Round 2 of the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition saw the Young Yabbies hosting the Boorowa Goldies at Cranfield Oval. In a similar fashion to Round 1, the weather decided to stay warm, making sure that the physical contest on the field was also very much a test of both side’s level of fitness.
The coin toss at the start of the match saw the Yabbies’ Captain Brendan Shoard make the decision to kick-off, with some fierce chasing by “the kelpies” Dan Parker & Tom Hurley. Both sides exhibited some strong running and strong defence in the first 10 minutes, setting up the crowd with some big expectations for how the match would be played out.
The Goldies started to set up a solid base, especially once the Yabbies were depleted to 14 men following an offside tackle by Hamish “Hammer” Kaveney that was deemed to be cynical by the referee. Shortly after Hammer left the field, the Goldies were the first to cross the line following a line out 10m out, with Captain Marty Corcoran securing the ball at the back of a rolling maul and driving over the try line. The conversion by Bradley Rose was successful.
Young 0 – 7 Boorowa
The Yabbies hit back straight away and spent much of the next 10 minutes in the Goldies’ half. The solid running efforts and ball possession finally paid off, with Thomas Dudek taking advantage of an overlap and using some creative footwork to cross the line for the Yabbies. Conversion attempt unsuccessful.
Young 5 – 7 Boorowa
The remaining 10 minutes of the first half saw the contest remain physical, with big hits from Hagon Williams, Dan Dowson, Jesse Pittman and Carlos Luna.
The second half was again another see-sawing half, with both teams fighting hard for possession and territory and both teams launching hard into the first 10 minutes.
Again, the Goldies were the first to cross the line in the second half, with a try to Bradley Rose following a successful charge down of a Yabbies’ exit strategy kick. Conversion attempt unsuccessful.
Young 5 – 12 Boorowa
The Yabbies’ were even quicker to hit back this time, with some strong runs from Hammer and Dan O’Connor setting the platform for a slick back-line move that saw Konah Miller cross the line to shorten the Goldies’ lead to 2 points. Conversion attempt unsuccessful.
Young 10 – 12 Boorowa
The last 20 minutes of the game saw both teams making sure that nothing was left on the field, with strong running, strong defence and quick release ball from the back of the ruck. The fast ball lead to some early season expected handling errors, which ensured that both teams got plenty of scrum practice under fatigue.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, the Goldies really started to gain momentum as they ventured deeper and deeper into Yabbies’ territory, eventually finding a hole in the defence around a ruck where Mark Poplin was quick to capitalise on the opportunity, crossing the line for the Goldie’s 3rd try of the match. The conversion was successful by Bradley Rose.
Young 10 – 19 Boorowa
Despite the heated and physical contest throughout the match, neither team showed any signs of slowing down at the end of the match. The Yabbies spent the last 5 minutes camped deep in Goldies’ territory, with the Goldies’ defensive efforts able to hold them out until a ball-handling error on the line saw the referee signal full-time.
Full Time Result
Young 10 – 19 Boorowa
Coach Ned Mullany said that there was a definite positive response in the on-field performance of the team from their Round 1 performance against Grenfell. “The boys have continued to work hard at training, and there was a significant improvement in some of the areas we focussed on this week at training. Despite the result, the team morale is still high and I feel like we are definitely heading in the right direction, which I have no doubt will soon be reflected in a ‘scoreboard reward’ sooner rather than later.”
Vice-President Jeshua Smith commented, “It was a great day for rugby at Cranfield, with a hard-fought match in some beautiful weather. It was really pleasing to see the crowd that rolled up for our first home game and although the result was disappointing, I don’t think the crowd could be too disappointed by the spectacle that was on the field. It’s a great energy in the squad and around the club at the moment, and I can’t wait to see where that energy can take the Yabbies in 2019 and beyond.”
Points Scorers:
Young
Tries
Thomas Dudek, Konah Miller
Conversions
0/2 - Konah Miller
Boorowa
Tries
Marty Corcoran, Bradley Rose, Mark Poplin
Conversions
2/3 – Bradley Rose
Best & Fairest Points:
3 – Carlos Luna
2 – Tom Hurley
1 – Dan Parker
Players Player – Carlos Luna
There is a general bye for this weekend, due to Easter.
The next game for the Yabbies is Young v Cootamundra in Cootamundra on Saturday 27th April.
From everyone at the Yabbies – we hope you all have a Happy Easter and enjoy some time off over the Long Weekend!
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