Thursday 01 May 2008
Last weekend (26-27th April) saw the UK Tour roll into Cardiff. Again 64 Open and Womens team battled it out to be Winners of their respective divisions. Chevron rolled into town fresh off their sudden death final win against Fire however again the squad wasn't up to full strength with the loss of SiD and Dyno to educational commitments. We did see the return of the perennial D monkey and captain Dave Barnard and O line captain Stu from injury.
Game 1: GB Masters
We were to play ex-chevron again in Tour 2 however this time we hoped it wouldn't be a repeat of Tour
1 performance. Both teams seemed a little sluggish with the early start and it showed in both defence
and offence and we ended up in another battle. The game stayed close until just after half when we
managed to get a couple of turnovers to give us some breathing room. We slowly turned the screw in
the game increasing the pressure we applied on defence and finished it 15-11. A more convincing
score line than the previous encounter but just as hard fought.
Score 15-11
Josh bids on defence in the final.
Picture courtesy of ultimatephotos.org
Game 2: Clapham 1
We started brightly getting control of the game early on. Our offence was playing well and our defence
was more intense than out last game. We traded most of the first half but at the end a lack on
concentration let Clapham back in and they took half 8-6. After the half it was much the same story.
We seemed to lose concentration and Clapham capitalised, they threw on a zone and we made mistakes
and it meant we traded the second half. In the end it was the end of the first half
which cost us the game as we finished 15-13. Our first defeat of the season.
Score 15-13
Game 3: Devon 1
After a nice game break we entered this game with the mentality of knockout ultimate. If we didn't win we
wouldn’t be making semi finals. We started the game slowly with the offence scoring and the defence
not applying too much pressure. I think we traded up until 3-3 before we got our first D score and
finished the first half 8-4 up. After a stern talking to by Stu Mitchell the D team decided to get
their act together. In the second half we started to apply the pressure we knew we could. Turns
started to come and more importantly so did quick conversions. A better second half display but as a
team we had a lot to think about and prepare for the semi final the next day.
Score: 15-5
Semi-Final: Fire 1
So to a repeat of the Tour 1 final. This was going to be a big game, Fire were hungry for revenge and
we were hungry to put in a display we knew as a team we were capable of. We put pressure on Fire's
offence with Rob Mitchell getting a huge block and our O line were back to the Tour 1 performance
of calm and clinical. Big plays were made by both teams which ended up with us trading the first half out.
A rousing half time talk stirred the D line into a more intense display, we came out from half and traded
until 10-10 then the D line started to convert. An inspired play by Dave Barnard who, after turning over on
a high stall, managed a standing layout block to gain possession back from the very first pass: Our defence
had finally arrived building a lead 14-11. It came down to the offence having the first opportunity to put
us in back to back finals. They dually obliged.
Score 15-11
Final: Clapham 1
After a close loss against them the previous day, we felt we had something to prove.
At the start of the game Clapham came out with a couple of big plays and our offence faltered a little.
We never really got into this battle and Clapham in the end ran away with it. Individually we all
had moments to remember but the game ended in dissapointment.
Score: 15-7
MVP: Rob Mitchell/ Steve Vaughan
Matt McMccMcc