The first XV made extremely hard work of this first round match against Junior Club Crosshaven last Saturday.
To be honest it was a case of almost being architects of their own doom, the were completely dominant in the scrum and pack, at the ruck, in the lineout, lines of attack in the backs were excellent but they just couldn’t get scores on the board. Going in at half time with a 10 -nil lead was just not enough for the amount of possession that they had and it nearly cost dearly.
The second half began with another try and conversion to put Bruff ahead by 17 points but a dominant first twenty minutes ended up with nothing to show on the scoreboard and pretty soon we saw that lead whittled away to practically nothing when the Corosshaven pack started to get their Pack moving for the first time in the game. One quick five minute period of pack pressure from Crosshaven and the lead disappeared, a third unconverted try almost bringing them home, a single penalty at this stage giving Bruff a slender two-point lead.
Come the last minute a final try by David Mau, which he converted himself put a gloss on the scoreline, and Bruff finished 28-19 winners, to be honest it was no more than they deserved if you were to guage by the amount of possession that they had but boy was it close in the finish.
Fair play to Crosshaven who despite going backwards in the scrum and coming out second in ball possession on the ground, never gave up and it almost paid off, the roars at the finish from the partisan crowd letting them know how proud their supporters were of them.
Too close for comfort, but a win is a win, is a win as the saying goes.
Roll on the next round away to Dolphin, at 2:00 on the 8th of November.
