Match Summary: All France Rugby Club (AFRC) vs Tokyo Gaijins

After a first quarter of an hour during which we were suffocated by their fullback, who kicked long and hard, we conceded an early try through a powerful maul, then their prop scored following an attack where we missed numerous tackles. On the sideline, Coach Baptiste was somewhat frustrated. We had to take his remarks with a pinch of salt.

But gradually, AFRC started to regain their footing, fought back, disrupted their scrum, tackled with determination, and after a line-out on the opponents’ 22m, our pack formed a structured maul and crushed the Gaijins on a 21m drive. To stop the try, the Gaijins collapsed the maul, and the referee had no choice but to award a penalty try. 7-12. The tables had turned.

The icing on the cake came just before halftime, when Joe, our fullback, recovered a kick from the Gaijins deep in their half and ran through the entire Gaijin team. I counted eight missed tackles. Antoine converted the try, and the halftime whistle blew with an unexpected but deserved score of 14-12 in favor of AFRC.

The second half started with a bang. The Gaijins’ kickoff was poorly executed (not 10m), so AFRC had a scrum, moved the ball quickly to the right, and after several quick passes, it ended in Victor’s hands, who scored in the corner despite two Gaijin tacklers.

In less than 20 minutes, AFRC had scored 19 points without conceding any. The Gaijins had a brief revival and managed to score a try, but they missed the conversion. The score was now 19-17 in favor of AFRC with 30 minutes left to play.

AFRC regained some breathing room in the 21st minute thanks to Aubin, who scored a try, but it went unconverted. The score was now 24-17.

AFRC dominated the Gaijins’ scrum, frustrated them with aggressive tackles (sometimes a bit too high!), and the minutes ticked away. Two successive penalties put the Gaijins just 5 meters from our line with only 6 minutes left to play. Then, incredibly, with great determination, the AFRC forwards held their ground, withstanding wave after wave of Gaijin attacks, which were like battering rams, but failed to break through!

Our few supporters cheered loudly from the sidelines, urging the team on. We were penalized a few times, and the referee showed us a yellow card. However, it had no impact, as on the next play, the Gaijins knocked on, and the referee blew for full time. AFRC erupted in celebration. They had secured a well-deserved 24-17 victory.

A hard-earned win that rewarded all the hard work in training.

By Bruno L.