Today saw the opening games of the GRFU tour to Asia, 2016 and after an early morning swimming pool session with team Fitness Coach, Sally Holmes, both the Development/Veteran squad and the National Team headed back to the hosts facilities at Cobra Rugby Club House for a quick lunch before making the bus journey to UKM MiniStadium.
First up were Gibraltar Veterans/Development taking on a Malaysia Veterans Select team featuring Veterans and some of Cobra Club’s development team. Some old(er) hands and potentially hazy heads on both sides meant the game leant itself towards the forwards, with many a scrum to be enjoyed! When Gibraltar’s Development Team players did manage to get their hands on the ball, their youth showed with fast feet and a series of slick backs’ moves.
The Malaysian team’s backs were equally talented and offloaded from the tackle whenever possible. This led to a fast-paced game but one filled with numerous handling errors as both sides tried to
gain an advantage over their opponents. Halfway through the first half with the Malaysians defending a scrum 10 metres out from their tryline, good pressure in
the scrum and on the home team’s
fly-half led to a clearing kick that only reached Adam Cook near to the halfway mark on Gibraltar’s left wing. With a brilliant piece of individual skill, he chipped over the approaching defensive line only to collect his own kick some 5 metres from the try line to dot down in
the corner. Rich Hatchman failed to
convert putting the Gibraltarian team up by 5 points to nil.
Game Day One – Report
Wednesday 6th of April 2016
Pre-game huddle before the first match
21