I must confess that the reason why the reporting on this truncated round is a little thin is that a certain former RDO decided to get himself hitched at the weekend and in participating in the hijinks, I was not at the ISCI ground to see what was reportedly the best game of the tournament so far. The Bantengs and the Rams is always an emotionally-charged affair and one would think that without their iconic skipper, Bobby Orlando, the Jakarta boys would be at a bit of a disadvantage. That was not to be as a tight affair was played out in the only encounter of the day (the Samurai and Komodos standing down due to a game against the Singapore Bucks).

Up 17-0 at the 20-minute mark, it looked like a fait-accompli and that the Rams’ bugger-the-consequences-we’ll-cop-a-hiding-and-still-play-our-own-way brand of leagueby union would result in, well, just that. However, two crossings ‘o’ the line a few minutes later saw them go into the break 17-10 down and with a real chance.

That very devil-may-care attitude that I alluded to above was, ironically, almost the undoing of the Bantengs. RDO and match official for the day, Sam Refshauge, comments that the stick-it-up-yer-jumper-and-bash-it-into-the-big’uns style of the Rams seemed contagious on the afternoon, and the slick backline play the Bantengs are increasingly becoming known for went out the window. Oh for the love of a kicker, as inside centre Wesley crossed for his second of the day, the draw could not be salvaged as the conversion went wide and the Rams went begging once more for a victory.

The despair one feels for the valiant Papuan mountain men was almost as palpable as that felt at the reception later that night when several individuals, known to the IRFU, proved that you can’t take a bloody bule anywhere and stripped down to their smalls and dived into the pool at an otherwise classy Kemang reception centre. But as with all things, there is another side to the story and it was summed up with the arrival at said function by Bantengs and Rhinos forward, Dan Nugroho. Despite sporting a sizable ‘love tap’ on his handsome and rugged face, the lad was grinning from ear to ear in the knowledge that the Bantengs RFC continue to march onwards and upwards as a force in Indonesian rugby. As seen later that weekend on a certain Banteng’s facebook page, “viva Bantengs”, indeed. Viva.

Just when you thought that the action out on the hallowed turf could not get any bigger, better or indeed weirder, along comes a day like Saturday the 4th of April, 2009.

With a week lost due to an act of God, the gladiators of Indonesian rugby where about as toey a three-toed sloth and ready to rock and roll. The early game saw an ISCI Samurai team who had been heavily defeated in the first round, and no doubt out for some blood. Their opponents, those fresh-faced lads who we know as the Bantengs containing more internationals than a top of the table Super 14 clash. Not quite, but close enough. If talent were electricity, surely the Bantengs could power most of Jakarta.

I’ll keep my own predictions to myself, lest I be accused of bias, but suffice to say that round 1’s result made many of us there think that the Samurais would struggle. It was not to be. A squad beefed up by new arrivals and two very dubious sounding and looking Japanese lads named Sam-san and Drew-san took an early lead on the 15th minute and followed it up with two more before the half-way point of the 1st stanza. The Bantengs replied with a 5-pointer of their own just before the break to leave the game at 17-5 as the oranges and Lucozade were being consumed.

Roll on the second act of this drama (or tragedy, depending on who you followed) and the going was to be action packed from the get-go. International skipper Bobby Orlando saw yellow as his opinion of what had transpired on the goal line differed radically from that of the long-suffering referee. Tragedy indeed struck when the ruckus on said try line turned out to be indeed a try and yet more salt was poured into the wounds of the 14-man Bantengs when the opposition crossed for two more. Another one late sealed the deal at 37-5 and will have the Bantengs looking for revenge in the reverse in three weeks time. But still, a hearty ‘Banzai’ to the Samurai who showed that they can rebound from the kind of ignominious defeat inflicted on them two weeks ago.

Not content to be outdone when the Komodos of ISCI faced the Rams of Bandung, skipper Moses Kalo, who must have been taking tips from Bobby pre-game, got himself in the wrong column of the match report and suffered ten minutes of splinters in his bum for a high shot. But that was not the worst of things for the Rams on the day.

If you are like me and have a bit of a league background, you’ll relish in the way the mountain men play the game. Hard-hitting, fast-running rugby is the name of the game, but as good as it looks, the results are not always to the liking of a would-be supporter such as myself. When faced with a Komodo outfit who are as big and strong as they are ugly, the Rams had little answer. To be fair, it was kind of hard for the visitors when constantly hit with the force of a locomotive on testosterone shots by a fella whose only name remains “Geoff” on the team sheet. One hopes that as he is scoring upwards of three tries per game, that the affable official who fills out said sheet will learn his surname, lest he get picked for the national squad. But I digress. With the halftime score at 41-5, there were fears of another blowout a la the Komodos/Samurai match. It wasn’t to be so bad with the de-splintered Moses Kalo converting Ben Peter’s last-minute try and so the final score was 77-12.

With two massive wins under their belts, the question on many people’s lips, even at this early juncture, is, “who will the Komodos be playing for the title when June comes around?” However, I myself will leave this to providence to decide and instead wonder why St. Francis of ISCI is such a lippy bugger to IRFU staff! All answers on the back of a postcard, and the winner gets half a flat beer courtesy of Steve Barber.

Honorable mentions for the day…

Man of the Match (points in brackets)

(3) Doai - Samurai
(2) Daniel Nugroho - Bantengs
(1) Sumida - Samurai

(3) Kristian van der Meer - Komodos
(2) Geoff X - Komodos
(1) Chris Burger - Komodos