After such a long time out, causing many a good man to consider if the boots might have seen their last sight of a rugby pitch back in March last year, 27ish brave Bs souls and a good handful of ‘officials’ remembered what it is to play rugby and hauled our season back from the brink on Sat 15th May in what turned out to be a memorable event.

Playing a 3 way round robin tournament with our invited guests The RAMMIT (Rugby Against Mens Mental Illness Together) Barbarians and Grasshoppers Vets, teams had 40mins vs each opponent and enjoyed a full afternoon of Rugby.

As hosts, the Bs kicked off first and played RAMMIT then Grasshoppers back to back, a schedule questioned by some as too generous, but paying dividends when right on cue before match 3 the promised rain arrived just as the Bs beer started flowing under the Bs shelter.

Game 1 - Bs vs RAMMIT

The alarm bells started ringing as an offer to transport gazebos and tents to the pitch using the golf buggy was turned down by the RAMMIT lads (35 strong) a few of whom had tucked the weighty apparatus under one arm and scrolled casually up to the pitch! When a second offer to shift the RAMMIT’s Physio bench and kit was accepted (I think just to make me feel better), I knew we were in for a tough afternoon.

After running through the adjusted rules (no scrums and mauls) with the ref we KO’s and immediately found ourselves up against it. Well organised waves of attack by RAMMIT were initially met and matched by a fresh and energised Bs but as the minutes progressed cracks started to appear and RAMMIT regathered a chip kick and ran in a try in the corner after a at about 7mins in.

Despite the return of some of our old stalwarts the Bs were struggling to find our spark and connect as a team. Great individual breaks too often ending in turnovers and rusty ball handling causing scrappy play. The absence of a scrum nullified the usual antics of a Corish/Harris/M Anderson front row and the tap and pass alternative increased the pace of the game which was not in our favour. The repeated ten-yard tap restarts allowing RAMMIT’s big attacking runners to gather pace that took more than a few men to take down. Just before half time after a last gasp attempt to intercept, Charlie O’Hagan was harshly yellow carded by the ref, adding to our plight.

Some great individual performances from the likes of Adam Anderson and Dan Butt, having both been seconded to the pack, fought back with barraging runs of their own. Plus, a notable and welcome return of Haldane in the centre always causing the defence trouble with ball in hand. Despite those individual performances and the combined effort of all, against a team with not a small amount of international pedigree, the Bs were unable to cross the line and the first game finished 6 tries against. (0 -32)

Game 2 – Bs vs Grasshoppers

The Grasshoppers (15ish strong) were up next and looking almost as ominous given their fresh legs. Our good turnout afforded us to swap on some much-needed subs, one of whom was Graham Richards making his debut for the Bs and a notable contribution.

Once again, we competed well until the tanks started to run dry. Strong running Hoppers breaking through our defence too often and at half time having leaked a few try’s we had to regroup.

Into the third Qtr of our day we rallied. A sustained period of pressure in the Hoppers half finally reaped reward as Liam S-Moore escaped a wrap tackle in the corner and put us on the score sheet. What turned out to be a consolation try was just reward for our efforts to stick with it. Final score (5 -33)

In such games you might expect heads to drop but as clear underdogs against RAMMIT and with tired legs against Hoppers, the Bs in the end gave a very respectable performance. Of course, some rustiness, lack of fitness and cohesiveness was there to see, but with it a passion and enjoyment of getting back to playing was there right to the end. All the rest we can work on.

Game 3 – RAMMIT vs Grasshoppers

The final game of the afternoon was a close contest between our visitors. The rested RAMMIT lads returned strongly against Grasshoppers who themselves having sustained a few injuries against the B’s bolstered their side with our own Mark Tanner at 10 and a late arriving Ed Harte in the centre.

The game was finally pinched by Grasshoppers who took the controversial decision to kick a penalty in the friendly and in doing so snatch victory 8–7. Who took that decision and who kicked the penalty may be a matter for a later date!

Easy Up Three.

After a bruising afternoon of rugby all teams remained pitch side and enjoyed post-match refreshments including a very welcome warming shot of whiskey or two to chase down the slabs of beer.

With a RAMMIT court session in full flow at pitch side and the Grasshoppers basking in their victory, the enjoyment so far on the pitch was set fair to continue. The Bs hosted both teams down to the outside club house (Gazebos and all) for hog roast and analysis.

A debut performance from the ‘Easy Up Three’, our new Bs resident musicians entertained the growing number of ‘socially distant’ gatherings as the days other tournaments finished up. For sure these lads will give our old favourites the ‘Lavatory Door Four’ a run for their money.

As is custom. An open mic and music continued till closing.

Special thanks to Barry, Greg and Glyn from RAMMIT, who are also now becoming regular Thursday night touch attendees. A great spirited day was made in no small part by their touring team and if the stories from Julie Ann are to be believed the Welsh contingent were even well behaved despite not being able to walk or communicate with UBER by the end of the night. If you are interested in the RAMMIT Charity and/or Kit their online shop link is here:
https://kit-sportswear.myshopify.com/collections/rammit-babarians

Huge thanks also to Julia Mustard for being team photographer for the day and as a lesson for Mr Hanlon, actual sharing them forthwith. To view all the photos and order some if you wish see Julia’s link here:

https://gallery.juliamustard.com/london-irish-may21

London Irish Amateur RFC Bs are generally made up of those players looking to play at a decent standard but with more than one eye on enjoying the social side that the game brings. Their season is filled with a mixture of friendly matches, league matches against local clubs and tours. They play touch rugby on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm on the 4G pitch at Hazelwood.

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