Lads, Well for those of you who were in SB, yesterday will be a day not soon forgotten. A quick summary of the game: We showed up with about 18 guys due some late scratchings (Taco, Andy, Big Brian) but were keen to get on with the game. The LA side did not show so it was decided that we would play the Fossils 3 x 20 mins periods. The Fossils pack were quite old but BIG & their backs were OK but nothing we couldn’t handle. The ref was a kiwi (Maori) who ref’d the Gators last year (& sent Winnie off!) in Victorville – he was part of the Fossils team. We kick off & pretty much straight away we see that these blokes wanted to play more than a social lark: they were coming in pretty hard & driving us in the tackles even after we offloaded the ball. They were often offsides in the backs & very aggressive in charging up once we won the scrum & the ball was out. We got penalized a hell of a lot partly because we forgot or didn’t know the rules. They get an early penalty goal & lead 3-nil. We come back & finally stick it to them with an easy try out wide by Derek, Conversion good, we lead 7-3. Kaffs takes the ball up, unloads & subsequently gets picked up & dumped after the ball was gone. He put his hand down to soften the fall & injures himself – he has to come off. We continue to lose people to injury, Derek (hammy), Alfredo (hammy), so we are down to basically no subs. 22 mins into the 20 min 1st period the ref continues to blow the whistle against us (about 5 in a row) marching all the way down to our try line. They tap & go & we stuff them again about 2 meters out. Their bloke goes to ground & wraps his arm & hand around the ball!!! The ref tells him to release, he doesn’t & the ref blows for a penalty …against us for coming in from the side – bloody hell. They take another tap & finally score & convert to make it 10-7 & he blows for time. We take a breather & come out for the 2nd period. 5 mins into it, Micky makes a tackle & we all hear a CRACK & down he goes. Now I have seen a few injuries before, but when Micky went to lift his leg & only his top half responds, I could have chucked up my breakfast croissant. Needless to say, play is stopped & we call for an Ambo. Luckily there are a couple of off duty nurses & a paramedic there to put the thing in a splint & ice. Micky gets carted off in the Ambo (along with one of their blokes with a suspected broken hand) & it is game over – fuck that. Later that day at the pitch, Kaffs is still bitching about his wrist that he has been icing, so he swings by the hospital & he gets wheeled into the operating room to undergo surgery for a severly dislocated wrist & chipped bone – fuck me! He gets discharged around midnight. Lads, I just sent an email off to Bob from the Fossils (the organizer) giving an update about our boys (he did ask) & also expressing a little disappointment in their “spirited” performance. Bob was harping for many weeks leading up to the game how they old they are & how they were smashed up pretty bad last year against a younger side, also saying they are a true Over 40s social side yet they came out willing to play pretty recklessly. So I just wanted him to know that we have played in 2 Old Boys outings now & have had 2 very different experiences. Now I am not saying they are all pricks, we had a few drinks with them after & it was fun but I guess Bob confused me with his pre-match concern. We hope Micky & Kaffs make speedy recoveries & the rest of us lose our limps even sooner. Thanks to all who showed up, I thought it was a gutsy performance & I am sure those Fossils are feeling a bit worse for wear today too. Cheers Easy Written by Mark Ellis |
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