After months of hard work, the anticipation of being promoted to the 2nd tier was a weight that had been lifted from the shoulders of the management, coaching staff, and players. Now all that remained was to see if we would start with an 0-1 record or a 1-0 record. The team that comes up with us the record between the two also follows them. United was 2-1 and tied with Kamloops. If they should beat us by a margin greater than 2 meant that they could come up with us in both divisions. That meant both games were important for both divisions.
The weather was nasty for the 2nd division game, and after several weeks off, the ball handling was bound to be an issue.
The start of the game illustrated that point as many of the balls were dropped or knocked on. Defensive pressure by the Richmond squad kept United hemmed in their own end. Eventually United was penalized for a ruck infringement. Eric Woods playing injured was able to slot the penalty for a 3-0 lead. Neither side was able to bring much finish to the game, but on the RRFC side the coach commented on the support of players all over the pitch. With a couple of scares later in the game Richmond’s defense was up to the task, forcing United to make knock-ons or bad passes.
The squad, despite their lack of finish, was able to capitalize on several further penalties. Woods kicked two more penalties to bring the score to a final 9-0 for Richmond.
One game down, one to go. The start of the 1st division game was a fairly evenly matched affair. Just like in the 1st half of the year United was probably our toughest opponent. Again the rust was apparent as Richmond had several knock-ons that slowed down the flow of the game. Unfortunately, for the first score I was in the portable, but I heard it was a nicely timed play, with a hard running back crashing in for the converted try.
The 2nd half saw Richmond pressing but the United defense holding fast. Richmond moved the ball back and forth across the field but were finding it difficult to penetrate the lines until Mike Marquardt faked a pass and went through the line about the 15 meter mark. Diving over the line for the score under the posts. It was quickly converted for a 7-7 score. United, without their #8, had very little sustained offence and were unable to mount any successful forward momentum. Richmond was able to mount several attacks but poor handling or lack of support led to turned over balls. They were able to however slot one final penalty kick for a 10-7 victory.
The victories were complete. Richmond’s 1st division ended it’s
first 13 games 11-2. The 2nd division sported the same record.
Only 7 more to go.
Next games TBA
