A Tour 2 - Eastbourne
The second Tour weekend saw all 3 Irish teams converge upon Eastbourne for the first time ever. Paddy Murphy, Seamus Murphy and MaC all battled it out with the best of the UK in windy conditions throughout a weekend remembered best for it's injuries and low numbers across the squads.
After Tour 1 our hopes were high especially given we'd played well and hard against some big teams. Friday night brought bad news however - we were down to 14 due to Blonde's illness, Luan's no-show, Stokesy's injury, Hag's illness and Perfect's dodgy knee. Seamus were down to 8 so we couldn't pikey any of their players either. Our group was changed last minute so the highly anticipated Fire 2 (with Dom) game wasn't to be. We were in with Devon, MMJ and Steal. First up were Devon against whom we started shakily. A slow start soon gave way to a more fluid game against a team who never really bothered us. 15-5 was the end score I think. Next up was the big match against Sheffield Steal a team we'd beaten soundly at Tour 1. Again, a slow atart saw us leak 4 or 5 points with only 2 on the board. We got into the game though and soon it became a tough dogfight of a match with both sides forcing turns and clinging on to the lead whenever possible. A run of points and some big performances from all over the team (that resulted in some bad knocks) got us through by a few points. I can't remember the end score, I think it was 14-11. The last game of the day saw us facing a revitalised Janitors side who played hard and well winning the 50-50 aerial battles and pressuring with a tough zone. We couldn't crack it despite fighting hard and ended up losing by 2 or 3 in another tough game.
That night we licked our wounds, ate a lot and sat around for an excellent sing song with the Seamus & MaC teams. With Oisin and Britboy in their element with guitars & songsheets on hand the night was great craic. The next day saw 10 Paddys able to play after 5 injuries ruled out players vital to both lines. First game of the day was against Chevy and numerous unforced errors, a little unluckiness and well-oiled opposition saw us go down to 8. It was a nasty pill to swallow and I think with the full squad that game could've been the breakthrough to top 8. Hopefully another chance will come. Next up saw thw 10 hobbling Paddys face the crestfallen BPF team - struggling for form and missing players the lads from Bristol never turned up. We on the other hand put in a complete performance of hard D, mixing zone with fronting, and strong, fluid offence to win out easily and to the biggest margin of the year yet 15-5. That gave us a shot at 9th place but foirst we lost another to injury, Niall's ankle finally giving in. 9 men on an upwind-downwind pitch against Brighton. They started well as did we but despite their noncholoant and impassive atttitude at points we couldnt quite grind out the win. Tough conditions, tired minds and hurting bodies left us short and we lost by 4 in the end I think 14-10 maybe. It was a big effort though and one I'll remember for a long time.
So Tour 2 over and perhaps more memorable for the amount of players lost to the unforgiving summer pitches than for the final position of 10th. At least the goal of top 10 was achieved again and it bodes well for the next Tour where a full squad will do more damage again. Great work Paddys, keep it up.
After Tour 1 our hopes were high especially given we'd played well and hard against some big teams. Friday night brought bad news however - we were down to 14 due to Blonde's illness, Luan's no-show, Stokesy's injury, Hag's illness and Perfect's dodgy knee. Seamus were down to 8 so we couldn't pikey any of their players either. Our group was changed last minute so the highly anticipated Fire 2 (with Dom) game wasn't to be. We were in with Devon, MMJ and Steal. First up were Devon against whom we started shakily. A slow start soon gave way to a more fluid game against a team who never really bothered us. 15-5 was the end score I think. Next up was the big match against Sheffield Steal a team we'd beaten soundly at Tour 1. Again, a slow atart saw us leak 4 or 5 points with only 2 on the board. We got into the game though and soon it became a tough dogfight of a match with both sides forcing turns and clinging on to the lead whenever possible. A run of points and some big performances from all over the team (that resulted in some bad knocks) got us through by a few points. I can't remember the end score, I think it was 14-11. The last game of the day saw us facing a revitalised Janitors side who played hard and well winning the 50-50 aerial battles and pressuring with a tough zone. We couldn't crack it despite fighting hard and ended up losing by 2 or 3 in another tough game.
That night we licked our wounds, ate a lot and sat around for an excellent sing song with the Seamus & MaC teams. With Oisin and Britboy in their element with guitars & songsheets on hand the night was great craic. The next day saw 10 Paddys able to play after 5 injuries ruled out players vital to both lines. First game of the day was against Chevy and numerous unforced errors, a little unluckiness and well-oiled opposition saw us go down to 8. It was a nasty pill to swallow and I think with the full squad that game could've been the breakthrough to top 8. Hopefully another chance will come. Next up saw thw 10 hobbling Paddys face the crestfallen BPF team - struggling for form and missing players the lads from Bristol never turned up. We on the other hand put in a complete performance of hard D, mixing zone with fronting, and strong, fluid offence to win out easily and to the biggest margin of the year yet 15-5. That gave us a shot at 9th place but foirst we lost another to injury, Niall's ankle finally giving in. 9 men on an upwind-downwind pitch against Brighton. They started well as did we but despite their noncholoant and impassive atttitude at points we couldnt quite grind out the win. Tough conditions, tired minds and hurting bodies left us short and we lost by 4 in the end I think 14-10 maybe. It was a big effort though and one I'll remember for a long time.
So Tour 2 over and perhaps more memorable for the amount of players lost to the unforgiving summer pitches than for the final position of 10th. At least the goal of top 10 was achieved again and it bodes well for the next Tour where a full squad will do more damage again. Great work Paddys, keep it up.
posted by Mark Earley at 3:50 AM
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