The Roses hosted a Philadelphia Whitemarsh team with a one hundred per cent win record against their opponents since being promoted from Division III four years ago.

With a temperature high of eighty-six degrees and a home field advantage for play-offs on the line, this game was always going to be a battle of attrition.

It only took five minutes for the Roses to get on the scoreboard with Dan Marshall touching down under the sticks after several strong carries from the forwards. This caused Whitemarsh to infringe at the breakdown and Captain, Anderson Smith opting to call for the scrum in his own half from the resulting penalty. The Roses forwards created a strong set piece platform for Scrum Half, Jamir Phillip to release Braden Story and his back-line. The clinical hands from the Roses backs ensured Marshall had an easy run in.

The early score seemed to galvanize PWM and an onslaught of pressure in the Roses twenty-two for the next twenty minutes followed. Some staunch defense and aggressive tackling from a team who had struggled at times with winning the collisions the week before, thwarted all of PWM’s attacks and forced inaccuracy at the breakdown.
The Roses continued to soak up the pressure and eventually the strong set piece foundation provided by Pritchard, Bruno and Cannon up front saw the Roses score their second of the afternoon. The front row again combining with carries and offloads allowed space out wide for a well worked team try. This time it was Eric Savage touching down.
The pressure in the scrum and in the collisions frustrated PWM and eventually the referee grew impatient, marching the visitors back an additional ten meters for dissent on several occasions. This gave the Roses a favorable field position which Braden Story was successfully able to convert in to three points on the twenty fifth minute.
Story wasn’t done having it all his own way in this half. The strong carries earlier in the half from Inside Center Justin McCarthy kept the defense honest and created space on the inside channel which Story took advantage of.

Half Time – Roses 25 – PWM – 0

From the way the second half started, you would have thought that it was more of the same as Dan Marshall again took advantage of some poor first up tackling and a Sin Bin to the PWM full back. The Outside Center ran through broken field play to score under the posts.
In the forty ninth minute, winger, Keegan Pflumm was also able to get on the score sheet. Usually associated with the hard yards and carries he makes in his own half, Pflumm was lucky enough to find himself in at the opposite end of the field, heading towards the posts after shaking off a couple of tackles.

You could probably be forgiven for assuming that the Roses would have it their own way for the remaining 35 minutes. But PWM had other plans.

The visitors were able to combine several phases and took advantage of some suspect defending around the fringes of the breakdowns. Suddenly, it clicked!

As a result, the Roses found themselves on the receiving end of several penalties for not rolling away, not releasing the tackler and offside at the breakdown. Again, all caused from exploiting an identified weakness. PWM then used this ill-discipline to pin the Roses back in the twenty-two and enabling the visitors to utilize their dynamic lineout.
The Roses began to ring changes as the heat took its toll and more holes appeared close to the ruck.
PWM steam rolled through again and were also able to break though from their own half. As the game went on, more pressure mounted on the Roses defense as they found themselves camped on their own line. Both Keegan Pflumm and Justin McCarthy stripping the ball to remove the threat in the dying minutes of the game.

As the final whistle blew, there was celebration and relief as the home side successfully held on for the win.
You have to wonder that if the game was ten minutes longer, would PWM been heading back home with a win?

Final Score – Roses 36 – PWM 28

Credit to both teams on this hot spring day and a special mention to the Roses bench for the welcomed relief when they came on! It was a fantastic spectacle of rugby in the USA.