Nomads bag fist victory in South East Asia tournament

Nomads bag fist victory in South East Asia tournament

Game: Nomads v Jakarta Komodos @ Nomads, Saturday 4^th Feb 2012

In the first ever match of the South East Asian Club Championship last Saturday, Manila Nomads required a gargantuan team effort to overcome a well-drilled and tenacious visiting Jakarta Komodos.

This much- anticipated game proved to be a classic encounter, with a home side keen to put last weekend's thumping in the local Tens League behind them and a visiting team determined not to allow depleted travelling numbers to affect their game-plan.

Within the Nomads ranks, the early season opportunity to play 15's was universally welcomed. The vast majority of the club's players have been brought up on this version of the game and with massive competition for first team places this year, it was no surprise that throughout the entire squad, there was a real buzz and their enthusiasm was plain to see.

The Komodos had only travelled with seventeen players and the empty seats on the bench were taken up by some members of the Manila Hapons. In charge of the game was Harry Wang, newly appointed member of the Asian Referees Panel; as the game progressed, it became clear that he was an official of a standard the visitors were not used to.

The opening 15 minutes both teams set out their stalls and there was no doubt even at this early stage in proceedings that this was not going to be a runaway victory for either side. On 14 minutes a well worked back-line move saw local hero Danny Williams put over by a perfectly timed pass from Philippine international Sevens player and captain Jon Morales. Williams, who had played 90 minutes of football in the National Premiership only two hours before kick-off, calmly slotted the conversion for a 7-0 lead. Unfortunately a freak accident as the last pass was completed, forced Morales from the field having sustained a broken and dislocated finger.

Whether it was their captain's departure, a lapse in the Nomad's concentration, or the steely determination of the visitors to get straight back into the game, the crowd did not have to wait long for the next score.  Nomads failed to field the restart and then worse still, failed to clear their lines, instead choosing to throw out a speculative pass on their own 5 metre line. The result was a try to the Komodos, courtesy of the scavenging Martijn Decker.

A William's penalty midway through the half put Nomads 10-5 up, but it was the Komodos, despite being forced to live off scraps of possession, who led at the half-time whistle. A loose pass in midfield was well anticipated by the visiting captain Gareth Rae, who sprinted over from some 35 metres out and then bagged the extras for a narrow 12-10 lead.

Nomad's forwards, many of whom were at their peak not last decade, or even  the previous one, but in the eighties, were magnificent all day. The early season fitness work is clearly paying dividends and they dominated proceedings in the loose and in the tight. This is not to say that in any way the Komodos were rolling over, far from it, and as the second half progressed, their refusal to lie down, brought respect and admiration from the local spectators.

A Komodo's penalty only minutes into the second period, widened the gap to five points, before Nomad's pocket dynamo Eric Savina, on his fortieth birthday, (and still by some distance only the third oldest starting forward) proved what an asset he is to the home team's ranks, crossing the line to level the scores. Savina, as oft times before seemed to defy the laws of physics throughout the game, managing to consistently get the upper hand of far bigger opponents. If his personal effort and determination could be bottled the club could make a fortune.

Fifteen a piece, with thirty minutes to play. This was exactly what the organisers of this five team regional tournament had hoped for and it was to take another eighteen minutes before Nomads could finally edge ahead and then round of the victory with a flourish. The visitors sustained several game-ending injuries, but still they soldiered on, with the replacements stepping up to the task valiantly.

Two Williams's penalties took his personal tally for the day to eighteen and then hard running, hard tackling full-back Sam Fogg, yet again stuck two fingers up to those who think he's just a pretty boy, by capping a solid performance with a try two minutes from the death.

The final outcome was a 28-15 win for Nomads, but there is no doubt that home advantage, certainly in terms of availability of players, will play a large part in determining results. Any team who can pick up points on the road will make a huge step towards being the first to be crowned club champions of South East Asia.

For Nomads this was a most satisfying win and one of the biggest bonuses for coach Phil Gittus , was that he was able to utilise his entire bench, with no real disruption to the pattern of play. In Barberis and Kesterton they have two safe pairs of hands in the line-out, the scrum is solid and throughout the forwards there is an ever-growing confidence, which will compliment their natural abrasiveness. Out wide Williams is a class act and it will not be too long before their youthful three-quarters really click and the team add a more expansive dimension to their game-plan.

Phil Gittus