Under hot, summer-like conditions, Powell River Otago Rugby Club lost 48-35 to Victoria’s Castaway Wanderers in a game played at Cranberry Field on May 13.
Otago coach Jack Beardmore said his team performed admirably in many aspects of the game.
“On Saturday, rugby was a winner; it was a grand day all round,” said Beardmore. “I was talking to one of the coaches of the Wanderers, and he said 23 guys voted unanimously that it was the best rugby trip they’d ever been on.
“At the clubhouse after the game, their captain said they hadn’t had a meal like that in a rugby club before. All in all, it was just a phenomenal day for rugby. Our young guys who had never played before had their eyes opened.”
Beardmore said all the Otago players got on the rugby pitch for at least 20 minutes. He said a couple of the young guys cost the team a bit but it is the only way they are going to learn.
“All the things we have been training for, we did well,” said Beardmore. “Our pod work, our lineouts, all that was done exactly the way we have been training, so that was a real positive for the team.
“One negative was defence, and that is only learned by playing rugby. You just can’t really practice defensive tackling.”
The team is looking at investing in tackle jackets, which is like an armoured jacket, so that the wearer can be tackled in a realistic way and they are not going to get injured, according to Beardmore.
“That way, we can practice more intense tackling and correct tackling,” he added. “With the number of players we have, the last thing we want is guys getting hurt in training.”
Beardmore said he was tickled with the performance of the Otago lineouts during the latest game. He said the locals won every one of their lineouts and stole two from the Wanderers.
Beardmore said one difficulty the team has faced is that it does not have all its backs at training at any one time because of work schedules and team members being away. He said having all the backs training together will add to the team’s cohesiveness.
“There were some passes in the game that were suspect,” said Beardmore. “Both my wingers and our fullback were playing in their first game, so we had three young kids playing their first game ever, but that’s the only way you learn is playing the game.
“When we start training again at the end of summer, we’ll work on strengthening these aspects of our game."
At the rugby contest, there was a large turnout of fans for the game, including a significant number of Otago alumni.
“Our guys appreciate that so much,” said Beardmore. “Having your alumni there is always a good thing. They came back to the clubhouse and I was able to introduce the young guys to the players who were part of the Otago championship team. It inspires the young guys and shows them where the team can go with a lot of hard work.
“Next year will be the start of our 48th season and everything we are doing right now is geared toward our 50th anniversary in two years. That’s when I want to have a borderline championship team and we want to have our 50th anniversary to be a great season for Powell River Otago.”
