The Phoons supporters massed on the sidelines to cheer Plan B in this grudge match, and were treated to a game which ebbed and flowed throughout, and which ended in true Hollywood style thanks to Darren’s desire to keep things close right to the end!

Phoons started strongly with aggression from the start, and gave the Dragons no space in attack with a fast defensive line and some big hits. Strong carries and good rucks, the signature of this Plan B team when they’re playing well, dominated the opening quarter, and lead to a try from Popeye, on the touchline (which was unfortunately not converted). The pressure continued to tell and a few minutes later Phoons scored a second try, this time Tim took it over in the corner with a burst of power from a few meters out. No conversion again (another tricky kick) and Plan B were 10-0 ahead.

Dragons started to come back into the game as the second quarter progressed, and Plan B took their foot off the gas a little. The line speed dropped, the intensity in the contact eased a little, and Tai Po started getting enough space to be able to shift the ball wide (whilst Phoon’s stayed a bit too narrow). A missed kick, and it was 10-5 to Plan B at half time.

After some fresh instructions from Westy at half time, Plan B picked up their levels a bit, but the tiredness then began to show and Tai Po managed to score a second to take the score back to 10-10 with less than 10 minutes to go. Phoons finally woke up to the danger and upped their game again, bringing back the intensity that had served them so well in the first half. Unfortunately tiredness and lack of sharpness meant that the penalty count was much too high, and promising opportunities were sacrificed on more than one occasion.

In the final minute, a penalty was awarded to Phoons in a tough, but kickable position. Darren gave it a good attempt, but the cross breeze on the pitch meant it fell just wide. Fears that it was all over were quickly pushed aside when Tai Po ran it back and another penalty was awarded, this time in front of the posts. Surely this time….but no, Darren managed to counter the wind, but in the process didn’t hit it hard enough and it fell agonisingly short. Dragons made a fatal mistake however whilst kicking clear, firstly by missing touch and secondly by almost the whole team being in front of the kicker. Plan B cam close to scoring a try during the advantage, with Desmond being bundled into touch less than 5m out, but we were brought back for the penalty, in front of the posts again and this time a little closer. Darren confidently struck the ball and third time lucky Plan B sealed the victory.

(In an ironic twist, this game was the replay of a game which was voided by the Union after Dragons complained about the lack of posts at their own ground. It was only right that victory would be sealed with a penalty in a game otherwise devoid of kicked points!)

MotM - Jerry for dominating in the centres
DotD - Kitchen and Wyman for arriving after kick-off, and Pat for forgetting to buy any beers
Tries - Timo and Popeye, Pen - Darren (1/3, 33% completion rate, lucky to get 3 cracks at it)