|
Calcutta Cup Match 3:
Jungle Crows 0 v Kolkata Police 22
CCFC Ground 6 July 2005
The Jungle Crows were in action last week taking on Kolkata Police in an evening fixture at CCFC. The last fixture of the group stage saw Frenchman Christophe Plais and Englander Gary Stilgoe back in the team, this time as flankers, while the remainder of the team was essentially those that had despatched CCFC B with such aplomb last month. You won't have seen a report of this game which was a friendly fixture fixed up against CCFC's B Team in which the Jungle Crows ran out 29-0 winners. A good win and one which lifted the teams spirits.
On paper the Police was always going to be the Crows' toughest game of this season's Calcutta Cup and that is indeed how it turned out. The game got off to a feisty start and moved on apace with the Police keen to show their dominance. The next few minutes saw some resolute Crow defending but a probing run from a Police back with a late step inside yards from the line saw the Crows full-back penalised for tripping. A Penalty-try was awarded which the Police scrum-half had no trouble in converting. Crows 7-0 down with only ten minutes gone. The Police strategy was clearly based on trying to kick over the Crow backs and run on. This proved not to be the best strategy and time and again the Crows' full-back or wings were able to collect and run out of their twenty-two putting pressure on the stretched Police line. Frustration clearly got hold of the Police and one of their centres was lucky to stay on the pitch after a very high tackle on Crows winger Balak.
The pace of the game slowed a little and both sides failed to dominate. The Police had the better scrum but line-outs were evenly taken after the Crows switched their jumpers to better effect. Late on in the half the police were awarded a scrum 5 yards from the Crow line. A determined push and the Police were able to score a push-over try.
Half time, 14-0 Police and both teams grateful for the break. Crow substitutions saw Azad come on as prop and Anand as outside centre. Youthful exuberance was almost Anand's downfall as straight from kick-off he was penalised for a high and very dubious tackle. Representations were made to the referee by senior Crow players who satisfied the referee that no malice was intended and that the indiscretion was no more than a young player's keenness to get into the game having just come on. A line-out followed the resultant penalty and the Crows were adjudged offside at the maul. The Police kicked the penalty so awarded and went on to 17-0 ahead.
The Crows then entered into a purple patch. The forwards imposed themselves on the game and made good progress with four or five phases before releasing the ball to the backs. The backs showed some impressive ball handling skills. Eventually Anand broke through the Police line but was tackled as he crossed the line. Controversially the referee opined that Anand had been held up and dis-allowed the try.
There followed more pressure from the Crows with the Police constantly kicking from deep within their twenty-two only for the Crows to win the subsequent line-out (Masudul Haque jumping very well cemented his hold on the Crow of the Match for this encounter) and bring the ball back with interest. Another harsh decision saw a certain try stopped feet from the line with the referee awarding a knock on when even from the touch-line it was apparent that whilst the ball had been fumbled it had in fact gone backwards.
It may have been that perceived injustice but the Crow pressure then petered out. The line out, a redeeming feature in this second half, went awry with three or four consecutive throws given as not straight. The Police grabbed the opportunity and pushed the Crows back inside their own half. With only minutes remaining the Crows defended a scrum just outside their own twenty two. The pack worked well and did not concede ground to the Police. Stilgoe, on the blindside , broke early forced an erratic inside pass from the advancing Police wing but then missed the tackle on the centre. To compound this error two or three other tackles were missed on the same player before he was finally stopped a matter of feet from the Crow goal line. Good rucking by the Police saw the ball pop out to a lurking forward who went around the blindside to score. 22-0, the Police missing the conversion.
Conceding points so late on seemed to spur on the Crows and they followed the restart with gusto. The ball remained in the Police twenty two with hard tackling and good forward play from both sides. Eventually the Police were adjudged off-side. At the award of the penalty the bell rang indicating the end of the game; as soon as the ball went dead the game would be over. Scrum half Tuna took a quick tap penalty and quickly spread the ball down the Crow line. Tudu stepped inside but was stopped at the last minute. Somehow the Police turned the resulting ruck over and were able to kick to clear their lines and end the game.
22-0 to the Police. In fairness, probably the right result. The Crows however can take a lot away from the game. The forward line gelled wonderfully and became, for the first time, a cohesive unit. The backs having found their positions worked well together showing good understanding of each other when under pressure. Yes, there will be disappointment in the Crow camp but it is their first season in the 15's game, many of their players had little or no rugby experience before this season and each game is still a learning experience. The Crows have come a long way and have shown some established teams that they are serious about their rugby and are here to stay. As a somewhat biased observer your scribe has to say that he has rarely, if ever, seen a young team play with such spirit and heart as he witnessed in the Crows this week. Next stop the Delhi qualifiers and then the All India. Kolkata rugby is already the richer for the presence of the Jungle Crows!
|
|
 
|
