ray Elliott Cup.
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