What a great game. The Flamingos came out determined to execute their game plan, and did excellent. Fort Collins shut down the Harlequins offense for most of the match. The Flamingos scored first with a converted try for 7-0. The Harlequins came back with a controversial penalty kick and an even more controversial uncoverted try making the score 7-8 with the Harlequins up by 1. Just a mention about the try: apparently its acceptable to knee and punch the ball forward and still have it considered a try. In any event with no time left, Fort Collins was awarded a penalty kick at a medium distance and angle from the posts. If the kick is good, Flamingos win, and if it misses the Quins win the match. You can’t ask for a more dramatic end to a match. Steve Rimmer was the kicker. He had already missed 2 penalty kicks on the day, but made one conversion. He stepped off his distance from the teed ball, and paused, focusing on the posts. Lightning flashed in the distance as he struck the ball. It floated through the air with a slight forward tumble and perfectly bisected the posts to make it 10-8. The referee blew the whistle to end the game, and the Flamingos proceeded to celebrate a bit too exuberantly for rugby. As far as this writer can tell from the limited records available, this was the first time Fort Collins won against the Harlequins since 2000.
The B match was played entirely in a hail storm, so this writer has no information to report about it, besides the fact that my E-Z-UP canopy appears to be able to protect approximately 22 people from a hail storm. While I think the best weather to PLAY rugby in is a rainstorm, I do beleive that it is the lousiest weather to WATCH rugby in. Everyone who played B side came off the pitch with huge smiles on their faces.
This win puts us at 2 wins and 3 losses for league play, and in 3rd place. There is still an extremely thin chance for us to get into 2nd place. We would have to win against Queen City in 2 weeks, and score at least 48 points AND Colorado Springs needs to beat the Harlequins and hold them scoreless. Heh heh, well I said thin chance didnt I?