With a number of both Australian and home countries’ expats making up a good part of the Phuket Vagabonds RFC, the atmosphere leading into the warm-up games and the Lions’ first test win in Brisbane lst Saturday (July 19) has evoked intelligent commentary alongside firey but friendly banter at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) clubhouse.
The ‘bantz’ and players’ competitive nature inevitably lead to a challenge match being arranged to coincide with the first test, and as an homage to this enthralling, if somewhat one-sided tour.
So it was last Saturday a Vagabonds British and Irish selection took to the ACG Rugby theatre of dreams facing a Bahababonds Southern Hemisphere side in a sweltering 10s encounter.
Having flown in especially for this extraordinary fixture, referee Jim Layard blew his whistle to begin the battle for bragging rights, with roars of ‘Lions, Lions, Lions’ and ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’ raising hairs and heckles around the ground!
Sealed
Within minutes of the start, a Lions kick for ground found its way to the B’bonds try-line with Alex “blood, sweat and” Sears and Neil “where am I” Quail racing to recover, preyed upon by Paul “dey do do don’t dey” Rothwell and Harry “hand of God” Layard. A moment of indecision and a helping hand from Layard allowed Rothwell to gather and touch down for the games first try.
Lions second try was far less controversial, when Jacob “Georgian royalty” King burst from his own 22 then offloading to find Cillian “it’s my island” O’Neill, who in turn delivered inside for Layard to collect and finish for Lions second score.
B’bonds fate seemed as if one was licking the glue on an envelope – almost sealed – until the envelope was pushed into a cloud of dust, kicked up by the jet-like speed of Sears.
Taking a pass just outside the opposition 10-meter line, Sears cut back inside from the right sideline to put B’bonds on the scoreboard as two Lions defenders were left sprawling in anguish and awe.
Respite for B’bonds was all too brief as King almost immediately after the restart exploited a lax defensive line to restore the Lions two-try lead, closing out the first quarter.
Searing
Rugby is a tough sport in any conditions, but under a cloudless, searing mid-afternoon sun in the tropics, players were already beginning to wilt.
The second quarter, despite the baking heat, could only be described as the ‘Sears show’. Having never played rugby until a year ago, Sears has literally and figuratively picked it up and run with it… and boy, can he run! Minutes into the second quarter a solid B’bonds ruck allowed Sears to whip past the opposition on the blind-side, outpacing the covering Brad “never giving up” Haygarth whose valiant attempt at an ankle tap grasped only turbulent air.
Sears’ hat-trick came mid-way through the quarter showcasing pace, power and precision. Building up a head of steam from inside his own 10 meter line, Sears first shrugged then swayed past defenders before a hypnotic hip shimmy entangled the last defender in a world of flat-footedness to level the scores at three tries apiece.
Lions were yet again to prove their resilience at the end of the quarter, when Layard gave chase from inside his own half to another deep, searching kick from the investigating boot of Rothwell. Layard, who turns out for Vagabonds when not at university in Australia, is hands-down one of the best young players the club has within its ranks, and his second try of the day was proof thereof. Latching on to the bobbling ball, Layard secured the score to boast his brace and edge Lions ahead going into the half-time break.
Dextrous
The games third quarter ended in equivalency, with Sears claiming his fourth score following a dextrous bit of handling, before debutante Camdon “more Scottish than the Scottish themselves” Dicks danced his way through a tired B’bonds defense to score his maiden Vagabonds try and keep Lions ahead by one.
It was during this period of play that veteran Quail tried to flatten an area of turf with the back of his head, realising then why it’s called terra firma.
Fortunately, the Vagabond’s favourite Bahranians were on hand (not Layard), with Lee “you’ll have to carry me away from rugby in a box” Stones guiding Quail from the battlefield while calling for his wife Laura “Angel of the ACG” Stones, who administered the utmost professional care.
The game was put beyond B’bonds reach in the fourth quarter when James “it’s my ball, I’m taking it home” Warwick seeing Stones in a better scoring position from a ruck formed just one-meter away from the try-line, sacrificed common sense and selflessness to pluck the ball and dive over for the day’s final score.
Wondrous
The highlight of this quarter, however, will be remembered as the “Parry-neum” when Dazz “I’m not Messi-ing around” Parry erupted from the pack to kick and chase for a good 40 meters. Unfortunately a try was not the result of this bit of magic, but ‘tis a rare and wondrous sight to see a unit of a prop footballing at full tilt!
Saturated and sore, but immensely satisfied, the players moved swiftly to the clubhouse applauding each other en route, with a 6-4 Lions victory to be celebrated as some players immersed in Paul “can’t grumble” Hickey’s recovery ice bath.
It was alsi a notable day with three father-son appearances in Lee and Alex Stones, Jim and Harry Layard, and Neil and Guy Quail (also debutante).
The ACG takes this opportunity to thank all those involved who gave their time and effort to ensure this game went ahead, especially Anthony and Sa Van Sleeuwen, with James Warwick’s predictor garnering B20,000, all of which was raised to assist with Hugo Hattingh’s hospital fees.
Well done everyone as we look forward to the Vagabond’s touring to Kuala Lumpur next month.