1st-2nd July 2017
UKU TOUR 2 2017 - CARDIFF
Team:
Adam Levi
Andy Glover
Mike Elliott
Alex Finch
Ben Black
Rob Mann
Gopi Ganesathas
Luke Farmery
Graham Flower
Tom Blake
Tom Bliss
Starting Seed - 38th
Final Seed - 32st #BTOURBABY
This was Plymouth Ultimate’s second ever tournament. We had a shaky Tour 1 which highlighted that individually we are all panty-wetting good players, we just needed time to gel as a team. By the time we left Nottingham we started to work well together, and took this in to Tour 2.
We started off second in our pool, seeded 38th. But what happened in Tour 2? Well…..
Game 1 – Horsham Hippos 14 – 9 (W)
We had played Horsham at Tour 1 and managed to get a comfortable win. We had low expectations of them going in, and they proved us wrong. They had a strong set of handlers and a couple of deep threats who could take down anything. We traded for the first half as we both worked the disc up smoothly. We started to cut out their deep threats and pressured them on the handler movements, forcing the errors through their weaker players. We turned their errors in to our points and got the win. A good start. #fudgethehilton #noswearinginfrontofchildren
Game 2 – Logic Exile Destruction 11-9 (W)
We saw LED before the game, and they seemed young, athletic and gangly as hell. But it’s fine. We were much better looking. This was a tough game which was never going to be a game to remember, but rather a game to grind out and see who had more grit and determination. We traded points and exchanged leads all the way through. Towards the end we started to frustrate them and force some key turns which we converted to get ahead and win.
Game 3 – Cambridge 11-10 (W)
If you look online for the definition of the phrase “a game of two halves” it will state “Plymouth v Cambridge at Tour 2”. We had seen Cambridge’s results against Horsham and LED and were expecting a tough start to the game. We came out hard and fast with slick movement on offense, and denied them everything on defence. Before we knew it we were up 8-3 at half. We started the second half on offense and got the point. 9-3. Booya. Then we let our team of clones who couldn’t play against Cambridge on to the pitch. Cambridge started putting in their offensive points and shutting down ours. They got break after break, each up-wind and each down-wind point. They shut us down and took the lead at 10-9. The hooter went and we were on offense working against the wind. We worked the disc up to half way and Luke did what he did all weekend, and put a glorious backhand in to the end zone. I chased it and brought it down in the endzone. 10-10. Universe point. We were working with the wind this time and tightened up our defence to get the turn. We went for a long shot to the end zone which didn’t come off. Cambridge set up their play from the endzone line. I put a force on the thrower. BOOM! Point block! Our disc on the end zone line slap bang in the middle. Is there ever a better time for ‘Babies’? We set it up and ran it. It didn’t come off, but Levi put up a perfectly weighted flick in to the corner to me for the score. And that’s the game! We took the win to take top spot in the pool, 35th. #squeakybumtime #whatkindofanameisGonzo
This could only mean one thing: our first game on Sunday would be for the cross over in to B Tour!!
Luke made us all an offer we couldn’t refuse, so we knew we had to step it up. Wagamama’s beckoned and we headed in to Cardiff for the evening before heading back to the rugby club for a few pints whilst listening to the ‘Top 50 Noughties No 1’s’ #momsspaghetti
Game 4 – Bristol 2 14-10 (W)
This was the big one. It didn’t matter what happened for the rest of the day, but we had to win this one. Nothing really stood out in this game, except for how much better Finchy is when he can see properly. We showed them exactly why we are B Tour material and took an early lead. We traded points throughout, with the occasional lapse in concentration which gave them the lead. We dug in hard to convert every opportunity we had and edged out a small lead. At 12-10, with Bristol on O the hooter went. We got the turn and stuck it in quickly. 13-10. Surely we couldn’t chump it from here. We force the mistake to get the turn and look upfield. A long floaty pass over towards the brick mark is taken down by Blake. The mark puts on a strong force and the stall count gets high. Blake puts up a high bladey roll curve to the endzone, where Levi of all people takes it down to take us to 14-10 and WIN THE GAME! This match showed what we are capable of, especially against a strong side who train together regularly. The best part was, we knew we had so much more to give.
But there it is, Plymouth Ultimate have made it to B Tour in their first season!! #Blozzersforeveryone #blozcopter #noImbertneeded
Game 5 – Reading 2 10 - 12 (L)
This was our first taste of B Tour level games, and we definitely rose to the challenge. This was a good team who trained regularly, had A Tour standard handlers, a variety of set plays and deep threats to get them out of sticky situations. This is what we would need to develop over time if we are to compete consistently in B Tour. For the time being, we just had sick moves, good looks and larger genitals. This proved to be enough for the majority of the game. We pushed Reading hard, slowing down their handler movements, challenging their short passes and making them work for every long shot. We posed a constant threat throughout and traded points with them. We went up 10-8 towards the end, and unfortunately we took our foot off the accelerator and let them come from behind to take the win. Even though it was a loss, this was still a game to be happy with. We showed that we can go toe-to-toe with a quality team in B Tour and make them work for everyone point. #whatsourkitmadeof? #BTourmaterial #igotafootblockjustsayin
Game 6 – Brighton Gritty 4-15 (L)
The less said about this game the better. We had a long break before this game where we seemed to have mentally already gone home. Everyone knows about Brighton. Everyone knows they have fancy O & D plays, train together regularly and produce consistently competitive teams. We started off trading points and took them to 3-3. Then we switched off and they took it up a gear. They converted everything quickly and made us work for every metre. We were too tired to make any ground against their defence, and they played smart which saved their legs. Credit to them, they played very well. Hopefully if we play them again we can give them a better game.
Our last game over, time to head home and rest. Hopefully not via the London Low Emission Zone this time.
This was a sensational weekend for us. We did not expect to be able to make it in to B Tour this year. That was our goal for next year. But through rapid short handler movements, spectacular long plays, smart strong defence and hops for days, we managed to top our pool, win our crossover game in to B Tour and show exactly what we can do! Special shout out to Finchy who proved that he is a force to be reckoned with when he can actually see. #shouldhavegonetospecsavers
Roll on Tour 3 in Kent. Let’s keep ourselves in B Tour and show everyone we are here to stay!