Ottawa Irish U18 vs Beavers U18   

After a loss to the Beavers earlier in the season, the Junior Boys were eager to stamp their mark on the game early.  The smaller Irish pack dominated the opening period of the game and let the talented Irish backs loose on a Beavers defence that were having significant problems dealing with the quick passing and the devastating pace of the centre partnership of Greg Power and Junior Mbeng.  Along period of sustained pressure saw the Irish take the lead through a familiar line break by Junior Mbeng and a 30 yard run-in under the posts.  The first half continued in this vein with some great breaks by the Irish backs and support play from the pack.  There was some excellent try line defending before the Beavers finally opened their account with a massive forwards effort.

 The second half saw the Irish continue to dominate in many areas of the game and saw some huge hits from flanker James Laird and a highly committed Irish pack.  Some bullocking runs by Joel Charron, Nigel Webber-Wood, James Laird and Jamie Lafrance saw the Irish forwards make significant yardage and release the Irish backs.  The Beavers only managed to keep apace of the Irish by capitalizing well on the Irish mistakes.  The score of the game came from the now familiar pace of the centre partnership; Greg Power exploded into the smallest of gaps generated by his centre partner Junior Mbeng; exploiting the opportunity by breaking the line and following a snaking run from the half-way line, Power was brought down by the Beavers full back a mere 5 yards from the try line; showing he is no slouch when it comes to supporting the quick centre’s, winger Ryan Brown pursued Greg Power up the park and was in exactly the right place to take the pass from the tackle to finish the move in the corner.  A good individual break by the Beavers Number 8 in the last minute of the game saw the game being decided by the boot of the Beavers kicker who converted the try  to tie the game.

Even though the score was tied at the end of the game, the Irish walked away with heads held high.  Hard work on the training paddock had produced an outstanding performance in many key areas. There were so many excellent performances by the Irish, man of the match was a difficult decision, it was awarded to Junior Mbeng  with his two tries and some great defensive play.  The Juniors continue their campaign next week with the U16 side playing The Scottish at SNP on Wed 6 Aug at 1830.  The final score was 22 – 22.

Try: Greg Power 1, Ryan Brown 1, Junior Mbeng 2
Con: Doug Crowe 1