The esteemed Vets (Over 35’s) of Bective Rangers F.C. had their annual training tour April 24th – April 26th down to Dingle…
This time the team was led by Colin Rafferty, in an experimental (not to be repeated) Captain’s role for a highly anticipated match against a much fancied Corca Dhuibhne side captained by ex-Ranger Johnnie Walsh, culminated in a fine 36-29 victory for the Dublin side.
History was made on a number of fronts, as there was a current Club President on the team in the person of Fergus Flanagan (complete with his 1850’s scrumcap) playing as a “speedy” winger.
The redoubtable Mick O’Loughlin (complete with tracksuit) come on in the 2nd half, which means he has played for Bective in each of the last four decades. Hearty congratulations to both Fergus and Mick on their respective milestone appearances. This was, we believe, Bective’s first win against Corca Dhuibhne so congratulations to the lads for this.
The weekend started off at a leisurely pace with most of the squad driving down to Dingle but stopping at Adare Manor Golf Club for a light lunch – very necessary for such finely tuned athletes!
The location for the match was amazing and Malcolm Lane was heard describing it in fine poetic verse after the match. The pitch on the other hand was a completely different story, while it was in great shape a handbrake was almost needed to stop players rolling down the slope. The Captain of Bective decided to play with the hill in the 1st half as he figured they wouldn’t have the legs in the 2nd half so they needed to score as many tries as possible early on in the game and then go into defensive mode for the 2nd half.
As the final score shows it was indeed a close match and the win was thanks to the sterling efforts of all the players.
After the match a great night was had when Corca Dhuibhne extended the usual Rugby hand of friendship by hosting a BBQ for Bective at Dannos Bar in Dingle town centre. The festivities went on well into the night and the following morning a bunch of weary men, feeling their age, faced into a long drive in the rain back to Dublin and the week ahead. Even though they were tired and sore everyone had a really great weekend and appreciated their weekend which highlighted what Rugby is all about.
