JUST three days before holding a two part AGM to decide their club’s future, Waterloo were able to celebrate their first victory in seven matches on Saturday.
Playing pretty well at full strength on their own ground, they defeated their closest rivals Wharfedale by a decisive margin, to claim a place in the top half of the table and effectively banish a few faint fears of relegation.
Reinforced by the return of powerful prop Rob O’Donnell the forwards were unusually dominant for much of the game.
Coach Ian O’Callaghan’s team grabbed three early penalties through Davies to boost their confidence.
They then followed up with two fine tries from centres Jason Duffy and scrum half Pablo Freijoo, both of which Davies converted, to lead 23-0 before Andy Baggett replied with a penalty for the visitors on the stroke of half time.
An excellent try by centre Nicola Mazzucato shortly after the resumption, inevitably improved by Davies, pushed them still further in front and raised hopes of a bonus.
However, a number of enforced changes, one following an injury to skipper Jason Duffy, took most of the impetus out of Waterloo’s play and their visitors slowly became more positive before claiming a consolation try through speedy winger Chris Malherbe, which was not converted.
Many Waterloo supporters clearly heaved a sigh of relief at the end.
Are they happy to stay where they are, and hope they can hold their own with their present resources, as many older members seem to believe?
Or are they ready to rebuild into a progressive, all-round club at a new headquarters, with lots of different teams all working together to restore the ancient reputation that produced 40 caps.
In the present situation, money tends to be what decides the future and Waterloo need some dynamic management.
