Wanderers 16 – 13 Lansdowne
Sunday 31 November 2021
Played on a drizzly and dreary Sunday afternoon in Merrion Road, the mental preparation for this game may have left a bit to be desired, but the upshot was that there were several injuries and we lost another game we could have won.
It opened with a penalty for Wanderers after a 15 minute arm wrestle. We equalized after another 15 less than gripping minutes from the left boot of Mathis Mazaud. 3 – 3. Half time.
The Lansdowne and Wanderers supporters were witness to a second half that was more eventful if not much more uplifting. Both sides scored in the third quarter, the home side under our posts after a relentless attack. We equaled the tally soon after with a wall taken try finished by outhalf Danny Hogan and converted again by Mathis, and it was all even once more.
Inside the last ten minutes, Wanderers got a penalty not far inside our half and their faultless kicker bisected the posts to give them the lead again. 13 – 10. But we worked our way back into their half and they conceded a penalty a few minutes later and Mathis equalized again. 13 – 13.
Wanderers won another penalty and slotted it over in the last kick of the game to win 16 – 13.
The home side just edged the result by maintaining their shape and making marginally less mistakes than us.
A game best forgotten both for its result and the toll on some of the players. There were a number of injuries on the day, but we send our special wishes for a speedy recovery to Rob Manning who got a nasty gash behind his ear and Caoilim Fassbender who dislocated his shoulder.
Match Report: Brian Whelan