GPS First XV: Nudgee’s Old boys day to remember while Terrace triumph
GPS First XV rugby: An old boys day to remember for Nudgee College, while Terrace rose from the embers on a day which also saw BSHS go back-to-back and IGS topple TGS.
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Wow, what a round. The GPS First XV premiership race is roaring along after Terrace, Ipswich Grammar and BSHS joined Nudgee College in stunning round two wins.
While Nudgee’s win over TSS did not shake the competition, what did surprise was the 50-5 margin while Terrace, dusted by The Southport School in round 1, responded with a 27-19 win over Churchie.
Up on the Darling Downs, Ipswich Grammar School had a super sub - Amaziah Murgha - who helped IGS snare a derby victory over Toowoomba Grammar School, the visitors turning a 17-all halftime deadlock into a 36-17 win.
And lightning struck twice for BSHS when No.8 Roman Siulepa set up a telling try for left wing Jackson Hill in an epic 19-12 win.
Where do we start?
Let is start with Nudgee’s 45-point win on Old Boys Day.
The Nudgee players, motivated by a Friday evening presentation of their jerseys by high achieving old boy Harry Vella, were actually slightly fortunate to lead 17-5 at halftime.
Indeed if two or three passes had stuck, TSS would have been in front. There is no doubt about that.
But the twinkle toes and speed of fullback Jacob Johnson put Nick Conway over to score, and then Nudgee No.8 Teina Graham speared through the TSS defenders and all of a sudden TSS were two tries behind.
In the second half, with the Nudgee forwards playing with authority and confidence, Nudgee then sprinted away at breakneck speed as fullback Johnson and winger Oli Paterson did their best to resemble 100m dashers on GPS track and field championship day.
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Nudgee inside centre Carter Welfare was also a nice link in the midfield, while the service of Sam Watson got his backs going.
Nudgee’s pack also ensured TSS gained little momentum off their attacking line-out ball, while breakaway Hugo Hart was enormous and captain John Grenfell a thumping defender and rugged runner.
TSS director of rugby Mike Wallace paid tribute to the performance of Nudgee on old boys while being confident TSS’s talented young bunch would rebound as the season progressed.
Nudgee director of rugby Sean Graham agreed his team could have been behind at halftime, but “in the dying minutes we pounced on that loose ball and went the length’’.
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“Early in that second half we forced a few turnovers and we were really clinical and I thought our defence was really outstanding.
“And when we had our opportunities we were able to convert to points.
“And once we broke them down, we thought we’d be a fitter side, so if we were in the game with 15-20 to go, we’d be okay.’’
The match was a moment to cherish for Nudgee debut boy, replacement flanker Bendi Donna, who started when first choice breakaway Adam Latham withdrew after waking ill.
“We only told him at lunch time he’d be playing,’’ Graham said.
Also, Nudgee lost its try scoring winger Conway early, which enabled utility back Bond Bradley to play out of position on the left wing.
Bradley and powerful outside centre Max Rohan are boys who have been at the school since Year 5 dreaming of playing Firsts on Ross Oval. “For them to be able to do that was tremendous,’’ Graham said.
Nudgee also lost goal kicking ace Charlie O’Connell (head knock) midway through the second half but that did not not stop them from running in seven tries.
Lock Ed Kasprowicz could barely believe his eyes when he backed up a break by Johnson and caught the ball with only the green, lush grass of Ross Oval between him and the line.
At the Internationals Oval, St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace rose from its first round loss to TSS to defeat Churchie 27-19.
Terrace and Churchie slugged out in a high intensity, physical first half when Terrace capitalised on an improved scrum and field position.
With five-eight Sam McGahan the conductor, Terrace generated four tries, including a match winner by diminutive winger Sam Russell.
Russell was one of Terrace’s best players in defeat in round 1, and how he would have cherished another fine performance in a winning side.
But the real show stopping performance came from outside centre Saia Poese who left spectators wanting more.
The Churchie players played their role in a tremendous tussle, and there was none better than lock Kylan Godfrey who, aside from his general effective performance around the ground, also scored a try.
Churchie will just look to improve execution under duress and try and control possession better so they can play a faster flowing, off load type of rugby game. But the signs are there for Churchie.
Terrace coach Adrian Thompson said “it was a big improvement from last week’’.
“We controlled field position and it was probably our best defensive effort all year, including pre-season. And our set piece improved,’’ he said.
Oliver Nasser bagged a double for the home side, while Poese and Sam Russell also scored. Russell, who last week starred in a losing team, nailed the coffin shut for Terrace who led 22-19 with 10 minutes to play.
Russell scooped up loose ball and dashed away 35 metres to score, shedding two cover tackles before slamming the ball down for the most important try of the game.
