GPS Rugby: Nudgee’s storm late, TSS and Churchie muscle up
GPS First XV rugby: How the west was won by Churchie, TSS-BSHS thriller and what happened between Nudgee and Terrace.
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Mission accomplished - for now. Churchie this afternoon delivered a hit and run sortie on Brisbane Boys College soil to knock down one of their key rivals for the premiership.
With Boa constrictor defence, composure on their exit plays and patience in attack, Churchie claimed a 22-5 win at BBC.
In other matches, TSS had yet another close match in beating BSHS 22-18, Nudgee came late to beat Terrace 29-3 and Toowoomba Grammar School stretched its unbeaten record to three games by defeating Brisbane Grammar School 41-8.
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At Miskin Oval, BBC, although the margin was wide, it was defence which won it for the visitors in a pitched battle only settled three minutes from full time with Churchie delivering their army of supporters a rolling maul try to hooker Hamish Ward.
The match then appropriately finished with Churchie successfully defending its tryline.
It was a rousing effort by Churchie from start to finish.
Just after halftime BBC closed the gap to 8-6, and even though Churchie led 15-6 for much of the second half, BBC were always lurking.
Importantly after BBC scored the first points of the second half, it was Churchie centre Frankie Goldsbrough who cracked the match open.
With a dynamic charge through a corridor just off the line out after his flanker Godfrey had won clean ball from the set piece, Goldsbrough burst forward before angling himself more midfield where he found prop Diamond Fifita. Fifita then stormed towards the line with the pace of an inside centre.
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The 15-6 score eight minutes into the half then ensured BBC had to play some football back at their rivals – and they did.
Once Goldsbrough saved the day with cover defence as BBC had ramped up their tempo and were coming harder with fresh legs helping from the interchange bench.
Churchie did face more adversity, but their line held and when ball was turned over, five-eight Charlie Johnstone kicked intelligently backed by a vigorous pack of chasing defenders.
Earlier, the theatre, the pageantry must have been up-lifting to the BBC boys as they were led down the pathway by a troope of bag pipers before running along a 90m long guard of honour formed by BBC students.
BBC supporters then added to the atmosphere by firing the first war cry minutes in, with their booming voices echoing across Miskin Oval.
But it was Churchie who had the better of the game early, dominating the opening eight minutes.
Their field position also turned into the opening try, with Churchie five-eight Charlie Johnstone charging down a clearing kick.
Churchie centre Max Blanch then pounced on the rebounding ball, handing his team a 5-nil lead.
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On Ross Oval, two game-saving plays from Nudgee College winger James Duggan delivered his side a hard-fought 29-3 win over arch rivals Gregory Terrace.
Of course it was a terrific team effort from the home side to prevent Gregory Terrace, who had a wealth of possession in the first half, from scoring.
But it was wavy-haired Duggan who made two crucial plays in two pivotal moments. The first play Duggan made was early in the second half when his team was up 5-3.
Terrace had possession in Nudgee’s half again, however a loose cut-out pass was intercepted by Duggan, who, while on his back, offloaded away to fly half Maddox Maclean who ran 35 metres before linking with tryscorer Macarius Pereira.
The supporters liked this one, which moved Nudgee ahead 12-3.
The second blow Duggan landed came with 14 minutes left when Terrace hooker Charlie Hollyman speared blindside off the back of the scrum. One-on-one, Duggan made a thumping tackle and dislodged the ball, earning Nudgee possession.
Down 12-3, this was Terrace’s prime chance to claw back – but the telling defence of Duggan both relieved pressure off his team, and began mounting the momentum which saw Nudgee put on an impressive 29-0 second-half showing.
Terrace led 3-0 at halftime with a penalty goal from Isaac McAuliffe the difference.
Fly half McAuliffe’s kicking for touch in that first half was top tier, as was the lineout work and ball-carrying of Tom Robinson.
Indeed Terrace had Nudgee’s measure in the opening 35 minutes, with backrower Noah Clifford, strong tackling Charlie Cooke, and breakdown winning No. 8 PJ Su’a following suit of their captain Robinson.
Su’a, a league boy, was tremendous at the breakdown, as was Nudgee centre Prestyn-Laine Sietu, who also is also a rugby league junior. Each of them had two timely pilfers to win possession.
