Colts 1 club rugby: Easts, Wests in big wins
Colts 1 club rugby: Easts won their biggest match of the season while a Wests showcase has removed the reigning premiers from the finals picture. Read the Rd 16 latest on Colts 1 here and see the Team of the Week.
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The more things change, the more they stay the same as a Rauluni starred for Easts in a rugby match on David Wilson Field, Bottomley Park.
Tigers colts 1 flanker Noah Rauluni proved a point of difference in his team’s exciting 26-21 win over Bond University - three decades after his father Jacob and uncle Moses were to the forefront of Easts’ campaigns at Bottomley Park.
In a match which could have gone either way, Rauluni’s anticipation to score two tries was the difference.
Rauluni’s chase of a Garryowen led to him sprinting 35m unchallenged in the first half and then in the second half he claimed a crucial 50m intercept try to carry his side to a telling 26-14 advantage.
In the first half Rauluni also created the break for his winger Caden Griffiths which led to in-form Easts’ halfback Archie Xavier racing away.
Ultimately the match came down to a diving ankle tackle by Tigers’ inside centre Frankie Goldsbrough after Bond’s dangerous outside centre Blake Raymond had snared an intercept.
Raymond jinked, beat a man and was one stride from running 70 unopposed when Australian Under-20s select Goldsbrough grabbed him with a lower tackle.
At the time Easts had led 26-21 after Bond winger Ieuan Cornelius had crossed for a converted try.
Down 26-14 after Rauluni’s intercept effort, the Bullsharks ramped up their game.
Easts defence, so good for so long, was under pressure and sustained phase play but finally Cornelius was presented with his chance.
The Tigers won the game with its defence.
After Bond had produced the perfect opening to score first following minutes of retaining the ball, Easts’ players gathered themselves to capitalise on some errors which had crept into the Bond game.
Despite Bond’s classical execution of an attacking lineout which led to a try, Easts seemed slightly the better side heading into the break at 14-all.
A blooded Jackson Moloney, No.8, then scored for Easts from pick and drive lineout ball, and with Rauluni’s intercept try also helping, the Tigers led 26-14.
Then came Bond’s exciting late rally.
UPDATED COLTS 1 LADDER
1. Wests
2. Souths
3. Easts (41pts)
4. University (40pts)
5. Bond University (39pts)
6. Brothers (35pts)
7. Norths
8. GPS
9. Sunnybank
At Crosby Park, Wests scrumhalf James Martens produced the turning point of the match with a remarkable try on his way to helping the Bulldogs beat Brothers 50-22.
The kick-chase pressure of Martens, when he followed a kick for touch, regathered and scored, was a huge turning point in the Bulldogs commanding win.
Wests led 22-5 after scoring immediately after halftime and in a monumental moment, Martens chased a Campbell King kick for touch and was there to gobble up loose ball after Ellis Davies had acrobatically tapped the ball back infield.
This effort play, which mirrored Filipo Daugunu’s in the Wallabies win over Wales earlier this month, put a canyon between the sides as Wests added to their lead.
But the visitors weren’t done.
Within four minutes the Bulldogs had gone in again through Carter Liddiard, Campbell adding the extras from near sideline to move further ahead 36-5.
It was another piece of quick-thinking brilliance from Wests to extend their buffer, with Campbell opting to tap quick on a penalty, awarded after Ben Mooney had attacked the breakdown, and kick across field where right wing Liddiard was lurking in open space.
SEASON ON THE LINE
The Brothers pack came revved up for what was the team’s biggest match of the season.
Forward leader Charlie Stack set a high standard with his defence and following suit was Cooper Cameron, Paddy Dallimore, Vaiuta Latu and others who defended viciously to protect their goal line.
In the second half, Brothers kept fighting in a spirited attempt at diminishing the deficit.
Big Latu busted two tackles to move within 24 points down 36-12. Then, after another big Latu carry, Ellis Davies dived in to make it a 19 point game trailing 36-17.
But right when Brothers could see the light at the end of the tunnel, Wests moved in again to break their finals hopes.
Pressurising line speed on the kick restart that followed Davies’ try forced an error and just two phases later No.8 Liam McGregor strode over to push clear 43-17 with a little over 10 minutes left. Then Dom Kallquist struck away 60m to score and put an exclamation mark on the convincing 28-point-win.
SPECIAL K
Brothers Finlay (hooker) and Campbell King (inside centre) were influential in Wests’ first half attacking barrage.
Indeed Brothers began the game amped-up and maintained their high energy levels into the halftime break, despite the visitors holding onto a 15-5 lead.
Hooker King’s lineout throwing was as straight as an arrow which allowed for pressure to build on Brothers, who defended like men possessed on their goal line.
Midfielder King had an impact of his own with his tricky kick restarts, which forced the error late in the first half that led to a pick-and-drive try by Finlay.
In the second stanza, Finlay was a presence at the breakdown and Campbell a sniper off the kicking tee.
