Beijing Devils Win 48-22 Away To Guangzhou Rams

- 05/05/08

The first round of the 2008 The China Pub Company Yellow Sea Cup kicked off in Guangzhou Saturday with an exciting high-scoring match that saw the Beijing Devils defeat YSC debutants Guangzhou Rams 48 – 22.

For the Devils, the heat and humidity was intense - a far cry from the dry dusty conditions of Beijing. But the Devils can cope with clammy and adjusted accordingly. They settled into the game far quicker than their opponents, who comprised a few of PLA players.

For the second week running, the Devils flying start resulted in a couple of early tries, before the Rams were able get back a try to open the game up. The Devils played with far more discipline than a week earlier, exploiting gaps, controlling their own ball well and putting on pressure when in defence. Slowly but surely they squeezed the Rams out of the game.

The half-time score of 29-5 left the home side with too much to do in the second period.

The heat and humidity seemed to take a greater toll on the Devils, but they kept plugging away and managed to notch up a few more tries early in the second half to effectively put the game out of reach.

The Devils backs again always looked dangerous when they had the ball, although sometimes sloppy passing led to nothing. Their forwards alignment in defence and effectiveness at the breakdown also made life difficult for the Rams. However, the Devils ran out of steam well before the 80 minutes was up.

The Rams didn't give up. Their persistence and determination was rewarded with some late tries and an important bonus.

Against the wall of sound of the apres-match, it was hard to make out what one witness to the proceedings, a Nebraskan, was saying, but apparently Dan scored four tries and Hadley three.

For the Devils, it was a very good away win with a bonus point; for the Rams, it was a great introduction to the YSC, which is much better for their presence, in which they got a deserved bonus point.

Vermilion Beijing Devils Rugby Club is supported by Guinness