After Nudgee were starved of the ball in the first half, it took a lineout win from Ed Kasprowicz and aggressive defence from Laine-Sietu and No. 8 Sam Hyne to bring about the first try.
We had to wait a while for the first but when it came it was something special. – A brilliant line break from Laine-Sietu, engineered by fly half Maclean.
Laine-Sietu’s centre partner Ryan Heaton did the honours after a switch play from Maclean undid the defence.
That was the first try of an unanswered 29-point run by Nudgee.
Pereira scored next, before that trademark pop-pass of his found Heaton for his second.
Nudgee were up 19-3, but had lost halfback Samuel Watson with a yellow card.
On came a spark in Charlie O’Connell, the halfback-fly half hybrid who slotted a penalty goal, a tough conversion and made a line break in a burst off the bench.
Putting the icing on the cake at 29-3 was winger Emmanuel Taviri, who scored the home side’s final try courtesy of an accurate right-to-left Jacob Johnson pass.
Before leaving the field with injury, loosehead prop Princeton Ioane was immense with his pick-and-drives. Doing the same for Terrace was tighthead Jovid Aveau.
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At Fursden road, a loud and proud home crowd very nearly provided Brisbane State High enough to beat the Southport School as for the third time this season, BSHS fell in a thriller.
TSS escaped 22-18 after a 63rd minute try from Charlie Coffey deflated a gallant BSHS, again spearheaded by flyhalf Tauave Leofa.
TSS were up 17-15, when flanker Billy Wellard made his way down the left touchline and found support in Coffey, who dove over right in front of the TSS supporters.
He won’t forget that try.
TSS led 10-5 at the break after a scrappy, well contested first half of footy where neither team flinched. There were some handling errors, beautiful general-play kicking, line breaks from both sides and clearly a lot of heart.
TSS assistant coach Mike Wallace described the scene as a game of contrasting styles, with BSHS playing an up-tempo, high skills, high energy, and expansive game. Meanwhile, TSS were playing a low-risk game which only just saw them come out on top.
Muscular BSHS prop Moses Manu scored his team’s first try in the second half, giving their first and only lead of the game up 12-10. You probably could’ve guessed who regained the lead for TSS. It was hooker Blaze Moana, who crashed over behind an unstoppable rolling maul.
Leofa nailed a tough penalty goal from wideout to inch BSHS closer down 22-18, but Coffey’s try meant they needed to score.
The TSS defence prevailed for the next 10 minutes, repelling a sharp BSHS attack twice in their own 22 and forcing them into the middle third of the field as the boys from the Gold Coast made it three-from-three to begin their season.
TSS were led by high-energy locks Fergus Gillan and Sebastian Smith-Power, as well as tireless blindside flanker Will Carter.
BSHS hooker Siale Mahina, flanker Mattias Agent and wing Bailey Trew were elite for the home side.
Up on the range, BGS came to play against Brisbane Grammar School and dominated periods of the first half with strong play.
However, then TGS overpowered them toward the end of the game, with three tries scored from rolling mauls.
“They were willing and competitive and put us under pressure,’’ TGS director of sport Steve Fryer said in praise of Brisbane Grammar School.
Strong forward play was the cornerstone of TGS’s win, but the backs then started to chip in.
The return of Chace Oates helped TGS’s back division, and he seemed to have calming influence on TGS.
Fullback Richard Dean also did well behind his forwards led by skipper and lock Griffiths.
BGS coach Phil Mooney liked a lot of what he saw from his side today.
“This week our ability to compete longer was a plus and I was extremely happy with our set piece which functioned way better.’’
He said he asked his players to be more direct and physical and there were positive signs in that direction.
Mooney said TGS were a well coached side and like any good team, they had an ability to play direct or use the ball. “They have good balance and Scott Gale (coach) has done a really good job,’’ Mooney said.
The BGS effort was led by Alex Roe at No.8 and Ollie Spence at fullback was again improved. “He was brave and is getting better with each week,’’ Mooney said.
ROUND 4
BBC v TGS
BSHS v Nudgee
TSS v BGS
IGS v Terrace
Bye: Churchie
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