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Gibraltar Dragons vs Malaga 17th Jan 09

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Malaga.

It has been a very disappointing season for the S G Hambros under 13s and the Ibex under 11s and under 9s, with there league fixtures not taking place due to some poor planning by the federation. None of the teams in this section were willing to send their players to Murcia, for what would amount to an hour’s rugby per team. This situation will be resolved very quickly we hope. The concentration planned before Christmas was too close to Christmas and no transport was available with only Malaga able to attend.

However next week it all kicks off and although late in starting they will have a full season. Unfortunately though, due to a dramatic price increase from San Roque council, this season may see the teams having no home concentration. The reason for this is the fact that San Roque now insist on price per team instead of hiring the pitch for time, and at 150 Euros per team this has put the price at 450 Euros, on top of that the price of a coach for the boys, hosting the visiting teams and medical cover the cost would have risen to almost £800 for 40 minutes or rugby for the under 13s as they are only allowed a maximum of three games 7 minutes per half and less for the other boys. The Gibraltar government offered assistance by allowing the concentration in Gibraltar but “Federation” laws point out that all games must take place within Andalucía, a point highlighted when requested we play here. As we speak the committee are in talks to try and resolve this problem and come up with a solution for next season.

However back to the Rugby, which is the main thing, last week saw the VOLKER STEVINS under 17s and the ALL SPORTS BAR under 15s in action in Malaga. The Malaga squad has been strengthened by merging the university team with Club Rugby Malaga and are now trying to claim Marbella’s crown as the strongest club in the under 17s and under 15s section which has certainly made these age groups play harder.

First up was the ALL SPORTS BAR under 15s on the back of a good win against Marbella B last week, but from the start it was evident the boys were out of sorts, they weren’t chasing or harassing as they did against Marbella, a fact Malaga took advantage of by opening the scoring within minutes if the start, and for the first half this was the pattern of the game, unlike last week none of the boys stepped up to take command and lead from the front, however we must recognise its only the second year of rugby and people are still learning the game as well as the mental approach towards a hard physical game. The first quarter of the second half was the same as Malaga scored at will, until substitutions were made by Malaga when they put on some of there newer players, our boys then found gaps, especially Guy Dumas on his debut who shows great promise with his direct running. This lifted our boys who started finding more and more gaps with their direct running, forcing the Malaga boys back, however in their eagerness, the Dragons made mistakes and were unable to finish by crossing the line. The last quarter of the game gave the boys the finish they wanted, by taking the game to Malaga and showing themselves the difference between taking the game to the opposition or letting them run at them. The final score was
ALL SPORTS BAR under 15s 0 CR MALAGA 62
The Dragons were beaten by a better team but this is changing and the boys are learning from every game which is exactly what is required. On a very positive note, the under 15s section have now started a Andalucian selection to play other provinces in Spain and 9 players have been sent forward for the first training session in February, more will follow on this soon.

The squad who played Malaga were
J Farrell, R Cabral, P Perez, D Carey, J Spark Borja, N Pitto, R Whelan, L Rovegno, K Motegriffo, S Alexander, W Warwick O Canessa.

With Man of the Match going to D Carey.



VOLKER STEVIN under 17s were up next and unfortunately due to injuries and boys absent, they only had 12 players. Malaga, in the spirit of the game, also fielded 12 players which was a wonderful gesture. Malaga showed the strength they have become, with some good running rugby; however, same as last week, the VOLKER STEVINS under 17s do not bow to anyone. To say the game was feisty would be an understatement with our boys being physically dominated by Malaga but standing tall. The game was flowing from end to end on a very hard pitch but Malaga was breaking the line for tries. Injuries happened on a very hard pitch with two of the Dragons being taken off, Nick Seaborne with mild concussion and Sexto Parody with a shoulder injury and three Malaga players. The match was hard fought but in a good spirit but Malaga were always the stronger and tries were scored. It was good to see the guys fighting to the end, their heads never dropping till the final whistle with a final score 61-0 to Malaga.

THE VOLKER STEVIN SQUAD consists of
N Seaborne, B Blackburn. N Ponce de Leon, A Andrews, S Parody, M Belkavitz, R Green,
T Perera, M Tzunami, S Simmonds, P Reyes, J Farrel
With Bobby Blackburn being Man of the Match for the third game in row, and as the under 15s, a few of the boys will be attending the selection training weekend.

Unfortunately the games due to be played this week have been cancelled due to the conflict of the pitch and will be rescheduled.