The day started off with a twist for the Richmond squads as Port Alberni got a belated Christmas present when management decided it would be a good idea to switch the games around with the 1st division playing at 12:30 and the 2nd division playing at 2:00.
It was a good thing because our island ex-players showed up late to the field, and wouldn’t have recognized any of the 1st division players anyways.
The game started off with a quick pace with Richmond putting pressure on the Alberni scrum from the get go. The first play saw a scrum won against the head. Brendan Bains picked the ball and made good ground with support. Unfortunately, the ball was knocked on, an ominous sign for the squad. Being the first game, handling errors were expected, but by the end of the game a rough estimate 23 knock-ons were counted. The game was much closer that it should have been thanks to some excellent goal kicking with both kickers hitting difficult shots. The Alberni kicker even making three shots from the sidelines to keep their squad in the game. Ironically, this expertise failed him in the dying minutes of the game that could have helped Alberni win the game. Going into the second half, Richmond saw itself trailing 16-11.
The game tightened up somewhat in the second half, with very little side giving anything away. With about 20 minutes left in the game, a sustained attack saw Alex Brown go in for Richmond’s second try. The convert by Cam Knowles put Richmond up 18-16.
With about 12 minutes to go Richmond was called repeatedly for going offside on their goal line. The Alberni kicker had an easy shot just a couple of meters to the side of the posts but pushed it wide, leaving the Richmond sidelines gawking in misbelief. Another scare saw Alberni get a lineout in the 10-meter zone but they were unable to put enough pressure to put the ball in. A final attack by Richmond saw a tired Alberni team unable to match the pace of Richmond as Alex Brown scored on a ball swung wide. The final score was 25-16. Defensively Mike Marquardt put the hurt on his opposite number who seemed to be their attack striker who made very little ground. Paul Gaudrault also had a great game defensively and number 8 Brendan Bains carried the ball with confidence in attack.
Graham Haigh notched Richmond’s first try and Cam Knowles kicked two penalties and 2 converts.
As the Richmond 2nd division trotted onto the field, it was surprising to see about 7 of the same players take the field for Alberni that played in the 1st game, highlighting the difficulties that smaller and more isolated clubs face. Despite having 7 first division players on their squad, Richmond’s game plan, a mixture of attacking their inside backs and tactical kicking to move their players around the field, was successful. In the first half Richmond scored five times, Tim Ross, Derek Dempsey, Jagjot Dhaliwal, Matt McIntyre, and Eric Woods. Having an outstanding day with the boot, Ryan Shams also was perfect on the day, going 5 for 5, with his kicking, many from the sidelines. Defensively, Richmond had only one defensive lapse, allowing Alberni an untouched try.
The second half was basically a stalemate as Richmond subbed frequently bringing in all who traveled to the island, and who also held their own despite having seen limited play in the 1st half of the season. The final score was Richmond 35 Port Alberni 12.
