“pre game

There was an disquieting silence in the home dressing room ahead of the EEL Pasty division deciding match between the Kestrels and the Bretonnia Knights. The game was also the inaugural L'Anguille derby. Trae looked around his players and he could feel the nervous tension. The players had been walking around the city all week, and the L'Anguille Classic was all anyone was talking about. The Kestrels vs the Knights. The big game. Who was going to win it and take the spoils? Who would be left avoiding their favourite water holes for the next week?

The fact that both teams were guaranteed a place in the play offs, only highlighted the importance of the game. On top of all that, the top spot in the EEL Pasty division was on the line as the match wizards brought together the league's two undefeated teams.

first half

On an incredibly sunny day, the Knights win the toss and opt to receive. They the proceed to put in a big first turn as two of the Kestrels' line of scrimmage are dispatched to the KO box while stunning a third. An attempt at some fancy-dan ball handling fails, but the bouncing ball ends up back in the hands of thrower Sir Arthur.

In the Knights' second turn, once again Arthur tries to give the ball to another player, this time Sir Lancelot. However the animosity between these two former friends is clearly still simmering following the latter's dalliance with Queen Guinevere and Lancelot drops the ball, luckily for the Knights, the ball dropped safe.

Arthur scoops it up again and the humans head down the North flank, while the elves try to pen them in. A couple of turns of jousting for position, including Traeliorn Salendor being KO'd and Squire Thomas being surfed although the crowd were evidently all clad in slippers as he didn't even suffer a KO.

Then a chance presented itself. Adresin Phaendar, makes a couple of dodges, two gfi's and knocks over Arthur. The ball once again bounces safely, and the next block sees Dark Elf Constantin Melandrach roll double both downs and he hits the floor. A couple of useful armour breaks for the Knights, leaves the elves with only a high risk play, but a failure on the second 3+ dodge, sees the ball scatter to the feet Constantin.

An attempted retrieval by the Knights fails when catcher Sir Loras fails a dodge.

half time 0-0

second half

Great KO rolls, brings all three Kestrels' players back to the field, and the second half starts 11 vs 11.

A decent kick sees the ball land by the sidelines, but Finwë Táralóm is able to pick up the ball safely. The elves dance around the line of scrimmage, before punching a hole to send Tobias Ryfon and Adresin on a decoy run through the middle, as the Knights swing back to cover the two elf linemen, before a 1D block throws up a skull and the turn ends.

The Kestrels take the opportunity afforded to them to swing to the southern flank and establish a strong position in the Knights' half.

Sadly, rookie Xhalth Selleck, was killed in a flurry of insane dice (five 6s and two 5s in a sequence of eight dice), while the Knights are also able to put a tackleone on ball carrier Finwë.

The elves dodged (and dodged and dodged, and then really dodged) free to consolidate their position deep in their opponents half.

More dodging and precision blocking sees the elves stalling as the swing round the bottom of the human line up and out the other side. The humans position was further undermined by a turn of weak blocking three 2D blocks resulted in pushes, before a 1D block saw a skull rerolled into another push. Although the final 1D did result in a pow, too many elves were left standing for human tastes.

The elves were able to stall for a couple more turns, despite losing Tobias for the next game, but then some poor positioning and a failed GFI opened a possiblity of a 1D block on the ball carrier. With everything in position just a push was needed to open the path....then double skulls with no reroll left denied even the chance at a 1D. All that was left was for Finwë to stroll in for the game winning and division securing score.

Full time 1-0 Kestrels

post game

High in the stands a lithe elf watches on. "That wasn't a particularly elf like performance," he thinks, before concluding that this team is in need of some pace and a little flair.

After the game the elf is waiting for Traeliorn, as the captain emerges from the stadium, the elf steps from the shadows.

"Mr Salendor, I'm Deryth Garrik and I'm your new Catcher. See you at training"

And just like that the team had a catcher!”