Round 6 of the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition saw the Young Yabbies travel to West Wyalong to take on the West Wyalong Weevils at West Wyalong Rugby Club. The weather was a bit warmer this weekend, which made it a perfect excuse for a number of loyal Yabbies’ supporters to make the journey to West Wyalong – a big THANK YOU to those supporters!
Prior to the kick-off, both teams and their supporters participated in a minute’s silence for a recently departed Weevils’ club stalwart Andrew “Snapper” Widdows. A tribute that embodies what Country Rugby is all about, the people and the communities!
The game this week started well before both teams took the field though, with a mishap with the jerseys resulting in a newsworthy story that has made a few people think that Coach Ned Mullany could be more like his Uncle Brian than previously thought (story here - https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2019/05/19/one-percenters-may-19). When asked about the mishap, Coach Ned said “this is a genuine stitch-up… I told the boys at training this week that after the success of Ladies Day last weekend, I thought it only fitting that we follow up with Tradies Day this weekend. It just goes to show how much the boys listen to their coach that no one brought their fluros! Thankfully Brenton Smyth, Brendan Shoard and Will Clark-Dickson saved the day by securing enough fluros to cover the team.”
The Weevils were the first to cross the line when Scrumhalf Nigel Duncan seized an opportunity off the back of a ruck following a series of big hits close to the Yabbies line. Conversion successful by Myles Harland.
Young 0-7 West Wyalong
The Yabbies were the next to strike, with Nick Schiller able to capitalise on a handling error from West Wyalong using his speed to secure the ball and make his way across the line. Conversion unsuccessful.
Young 5-7 West Wyalong
After being camped in the Weevil’s red zone for a few minutes, the hard-hitting forwards drew the defence in to focus around the ruck. Scrumhalf Ned Mullany saw an opportunity out wide and threw a cut-out ball to Dan O’Connor who jogged across the line for the Yabbies’ second try. Conversion successful by Tom Kent.
Young 12-7 West Wyalong
The remainder of the half saw the typified see-sawing battles that have been a consistent element in the Oilsplus South West Rugby competition this year, with both sides unable to find a significant weakness in each other’s defence for the final 10 minutes of the half.
Half TIme
Young 12-7 West Wyalong
Following a good rev up during half time, by both teams, the second half started with a bang! Some solid defence from the Yabbies saw the Weevils develop an overlap out wide. Flyhalf Michael Stallard read the Weevils play beautifully intercepting a cut-out pass on halfway and showing his speed, scoring under the posts. Conversion successful by Tom Kent.
Young 19-7 West Wyalong
Not to be outdone, the Yabbies new recruit Owen Griffiths found another way through the Weevils defence, crossing the line within a minute of the last conversion. Conversion unsuccessful.
Young 24-7 West Wyalong
The Weevils knew they had to be the next to score to try and stay in the game, so they continued to hammer the Yabbies defence, looking for any sign of a weakness. Eventually Thomas Hassall found a hole out wide and seized the opportunity to cross the line for the Weevils. Conversion unsuccessful.
Young 24-12 West Wyalong
Following the kick-off by the Yabbies, the defence charged up, adamant to keep the Weevils camped in their own half. The continual barrage of the Weevils into the Yabbies defence eventually led to a handling error, providing the Yabbies with an opportunity. After several strong phases, Tom Kent found a weakness in the Weevils defence, bouncing of several tackles before scoring a try close to the posts. Conversion successful by Tom Kent.
Young 31-12 West Wyalong
The Yabbies continued their assault on the Weevils shortly after the kick-off, with strong phase play creating an opportunity that Flyhalf Michael Stallard saw out wide, providing quality ball to a strong running Nick Schiller who ran 50m to cross the line for his second try of the match (footage of that try available here - https://www.facebook.com/youngyabbies/videos/418657632308239/). Conversion successful by Tom Kent
Young 36-12 West Wyalong
The game was slowly becoming unwinnable for the Weevils, with a significant deficit with only 15 minutes left in the game. The scoreline certainly wasn’t impacting their efforts on the field though, with the Weevils still barraging and testing the Yabbies’ defence at every opportunity!
After a penalty provided the opportunity to put the Yabbies deep into the Weevils’ half again, the Yabbies’ Forward pack saw an opportunity they weren’t prepared to give up. Some big runs from Jesh Smith and Hagon Williams presented an opportunity for Rowan Daley to steal the show and cross the line for the Yabbies’ seventh try. Conversion successful by Tom Kent.
Young 43-12 West Wyalong
The final 5 minutes of the match played out with the neither team prepared to give an inch. A fantastic display of Country Rugby that continued to the last minute!
Full Time Result
Young 43-12 West Wyalong
After the game, Coach Ned Mullany commented “What a game to come back to! The scoreline in this game definitely didn’t reflect the battle and the heart shown on the field by the Weevils. We can take the Win, but I think there are lots of things we need to take away from this game to work on.”
Despite sitting most of the game out due to injury, Club Captain Brendan Shoard was the first one to pull the Yabbies together to sing the team song, loudly and proudly!
Points Scorers:
Young
Tries
Nick Schiller (2), Owen Griffiths, Dan O’Connor, Michael Stallard, Thomas Kent, Rowan Daley
Conversions
4/6 – Thomas Kent
West Wyalong
Tries
Nigel Duncan, Thomas Hassall
Conversions 1/2 – Myles Harland
Best & Fairest Points:
3 – Hamish Kaveney
2 – Tom Hurley
1 – Dan O’Connor
Players Player – Tom Wills
Next weekend, the Yabbiemen travel to Temora to take on the Tuskers in their first competition clash since both teams departed SIRU!
If you’re trying to work out what you might be up to this weekend, I’d suggest looking at plans to take a nice leisurely drive to Temora to see the Yabbies take on the Tuskers! More details on the match to come with the release of the team announcement later this week.
If you want to follow live scores for the Yabbies games or check out the results from any Rugby games - Local comps, International or Super Rugby - get on and download the Rugby Xplorer app from https://www.rugby.com.au/rugby%20xplorer