At the TGS Old Boys’ Oval, Ipswich Grammar School notched their first win of the season with a 36-17 away victory over Toowoomba Grammar School.
With the scores level 17-all at half time, the game was anyone’s for the taking and cometh the hour, cometh the man - and that man was spark plug Amaziah Murgha, who starred in an unforgettable second half performance off the bench.
While you could count on one hand the amount of runs Murgha made in the contest, his impact on the game was immeasurable.
In the early minutes of the second half, Murgha set the tone with an electric run to put the visitors within striking distance.
Just moments later, his side capitalised to grab a 24-17 lead.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, with the margin still just seven points, Yarrabah flyer Murgha made another 40-metre dash from a kick return and fell agonisingly close to scoring what would have been the game-sealing try.
However, his efforts were not in vain, as the excellent field position he acquired meant IGS was on hand to pounce on a TGS error just metres out from their tryline.
Lightning outside centre James Grey was in the right place at the right to cross the stripe and give IGS a vital two try advantage.
Grey would then cross over for his second try in the final play of the game to put an exclamation point on a sweet away from home victory.
Coming up against a powerful TGS forward pack, IGS was unthreatened by the imposing challenge they faced on the road and from the outset showed they meant business.
The Ipswich pack fired, Jack Calleja and Ezalle Matautia leading the way with Jean-Paul Sia not far behind.
Whether it was in the scrum or at either tryline, the IGS pack fronted up and on the back of their brave efforts, scrumhalf Joseph Post was able to snare a try and deliver crisp service to flyhalf Tyson Walker.
One of the biggest turning points came in the 15 minute period leading up to half time.
In the final moments of a thrilling back-and-forth first half, IGS levelled the game with a try in the final play after several phases of attack mounted momentum metres out from the tryline.
Despite gutsy defence from TGS, the home side could not deny a relentless attacking rampage from IGS.
A clinical IGS then powered home after tries scored by Marlon Frost and Tanner Baker had got the side on the scoresheet in the first stanza.
Tom Bailey, Adam Davis and Myles Rosemond scored tries for TGS and more went begging however TGS could not capitalise on close-range chances before IGS scrambled to defuse the situation.
On Miskin Oval at BBC, a full field try scored by Jackson Hill, sparked from a 60m surge by Roman Siulepa, ensured Brisbane State High would remain undefeated with a dramatic win over BBC.
Brisbane State High led 14-5 when Siulepa scooped up dropped ball on his tryline and galloped downfield before finding Seamus Boakes, then Angus Tagicakibau and finally speedster Hill who evaded the last defender with a telling right to left step.
Hill dove over emphatically to snare a 19-5 lead with just under 10 minutes to go and that was game.
BBC, with tremendous forward leader Tyler Maybery throwing the ball in, were closing in on BSHS’s tryline with a promising rolling maul, before a dropped ball rolled into the wrong hands.
It fell to the athletic, No.8 monster that is Siulepa who on Saturday scored his team’s first try with a superb fend and step combination, fronted up on defence and then created the try from Hill which proved the dagger.
But it was not a one-man wrecking crew that defeated an impressive BBC outfit, it was a mighty team effort from the boys in blue and red.
The powerful and imposing BSHS front row of Tyrece Herniman, Cyrus Suniala and headgear wearing big bopper Elyjah Sau were at their best, while captain Eli Langi was phenomenal winning his lineouts and disrupting BBC’s.
Debutant Jesse Maugatai was faultless, Trent Picot busy at the breakdown and Siulepa the difference in a top tier showing by the State High forward pack.
In the backline, the kicking game of Seamus Boakes and crash running of midfielder Junior Latu created a great platform for a side which had denied BBC their second try up until just three minutes from fulltime.
Headgear wearing BSHS fullback Angus Tagicakibau was also elite returning the ball.
Earlier in the game, State High defended their goal line for over five minutes as the BBC pack marched in.
There was no way through then, but finally Gray O’Neill crossed in the right corner with an acrobatic finish no second rower had any right to score.
That was the first try of the match, 30 minutes in.
You can imagine how amped up each side was.
Left winger Tai Taka scored BBC’s second, giving the side life heading into the final two minutes trailing 19-12.
But BSHS’s line speed and scramble defence stuck firm right down to the final whistle, which prompted an emotional embrace among a triumphant BSHS outfit that had to withstand the threatening Frank Howarth, elite lineout winner Gray O’Neill and an equally impressive front row trio of Oscar Donovan, Lucas Bakker and Conrad Scott.
BSHS 19 (Siulepa, Sau, Hill tries, Boakes 2 cons) def BBC 12 (O’Neill, Taka Tries, Bird con).
Originally published as GPS First XV: Nudgee’s Old boys day to remember while Terrace triumph
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