Conditions were hardly ideal for flowing rugby as host team Upper Clutha lost by a single, but telling, point against Arrowtown in the semifinal match of the Otago Premier Rugby Competition match on Saturday. The field was wet and muddy, with an occasional drizzle, and the ball looked about as manageable as an oiled watermelon.  

Both teams handled that ungainly object remarkably well and the visitors were the first to do the sensible thing, which was to keep the ball tight and up front. The Rams soon followed suit, but then much of their game seemed to be a reaction to their hosts, which doesn’t mean both teams weren’t playing their guts out; they were.  

Rams coach Paul Glynn said, “We didn't win the critical moments when we needed to win them.  I am extremely proud of the achievements of this young team. We stood strong and won the premiership, but finals footy is another level up and we were not the best team on the day.” 

That, and perhaps some questionable decisions towards the end. Brendan Flannery took an almighty long time to prepare for his early, long-distance penalty, which he missed. Arrowtown’s forwards kept up the pressure and at 10 minutes were rewarded with a penalty, which their number 10, Connor Bisset, converted. 

Upper Clutha replied almost instantly and forced their way over with Oliver Stirling scoring. The conversion by what seemed like a now-hurried Flannery was missed, but the Rams had their noses ahead. However, Arrowtown’s hard-working hooker, Ben Carr, scored a deserved, loose-forward-type try, but then that conversion was missed too. 

A high tackle in front of the Arrowtown posts gave Flannery a chance to level the scores for the home team, which he duly did.  

An offside interception by Arrowtown led to a penalty for the home team, followed by a lineout and try, which the referee overruled — until his linesman convinced him otherwise. The try was awarded to Matt Templeton and the conversion, similar to the prior penalty in distance, was missed. Flannery’s line kicking, however, was solid throughout the afternoon. 

Soon after halftime Arrowtown missed a sitter of a penalty in front of the Rams’ post, and for the next 20 minutes the two teams and the ball just got wetter and blacker with mud. An impressive ruck roll by the visitors led to a penalty, which number nine and captain Jackson Wallace converted. Soon after they were awarded another in more or less the same position and Wallace converted, once again. 

At one stage both the ref and especially the linesman seemed to lose their sense of sight on the clubhouse side when one of the Arrowtown forwards used one of the Rams’ forward’s heads for scraping his boot. Or maybe it was a flu-addled reporter and about five spectators who had a momentary lapse of reason, standing behind the linesman, fuelled by the club sponsor’s beer. 

Arrowtown were ahead by that one tenuous point and time was running out when the Rams were awarded a penalty on the ten-metre line, which seemed too far to convert but in a good position for a line kick, effective lineout and possible winning try. Astonishingly, captain Frazer Dowling opted for the penalty, all evidence and logic to the contrary, which Flannery missed. 

Soon after, another penalty was awarded, again in about the same place. Again the captain chose to let his under-pressure number 10 convert what must by now have weighed about the same as a wrecking ball. Flannery gamely tried, missed, and the game was over. 

Tries: Oliver Stirlng, Matt Templeton. Penalties: Brody Flannery.