"veteran" schnauzer and put his trust back into him.

They performed various set plays and Buster carefully followed every maneouver, with and without the ball, that Alistor had taught him. When he didn't have the ball, he would usually stay lined up behind inside centre Tramp and be ready to recieve the ball from him; or he would follow the backline as they were going forward to keep up with the play. One play, Tramp received the ball and Buster switched from the right side of his inside centre to the left by running around him; where Tramp then performed a quick backward flick pass to him and Buster took it and ran toward the defensive line. Another involved Buster receiving the ball and then throwing a long pass overlapping the fullback and into the hands of the wing. Buster would also carry the ball and fake a quick pass to the full back and continue to run towards the defensive line. Most other plays would be as simple as continually passing the ball backwards until it reached the winger and he would therefore finish by running forwards until he was tackled or held.

Through all of this, Buster was showing some impressive speed while also producing fast side-steps to get past his defenders. On a couple of plays, when fullback Moody Thompson ran around and behind the outside centre, Buster also produced some very quick inside passes to him; so Buster's passing skills were also advancing in short time. Plus not once did Buster drop the ball. He made a couple of passing errors when they were too hard or too low and in turn missed a teammates' hands, but he was doing everything else well.

Then after a bit of time, head coach Reede called the team over to the rectangular playing field to begin their game sense scrimmage. Before Buster could get going to join in, Alistor stopped him short:

"Hold on, Buster. So you know, what you about to do is a full semi-contact scrimmage. Here, you will see it like a real game situation and you will get to put everything that you have been taught here tonight into practice. Remember what you have to do, try not to overuse your energy, and keep playing as hard as you can. Do this and we will accept you into the team. Good luck."

"Thanks, coach. I promise that I will."

So that said, Buster headed into the team hustle and got into his position at outside centre to get ready for the scrimmage. 

Once it was underway, he managed to see the ball several times and produce more of his special sidesteps to break tackles. He was still very quick on his feet and the defense had to work hard to stop his momentum. Again, it was on the acting referee's call of "held!" when the ball carrier had to go to ground, and this call would be made when the defender got a clear hold on the attacker when attempting the semi-tackle. But several times when Buster attacked the line, he was able to break through the holds made on him and produce several hand-offs and the call of "held!" came a lot latter than most other backs who got a carry. He was also very solid on defense in that he stayed on his spot on the defensive line and watched his marked dogs very carefully when they would come his way. His speed allowed him to react fast and he managed a clear hold on his opponents every time. The only thing that let him down was a few minor passing errors when they were too hard and high or low that they were out of reach of his fellow backs. Most other passes safely made it into their paws.

On the sidelines, Alistor continued to observe Buster and negotiated indistinctly with Reede about him while doing so. It was here where they would decide whether to slot Buster in the 30-dog squad or not.

As for the rest of the team, they still played and trained as hard as ever; just like the first game of the season the previous week. There were very few fundamental mistakes and they were still showing solid defense and controlled offense. The kicking accuracy from fullback Moody Thompson was also still very efficient. All in all, the team were still looking to be top contenders.

After Reede blew his whistle to signal the end of the scrimmage and training, he called the team over for a cool down with stretching as he was about to deliver his usual post-training talk:

"Alright, good effort tonight, team. We are still showing plenty of intensity and endurance along with plenty of communication and discipline. This is exactly what we saw in last Saturday's game so let's try and keep this up for the rest of the season. If you are hungry for it and you want to get to the finals, then this is what we expect from you every time you put on that training or playing shirt. Even off the field with all the extra work that you do; be it studying or going to the gym; treat it exactly like how you would here: Stay focused, dedicate, commit, think optimistically and never back down from anything that you are capable of doing. Know what you can do well and keep working with it but also try to go beyond your level of expected talent and perform new tricks. If you can manage all of this, you will become the strongest unit in the world of rugby."

The team listened hard and all nodded in agreement at their head coach's philosophical attitude before he continued:

"Now we also have a newcomer here tonight. This is his first ever training session as a rugby player and he has already shown some fine form in ball running, tackle busting and defense. Therefore with his skill I believe that he will fit into this team well. Please welcome Buster Mendosa!"

The team presented a welcoming applause for their assumed new recruit, and Buster looked at them and nodded in acceptance.

"And we wish you luck as you continue to enhance your skills in your development as a player, Buster." Reede concluded.

Buster got the impression from the head coach's words that he had indeed been selected in the squad, but he knew that this decision was up to Alistor as he had been training and observing him all session; so therefore he tried not to get too excited too soon.

"Now, as for this weekend," Reede continued. "We are heading down on the bus to New York City and we are going to be against some very tough opposition in Brooklyn RFC. They have been dominating rugby in the east for years and can be tough to handle with their fast and skillful offense as well as 'brick wall' defense and counter-ruck ability. Getting victory over them is a very small possibility and it will take a lot to get even. But I want us to put victory to the back of our minds and focus more on making them fight hard for their points. If we are to do that, we have to keep all the intensity and endurance shown here up to the highest standard. That means our defense has to be solid when charging at them and when shifting across to cover the gaps on the wing if they decide to throw the ball wide to get an opportunity to score. Also, our breakdown support has to be there at each and every ruck to avoid turnovers at all costs; and to have any chance of breaking the offensive line, we have to ensure that the ball runner has close support to him or her to prepare for that potential quick pass or offload from the tackle then take the ball and catch the opposition off guard. Our tactical kicking also has to be used for the same purpose of breaking the line, but you have to ensure that you execute it well in a way to put pressure on the opposition. If we can perfect all of this, Brooklyn RFC will be in for a very tough time. But also remember not to get put off by your opponents if they are getting on top of you, because such loss of valuable focus can lead to making errors and in turn defeat. So just keep focusing on your own game to play hard throughout 80 minutes and have a shot at victory. We will work on this come Thursday, so keep all of this in mind and prepare for what you will get. That will be all, team. See you in two days."

The team broke away from the huddle and got ready to leave. But Buster got stopped short again by Alistor. It was here where Buster would be learning of his "fate":

"Alright, Buster." Alistor said to his 'student'. "As Reede said just then, you have shown some fine form in rugby skills and have the capability of making this team. I am really impressed with what you have achieved early on. Your speed, tackle breaking, defense, and set play execution is going well; and even your passes are quick but there were a few times where you passed too hard or too low and therefore it was turned over. But with a few simple adjustments we can get that right within time. And you don't seem to have much of a problem dealing with game sense pressure, so you have done well in that too. So all in all, you have a huge potential as an outside centre and even at wing or full back; and this can therefore make you a utility in the backline. Long story short, the good news is that you are officially on the roster. Congratulations and welcome to Amity Regional RFC!"

That said, Alistor held out his paw and allowed the newcomer to shake in a welcoming manner; and Buster also extended his paw and accepted it. They both smiled at each other while doing so; and Buster felt really thrilled that he had just made the team. He did seem to enjoy playing this sport as well, so he was tempted to stick with it. He knew that he had a choice as it was given to him by Tramp and the others, but at this stage his mind was pretty much made up. This certainly is much better than the streets or the Junkyard. He thought. I know now that this is where the real fun will be.

"Thank you very much, coach." Buster replied in deep appreciation. "Thank you for all of your help and support tonight and I am looking forward to playing for and with you. I promise not to let any of you