Round 14 of the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition saw the Young Yabbies hosting the Temora Tuskers at Cranfield Oval for the annual coveted Adam McGregor Memorial Shield Match. It was perfect conditions for a spectator on the day, with the comment from a few players that it was unseasonably warm on the field, particularly with the heated nature of the match.
There was a fair amount of build-up about the match this week, with some thinking that with neither team able to make the finals that it could be a dead rubber, but neither team themselves felt that way. This match was the decider for 5th place in the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition and with the Adam McGregor Memorial Shield on the line, both teams were in it for pride!
The game started with some big hits and both sides firing on all cylinders. The play kept even for the first 10 minutes, before the Yabbies started to make some good metres into the Tuskers’ half. Some loose ball from the Yabbies was quickly scooped up by the Tuskers and swung wide quickly. An awesome individual run by Asesela Ravuvu saw him run more than 70m to cross the line for the first try of the match. Conversion successful by Asesela Ravuvu.
Young 0-7 Temora
The Yabbies were quick to hit back, with ball being turned over in the Tuskers’ half within minutes. Quick hands out to Hugh McInerney saw him eat up plenty of metres and suck in the defence before throwing an inside ball back to Owen Griffiths who was in support. Owen crossed the line for the Yabbies first try of the match. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 7-7 Temora
The Tuskers found themselves deep in the Yabbies red zone, but they couldn’t find a way through the Yabbies defence. Wave after wave of runs from the back of the ruck and off the scrumhalf were met by a solid green wall. Finally, they crashed over, but only to be held up. Quick service from the back of the scrum saw the ball move wide and provide an opportunity for Vilimone Cavuca to crash over for the Tuskers’ second try of the match. Conversion unsuccessful by Asesela Ravuvu.
Young 7-12 Temora
The Yabbies were quick to fire back again. This time it was some quick ball out to Tom Kent who made a line break and was supported well by Hugh McInerney, who crossed over for the Yabbies second try of the match. Conversion unsuccessful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 12-12 Temora
With the score levelled with only 5 minutes left in the half, the pace was expected to slow down a bit, but the energy from the Yabbies didn’t waiver. Owen Griffiths found himself surrounded by Tuskers and somehow danced his way through the line of defence to cross the line for the Yabbies’ third try of the match right on half time. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 19-12 Temora
Half Time Young 19-12 Temora
The second half started eventfully with a long exit kick by Temora landing in the field of play, giving Owen Griffiths an opportunity to exhibit his pace before receiving a very high tackle that saw the offending tackler receive a Yellow Card. With the penalty not far from the line, the Yabbies took the option to run some crash balls, with Jesh Smith taking the first big hit and sucking in some defence. Jesh’s run was followed by Hagon Williams doing the same, before quick ball got out to Tom Kent who changed direction slightly and dragged some Tuskers defence over the line to score the Yabbies fourth try of the match. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 26-12 Temora
Despite still being a man down, the Tuskers found their way deep into Yabbies territory and camped themselves within 10m of the try line for 5 minutes or more, but they couldn’t find their way through the Yabbies defence!
After holding out wave after wave, the tides eventually turned it was time for the Yabbies to get into Tuskers territory. With the Yabbies pod running having some great successes and earning valuable metres, an opportunity opened up out wide. With the provision of quick ball, Rowan Daley found himself crashing over the line for the Yabbies fifth try of the match. Conversion unsuccessful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 31-12 Temora
With the battle between these two teams having been going for more than 60 minutes, it was obvious that there was some fatigue beginning to develop on the field, but that didn’t stop the hits from being hard!
With less than 10 minutes left on the clock the Tuskers found their second wind and pushed into the Yabbies half. Some quick ball at the ruck phase saw Jake Cartwright find an opportunity to scoot from the back and run more than 20m to crash over the line for the Tuskers’ third try of the match. Conversion successful by Jake Cartwright.
Young 31-19 Temora
Full Time Result
Young 31-19 Temora
Coach Ned Mullany commented, “What a great finish to the season! The discipline that we showed today is a great indicator of how far we’ve come this year. I reckon we would have been lucky to have 25% possession in that first half and to be sitting in front on the scoreboard at half time with that little amount of ball is a real credit to the defence and heart that the boys showed. We knew it was always going to be a tough game and Temora definitely made sure that it wasn’t a walk in the park, but I think we really have to give it to our boys that we really were the better team on the day!”
The win secured the Yabbies 5th place in the 2019 Oilsplus South West Rugby Compeition, as well as ensuring that the Adam McGregor Memorial Shield returned to the Yabbies Clubhouse once again!
Points Scorers:
Young
Tries
Owen Griffiths (2), Hugh McInerney, Tom Kent, Rowan Daley
Conversions
3/5 – Owen Griffiths
Temora
Tries
Asesela Ravuvu, Vilimone Cavuca, Jake Cartwright
Conversions 1/1 – Jake Cartwright 1/2 - Asesela Ravuvu
Best & Fairest Points:
3 – Owen “Schooner” Griffiths
2 – Dan “Young Pup” Parker
1 – Rowan “Quick Tap” Daley
Players Player – Will “Dicko” Clark-Dickson
The 2019 Young Yabbies Squad - 20th July 2019 Back: Ned Mullany (Coach), Kevin McLaughlin, Beau O'Connor, Ashley Byers-Pointer, Will Clark-Dickson, Angus Crawford, Michael Hudson, Ed Brand, Ben Fuller, Matt Reid, Nick Schiller, Rowan Daley, Dan Cormie, Jesh Smith, Cec Finley (President), Ben Hurth-Gye Front: Owen Griffiths, Jesse Pittman, Will Munday, Tom Kent, Tom Wills, Dan Parker, Tom Hurley, Hugh McInerney, Brendan Shoard, Hagon Williams, Dan O'Connor
The Yabbiemen would like to thank each and every supporter who has helped see the rejuvenation of the club in its’ return to “bush rugby” in 2019. There’s nothing like playing in front of a crowd, especially when the crowd fills up more than the one sideline!
The Yabbiemen would also like to thank the Club Sponsors because as we all know, without sponsors we couldn’t afford to maintain the facilities to the standard they are or have the players looking as sharp as they do on the field!
Keep your eyes on our Facebook feed for more information about the upcoming 2019 Presentation Night to be held on Friday 16th August 2019 and for any off-season events.
The 2020 season is looking even more exciting with some potential on-field developments (e.g. Women's Rugby), as well as the off-field infrastructure developments that should be completed well and truly in time for the 2020 season. Don’t forget that 2020 will mark the 65th Birthday of the Yabbies and there will surely be some exciting events planned around the momentous occasion.
Once again, we’d like to thank all the Players, Supporters and Sponsors for an awesome 2019 season!!