For long periods of an exciting encounter, Ives did all they could to hand the initiative to their opponents. Poor discipline with over twenty penalties conceded and loose passing gave Casuals’ fleet footed young back line plenty of possession. But the denouement was extraordinary.
The first 15 minutes was all the hosts’. A poor exit and discipline by Ives gifted them the first try. This was quickly followed by a sharp interception to take a 12-0 lead.
Ives tightened up began to apply pressure at the other end. They were rewarded when a lineout maul was taken close, the ball then released to Alex Henly to score.
Casuals gained possession from the restart and score through soft shoulders.
Reverting to the practised offloading game, Ives managed to score again through Oliver Giglio, but another penalty concession gave 3 points to the hosts. At half time things were looking grim at 24-10.
It got immediately worse when another pass to nothing from the kickoff by Ives saw the Casuals winger sprint half the length to score. From the next kick off, Casuals seemed to breeze past the visitors tackle attempts to score another.
With the score now 36-10, the game appeared to be lost, but there were still 35 minutes on the clock. Some stern words from the senior players focused the minds of the Bulls. They began to concentrate on driving play up front, giving centres John Paxton and Henly opportunities to make significant ground.
Following one break and good continuity between forward and backs, Connor Newsome scored.
Declan O’Neill, making his 1st XV debut at the age of 17, was the next beneficiary as he went over near the posts. A conversion was finally landed by Mitch Newman, but Ives were still two scores behind.
It became 3 as Ives unusual defensive frailties allowed Casuals in for their sixth try.
Ives braced themselves for a final ten minute onslaught as the home players visibly showed signs of tiredness and anxiety, on the point of taking a big scalp.
Casuals own discipline was slipping as a result, and Henly saw his way through for his second.
With only four minutes left, Ives ran a series of penalties close in and their patience was rewarded with a second try for Giglio. The conversions tied the score with only the restart to come.
Ives were in no mood to let the momentum slip and clicked into gear with a fine continuous attack. The indefatigable Ollie Bartlett finally broke the fractured home defence to score. With the conversion in over time, Ives had come back from the dead to snatch a glorious victory.
Head Coach Josh Dear put the performance into context. “I’ve been at the Club man and boy. Taking a look at the scoreboard after 45 minutes I thought that it was all over. But this team fought together in a way I’ve not seen from other Ives sides and has scored a great win. All credit to the lads for that.”