ONE could only wonder how it could be that Old Belvedere were so poor and uncertain for so long in view of their spirited and exciting rally within the last 10 minutes or so of this match at Donnybrook.
Belvedere might have snatched a late victory, were it not for some brave, last ditch tackling by Old Wesley. But none of this explains Old Belvedere's lethargy for most of the match.
Apart from infrequent surges, Belvedere were driven back comprehensively by Wesley, which made their late revival all the more difficult to understand.
In that final 10 minutes Belvedere were full of invention and were, indeed, unlucky not to have earned a draw or even victory.
Both sides may need to take some action about sloppy handling and some inept rocking and pedestrian attempts to swing the ball wide. Perhaps they were both in need of an injection of drive and determination in what was, for the most part, an undistinguished match.
If more of the players could have followed the example set by Chris Pim and David Bursey in the Old Wesley pack, then the sparse attendance might have had a more rewarding day.
Notably it was Pim who was on hand to finish off a good Wesley move to score in the 22nd minute after several dashing thrusts involving Adrian Hawe, Colin Younger, Mark Higginson and Shane Gill.
In fairness, it has to be admitted that the cover was not committed Pim who shook off two tackles before diving over.
Hawe had given the home side the lead with a penalty in the 14th minute and he now stepped up with a fine kick to convert Pim's try and stretch the lead to 10 points.
John Philpott took the bare look off the Old Belvedere scoreboard with a penalty after 26 minutes, but Belvedere still came back to take a 15-3 lead at half time following a second try, this time by Colin Younger.
It was Younger who split the Belvedere defence with a 40-yard run, and, when Wesley won the ensuing rock, it was Younger again who sent captain Conor Hoey over the line. Hawe hit the upright with his conversion attempt.
Philpott cut the lead by three points with a penalty for offside with only four minutes gone in the second half. But when Neil Farren popped over a penalty to stretch the Wesley lead to 18-6 after 68 minutes Wesley seemed in complete control.
Belvedere lifted their spirits and their game, although Wesley still seemed capable of holding on until Willie Norse, David Hernan and Craig Colgan outpaced the slumbering Wesley cover for Colgan to get over. Barry Murphy converted to leave the score at 18-13.
Belvedere now had the bit between their teeth and swarmed about the place with a dash which had been lacking earlier. David Hernan almost got over only to be forced into touch in goal by a splendid piece of defence by Rob Casey with time running out.
