North Shore 3 Middlesex 17

October 11, 2003

NSRFC's final league opponent of the fall season was Middlesex in a game that would play a large part in the playoff picture for NERFU Division 3 North. The match was marred by many, many penalties, most of which were questioned - to the ref's dismay. There was also some hard rugby played in between all the mistakes, with two clubs determined to gain bragging rights.

The game began with Middlesex pressuring North Shore's try line only to be turned back by some strong defense.  After fighting over midfield and establishing an attack in the opponent's end, a penalty gave NSRFC a chance to threaten the Barbarians' try zone.  After a Middlesex penalty, Rich DePiero put the home side up 3-0 by slotting a short kick from the center of the pitch.

That would be a short-lived lead, as Middlesex would convert a close-range penalty of their own for a 3-3 tie. In the midst of the action the visiting fullback would find some running room, only to be met by Chris LeBlanc-Smith with a thunderous tackle. Unfortunately for North Shore, the meeting of head and knee left our captain with a mild concussion and he was replaced by Jesse Dole, who did his best Captain Crunch impression.

After play resumed, North Shore's outside center (not mentioning any names) took an awful defensive line as his opposite number passed by on his way to the try zone.  The conversion was made for a 10-3 lead at halftime.

Again, there was not much run of play as the referee saw many line outs as not straight, many ruck participants coming from the wrong directions, and many balls knocked on.  When there was any flow to the play, North Shore's backs made a few breaks but were never able to string together the final moves to break away. The forwards stopped many crashing advances by the Middlesex pack and more than held their own.

Liam Brady was slightly banged up in the first half but stuck in there until halftime when he was replaced by Danny Forsythe.  The pack was able to win a couple of scrums against the head and unfortunately good things rarely happened once it got out. There were a number of knock-ons or things that were at least called knock ons which halted the backs' advances.

Middlesex missed two penalty kicks which could have pushed their lead to 10, but would pull ahead after driving deep into North Shore territory.  A penalty left the Barbarians inside the five meter line and their big French forward took a quick tap in for the score. The conversion was successful (apparently...) for a 17-3 lead.

There were some advances into enemy territory but a mixture of more penalties, line outs called not straight, and poor handling kept any further scoring from happening.  Also stopping an attack was one of the most blatant high tackles I've ever seen by the Middlesex fullback, appropriately red-carded by the referee.

Overall the bottom line was the Barbarians taking advantage of a couple of scoring opportunities to make the difference. Some credit should be given to men of the match  - Matt Thibault for his opportunistic/hard running and solid tackling, and and Tony Buonaugurio for his usual aggressive play in the thick of things and line out wins.

Also putting in strong performances were the rest of the un-named forwards, holding a strong line of defense, and the back line, for supporting each other on breaks and usually keeping possession alive. Scott Marcoulier notched his first game at fullback and looked like a seasoned vet.


North Shore XV
1-Tom Moloney
2-Reade Morrison
3-Liam Brady---->Danny Forsythe
4-Matt Cogliano
5-Mark Swan
6-Chris LeBlanc-Smith--->Jesse Dole
7-Tony Buonaugurio
8-Ken Spinale
9-Rich DePiero
10-Martin Mahoney
11-Jesse Brewer
12-Matt Thibault
13-Rob Moran
14-Chad Horn--->Trevor Mazarura
15-Scott Marcoulier

B-Side

This is going to be pretty vague, but hopefully some resemblance to what actually happened.  The 13-v-13 B-Side game had the same competitive feel as the A-Side, and Middlesex pulled ahead for an early 5-0 lead. After the half, Jesse Brewer found the try zone from his fly half position and the conversion failed to pull North Shore level at 5-5.

Middlesex would pull ahead for good and accumulate two more tries, one in the run of play and one awarded on a penalty try when it was judged that our player went for the man and not the ball. One conversion was made for the 17-5 final.

The dark note of the game was Chad Horn's unlucky collision which led to his leg being broken. As usual, Chad was going in hard for the tackle and a mis-step put his leg at an awkward angle. He was trying everything to get off the field before finally being taken in an ambulance. We appreciate all your efforts Chad and we know you'll be back.

Apologies for this crappy match report... It's been a few days.

North Shore XIII (back line numbers mean nothing)

1-Jeff West
2-Dave Hamilton
3-Liam Brady
4-Bob Midgley
5-Kevin Donovan
6-Jesse Dole
7-Chad Horn
8-Gus del Puerto
9-Jesse Brewer
10-Scott Marcoulier
11-Trevor Mazarura
12-Bless Mazarura
13-Eddy Calixte