He kicked six-from-seven on the day.
Wests 50 (O’Rielley, F. King, Martens 2, Liddiard, McGregor, Kallquist tries, King 6 cons, King pen) def Brothers 22 (Smith, Latu, Davies 2 tries, Davies con)
At Yoku road in Ashgrove, the Gallopers triumphed in a real arm wrestle to keep Norths out of finals contention for the year and finish their last home game on a 29-24 high note.
Two timely pilfers, first from reserve flanker Riley Canavan and then from prop Nick Harper, were key in GPS’ denial of Norths in the final five minutes as the clock dwindled down.
The precise territorial kicking of deft fly half Spencer Alcock was influential in the home side’s pursuit of victory, on one occasion the Byron Bay playmaker earning a 50-22.
Reserve fullback Jude Knapp, who joined a contingent of late game difference makers including flankers Riley Canavan and Harry Thomson, followed suit of Alcock’s elite kicking when earning another 50-22 one minute shy of full time.
Norths, with the pacy Sam Dickie and fullback Chris Meo to the fore, were mounting momentum with their phaseplay but after losing the ball, the eyes-up vision of Knapp and subsequent kick off his right foot to send the ball downfield towards the right corner.
BANG BANG BEFORE THE HALF
GPS trailed 10-0 early after Jovid Aveau had bound over and scrumhalf Reidy added five points of his own from the tee with an early penalty goal getting Norths off to a fast start.
The Gallopers responded to take a 21-10 halftime lead, scoring three tries in quick succession to snatch the momentum heading into the second half.
Big Harry Gould scored the home team’s first try, before two enterprising passages of play saw Stuart Tualima and Tasman Barry each bag a try.
Quick thinking to release the ball and go again saw No.8 Tualima cross, while an angled run from damaging outside centre Barry found a way through daring Norths defenders.
DE-BRESAC BRILLIANCE
GPS’ prolific wing Matt Ribot De-Bresac made the play of the game in Saturday’s tense tussle.
Norths trailed 21-17 and were just five metres away with a penalty in the final 10 minutes.
Right wing De-Bresac swooped to pluck an intercept from a right to left shift by the Eagles and away he went, 90 metres downfield to score a sensational five-pointer.
De-Bresac’s fullfield intercept try extended GPS’ lead out to 26-17 and with Alcock kicking the Gallopers into great field position, Norths were denied another look at the GPS tryline for the five minutes that followed.
Reidy took three more points from in front and big centre Joe Woods scored a timely try to get Norths back within striking distance.
But it was too little too late.
GPS 29 (Gould, Barry, De-Bresac, Tualimma tries, Alcock 3 cons, Alock pen) def Norths 24 (Aveau 2, Philip tries, Reidy 3 cons, Reidy pen).
At Sunnybank, the Dragons gave Souths a real run for their money, equalising the scores at 19-all with a Lolo Sekona try in the 59th minute.
Sunnybank trailed 12-0 early and answered to draw level at 12-all, then Souths retook their lead.
But Sunnybank responded again through Alofaifo Sula to set up a tense finish, where super subs from Souths had a huge final 20 minutes to power the visitors to a 29-19 win.
Reserve outside centre Riley Speare came on and scored a try, backrower Joel Broderick was a late game wonder with the ball in hand, hooker Ethan Morgan won every lineout of his when coming on and Year 12 St Laurence’s student Finn Mackay kicked a penalty goal and conversion to ensure the result.
For Sunnybank, Brody McLaren’s kicking game, Dan Malum’s high-flying catches and Netani Lesimaikimatuku’s all-round-class helped the side in battle, just like Cadell Rees’ defence for Souths.
Souths 29 (Raff, Minnie, Robertson, Speare tries, Rowan, Laban, Mackay cons, Mackay pen) def Sunnybank 19 (Sekona, Sula 2 tries, Lesimaikimatuku cons).
TEAM OF THE WEEK
15 Netani Lesimaikimatuku (Sunnybank)
14 Matthew Ribot-de-Bresac (GPS)
13 Darcy Rowan (Souths)
12 Campbell King (Wests)
11 Dan Malum (Sunnybank)
10 Spencer Alcock (GPS)
9 Archie Xavier (Easts)
8 Vaiuta Latu (Brothers)
7 Will Carter (Bond)
6 Noah Rauluni (Easts)
5 Pat Gavin (GPS)
4 Ben Daniels (Brothers)
3 Jovid Aveau (Norths)
2 Finlay King (Wests)
1 Oli Barrett (Bond)
Reserves: Kennedy (Easts), Cadell Rees (Souths) Callum Reidy (Norths), Emil Willie-Jawai (Easts), Cameron Ebbage (Norths), James Martens (Wests), Alofaifo Sula (Sunnybank), Brody McLaren (Sunnybank), Dre-dyn Laban (Souths).
Originally published as Colts 1 club rugby: Easts, Wests in big wins
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