FRIENDLY: SEPTEMBER 28

ENFIELD IGNATIANS ACADEMY 36 AYLESBURY COLTS 31

The Academy side mounted a very spirited fightback after a poor start and, improving as the game wore on, they eventually outpointed a very slick Aylesbury team which flew out of the blocks and made a few telling statements of their own.

If there are lessons to be learned, it’s that the EIRFC Academy can ill afford to start as slowly as they did here when the two sides clash in the league on November 16 when Aylesbury will have home advantage.

Scarcely at the races in the first quarter, Ignatians allowed a very slick Aylesbury to fill their boots and, with the hosts continually shooting themselves in the foot after allowing the visitors easy access to their red zone by conceding cheap penalties, they soon found themselves cast 19-5 adrift on the scoreboard.

The one saving grace in this period was the try scored by Emmanuel – one of four by the player in the game - with the mercurial centre sniping his way through after running a quick tap penalty after Aylesbury were penalised for being in front of the kicker.

Things started to improve in the second quarter and, with Ignatians at last starting to inject more tempo, and carrying with far more purpose – with Liam particularly effective in this area - they again sighted the line before Emmanuel plunged his way over.

The third quarter also proved a bountiful one for Ignatians as they claimed three of their six tries in this period, with the forwards and backs combining neatly before Emmanuel released a very timely inside scoring pass to his fellow centre James.

The rampant Emmanuel also crossed for his fourth try, before Ignatians again came up smelling of roses after some forceful play from the pack – with Ira particularly prominent in the build-up – before James V burst his way though the ruck en route to the line.

Not that it was all one-way traffic. As Aylesbury kept themselves in the fight by going over for their fourth, with Ignatians not helping themselves by kicking poorly out of hand, and allowing a dog leg to appear in their defensive line in the build up.

Still, it set up a tense and exciting finale, with Ignatians holding a slender 29-26 advantage going to the final quarter in a game of twists and turns.

Again, Aylesbury forced the issue and, after drilling a penalty to the corner, they deferred to the fluidity of their backline, having worked the ball to the other side of the field with some very crisp passing before the right winger roared in.

However, the setback, not for the first time in the game, certainly brought the dog out of EIRFC, as the forwards were quick to clamp the Aylesbury ball carrier in his own 22 from the restart, and win the penalty.

Going for broke at this point at the death, scrum-half, Luke Roper, quickly ran the penalty and the quick sleight of hand certainly paid dividends, as the surging Emmanuel sealed victory by hitting the line at pace and nailing the all-important winning try.

Ben provided the proverbial icing on the cake by landing his third conversion, as Ignatians, having lived a little dangerously, came good when it mattered most.

There were a lot of good individual performances and, with last season’s U16s contingent, including Josh C, a useful addition to the squad’s playing resources, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t build on this win.

Coach Andy Roper said: “Obviously, it was great to come back on the scoreboard. However, neither should we get carried away, as we simply can’t afford gift teams a headstart and, had a couple of decisions gone against us, the result could so easily have gone the other way. ”