DUBAI: Despite re-run of his match-winning solo performance on Friday by Jeddah Rugby Club’s lightning-quick Fawaz Al-Aghee, a repeat yesterday was not quite enough to land the team in the semifinals of the Club Shield. JRFC lost to Jordan by 12 points to 10, one converted try and one try to two unconverted tries.
“Jordan was a very physical side and it seems we’re not good in the early morning,” quipped a disappointed JRFC captain Dave Kinkead after the match. “We started slowly but came back into the game in the second half.” The game was only decided in the last few seconds. Half a minute from time and trailing and with only five points from a try scored by Jarrod Mulenberg on the board, Kinkead had the ball lofted from well in the JRFC half deep into Jordan’s half. Needing no encouragement, “Lightning” Al Aghee took off from the wing and chased a full seventy yards, gathered the ball and scored between the posts. A conversion from directly in front of the posts would have evened the match and put the match into extra time.
“Had that happened, I am certain we would have had them,” opined Kinkead. “They were a very physical side but we had their measure by then.” Though not a full international side, it had a mattering of internationals on the field and was a stern test of JRFC’s mettle.
All the pressure was on Francoise Miller who was delegated to drop kick the conversion that would even the score. The nerves beat the kick and the ball drifted just wide of the posts and immediately the whistle blew to signify the end of the match.
JRFC are in good company: yesterday Fiji missed a conversion that caused them problems from a similar position. “You have to accept it,” said Kinkead; “It’s part of the game but yes, we are disappointed at not getting a crack at the final.”
Reflecting on the performance of the team overall, Kinkead said that there was a marked difference between the team of a few years ago and this year. It was once a case of “turn up and you will get a game.”
He said that now, although still welcoming all-comers, JRFC had the basis of a very competitive team and was convinced that the outing this year, following the very positive performance of the Saudi Scorpions two years ago, had laid the grounds for development of rugby in the Kingdom. The two teams from the Kingdom — JRFC and the Riyadh Falcons — between them sported upwards of eight Saudi players. “Winning games is good; perhaps setting the foundation for a Saudi national team in a few years is even better,” Kinkead concluded.
