Bahrain Rugby Football Club opened its account for 2018-19 season with a fantastic victory against Kandy SC in the 2018 Asia Rugby Western Clubs Champions League at the Nittelawa Stadium in Kandy.
Both sides had long periods on top in the fiercely contested encounter. Bahrain, having played the same Sri Lankan team at the same venue last year, were well-prepared for the fixture and included four new players in their starting line-up.
Kandy SC had five players away at the Asian Games Sevens competition, giving some newcomers an opportunity to play in the prestigious competition.
Bahrain had the early dominance with an impressive lineout drive on the right side of the field, and some impressive play from the pack led to a dynamic move by the Bahrain backs leading to new centre Jack Phillips to go over in the corner in the first exchange.
After some great determined defence by the Kandy fullback held up Phillips on the line, preventing a certain score, the subsequent set piece led to another great lineout drive taking 2017-18 skipper Lindsey Gibson over for the first score. Bahrain showing their intentions to take on Kandy SC up front in the forwards was very clear and a tactic they would not waver for the entire match.
Some Kandy SC pressure on the resulting kick-off led to a penalty which the Kandy fullback slotted home, leaving the score 3-5 after eight minutes of play. Further forward pressure and some excellent defence by the Bahrain side helped outside half Luke Radley kick three penalties to take the Bahrain tally up to 14 points at the interval against a Kandy SC score of three points.
A rallying call at half time by both changing rooms raised the tempo and standard of play in the second half with a see-sawing battle. Another period of pressure on the Kandy line led extremely well by rejuvenated captain Adam Wallace led to an impressive solo effort by Tongan prop Sunia Fameitau, carrying three Kandy players over the line with him.
The Bahrain defence stood strong for the whole game until a fantastic try from Kandy off a scrum in the Bahrain half saw their number 8 and blind winger flying down the blindside with extraordinary pace to score a superb try and one the Bahrain players could do little about.
The danger of this Kandy SC backline was apparent at this point and Kandy had their tails up for the following five minutes, throwing huge intensity and pace at the Bahrain defence. A fantastic tackle and rip from new flanker Jordan Viggers set up a fantastic solo effort and perhaps the highlight of the match by lock Tom Bell as he flew through the Kandy defence sprinting 40m for a try – showing superb and surprising pace for such a big man.
Bahrain at this point brought on a fresh set of props and ultimately proved to be the difference with a number of Bahrain scrums on the Kandy line leading to constant infringements and subsequently a penalty try. This killed the Kandy momentum and led the way for a sure victory for Bahrain and a crucial four-try bonus point going into the second round.
However, Kandy weren’t finished and took a well-placed try off a fortunate kick bouncing away from three Bahrain defenders on their try line and falling into the hands of the Kandy back. In the end, the final score was Kandy 20 – 31 Bahrain in front of a raucous crowd.
According to coach Louie Tonkin, the huge positives to take from this game was his side’s spirit in defence. “After only four weeks of preparation for this game, the boys showed the spirit equal to that of the play-offs last season and it bodes well for the young team moving forward,” he said.
Adam Wallace, blighted by injuries in recent campaigns, played exceptionally well and showed glimpses of his previous best which could prove to be a massive boost for Bahrain. The new players showed up well and made strong contributions and Rich Muncaster, also returning from a long term injury, was exceptional in the scrum.
l Bahrain now look forward to the next challenge, which will be the reigning WCCL champions Abu Dhabi Harlequins visiting the Janabiya stadium on September 14 at 5pm, in what could be a winner-takes-all encounter.
