Callida Consulting John I Dent Cup: Round 13 wrap

Sun, Aug 1, 2021, 3:48 AM
Brumbies.rugby
by Brumbies.rugby

Round 13 of the Callida Consulting John I Dent Cup and Premier 15’s competitions are done and dusted with great rugby played all around the competitions as the race for finals spots heats up.

Catch up on all the action from round 13 right here!

Gage Roads Game of the Week:

Uni-Norths Owls 41 def Queanbeyan Whites 22

The week off from competition last week had little impact on the Uni-Norths Owls as they put in a strong second half showing to defeat the Queanbeyan Whites 41-22 at Queanbeyan.

With scores locked at halftime, it was a dominant second half display from the Owls that secured them the points while Queanbeyan put in a determined performance until a disappointing 10 minutes following a Reece Tapine yellow card cost the side and all but gave them no chance towards the end of the contest.

It was the Whites who took first points of the afternoon, with a penalty goal from right in front of the sticks giving the home side an early 3-0 advantage.

But the first try of the afternoon belonged to the Owls, who caught Queanbeyan napping with a short throw from the lineout sending Samuel Thomas crashing over in the corner. With Thompson converting from right on the touchline to give the Owls a 7-3 advantage.

Just minutes later it was the Owls who continued their early dominance, with scrumhalf Hamish Dawson continuing to dominate, scoring his third try in two games with Thompson adding the extra’s to put the Owls up by 11.

With the Owls dominating, the White’s needed a try to stop the flow of points and it was Justin Sikimeti who answered the call giving White’s their first try of the afternoon and closing the Owls lead back to 4 points.

After a great start from the Owl’s, it was Whites who started to gain the ascendancy in the match, and they would crack the Owl’s defence once again with Liam Richman crashing over and giving his side the lead when he converted the extra’s putting the home side back in front by 3 points.

With halftime just around the corner Jordan Thompson nailed a penalty goal to send the sides into halftime with the scores now locked at the break.

The Owls were first to take point in the second half with Andrew Whittle crashing over to give the away side the best possible start to the second half, with Thompson pushing the Owls lead back out to 7 points.

With the Whites needing to hit back, it was a yellow card to inside centre Reece Tapine who would make that job even harder. 

Down to 14 men it didn’t take long for the Owls to make Whites pay with the Captain Will Sankey crossing over off the back of a dominant lineout maul and Thompson converting to make it a 14-point advantage.

Just minutes later it was a break from the big prop Andrew Whittle who turned on the afterburners and nearly had his second of the afternoon, but after being brought down, Whittle got the offload away and Stuart Sellars finished it off. 

With the match all but wrapped up it was Andrew Whittle who was able to score his second try of the game, all but capping off an incredible display from the Owls who now lead by 24 points with 15 minutes left to play.

The Whites would hit back when Brendan Jimenez crossed over for his first try of the afternoon, but it was too little, too late and capped off what was a disappointing day for the home side with the Owls taking full points with a 41-22 win.

Words: Lachlan MacMaster

 

Gungahlin Eagles 41 Def Canberra Royals 17

The Royals had plenty to play for coming into this one but ultimately fell short against a red-hot Eagles side in a 41-17 loss in front of a vocal home crowd at Phillip Oval.

Royals head coach Wayne Southwell announced that he would be retiring come seasons end and would’ve been looking for a big performance from his team, but in the end, they would be torn apart by the offensive firepower of an Eagles side who have been flying up the ladder in recent weeks.

It was the Royals would be presented with the first chance of the afternoon but after withstanding the pressure, it was the Eagles who marched downfield and would hit the scoreboard first when Levi Shaw hit a hole and rolled over for the first try of the afternoon.

The game would then turn in to a scrappy affair for both sides with neither team able to gain much momentum due to a series of errors.

That would change when Brumby Isaak Fines-Leleiwasa took a quick tap from a penalty and streaked away into the Royals 22 before a few phases later the ball found Dominic Tevao unmarked on the wing to cross for the sides second and establish a 14-point lead.

The Royals showed their creative side with ball in hand as they were searching for their first points of the game, but it was a back-to-basics approach from a maul play that saw Ethan Rokoura find his way over and put the home side on the board.

The joy for the Royals was short lived however as the Eagles recovered the ball from the ensuing kick-off and shifted to the right saw Brendon Taueki cross to return his sides double digit advantage.

And the points would keep coming for the Eagles as they made a break from midfield and with numerous players chasing through in support, the ball found Tom Haddad and one phase later found Brendon Taueki again looming on the right edge to cross over for his second of the day.

Things would go from bad to worse for the Royals as an infringement in their own 22 saw Lincoln Smith given a yellow card and Eagles winger Jamie Mazzarol-Kotz ensured that they were made to pay when he put on the big left foot-step to split the defence and crossed to bring his season tally to 11 tries and give the visitors a 31-5 lead.

Mazzarol-Kotz capped of the scoring in the first half, and he was at it again early in the second with some nimble footwork and strong running saw him cross for his second and put him within one of current competition leader for the try scoring race, teammate Corey Toole.

Prop Ben Donohoe would put the Royals on the scoreboard in the second half when he drove his way over from close range after the Eagles lost substitute Kristian Jensen to a yellow card.

It looked like Brendon Taueki was going to cross over for his third of the day before cover defence wrapped him up but a quick shift to left edge on the next phase saw speedster Corey Toole cross over for his try.

With less than a minute remaining on the clock and two Gungahlin players injured in back play, the Royals would cross one last time when left winger Liam Shaw crossed over to cap off a disappointing hit out for the home side.

The Royals will now head to Viking Park to take on the Vikings while the Eagles will travel to ANU Field One to take on the Owls where the “battle of the birds” will go a long way to determining where the respective sides will finish on the table with only one point separating the second and third placed sides.

 

Wests Lions 17 Def Tuggeranong Vikings 10

The Wests Lions gave their hopes of playing finals footy a big boost as they overcame the ladder leading Tuggeranong Vikings with a 17-10 victory at Viking Park.

This win for the Lions moves them six points clear of Queanbeyan and will give them the confidence that they can hold on to the spot and do some damage come finals time while this loss is the Vikings third straight and this form slide would be a concern for the side with only two games to go before the finals.

The majority of the first half would go scoreless and it wasn’t until a strong run in the 35th minute from Viking’s winger Nigel Ah Wong got his side on the front foot before he was brought down by the Wests defence, but the ball would find him again on the next play and he would prove too strong for the Lions on the goal line to put the first points on the board for the game.

The Vikings would take this five-point lead into the halftime break and the scores wouldn’t move again until 10 minutes into the second half when Lion’s fullback Declan Meredith put down a midfield bomb and was picked up by Andrew Robinson who streaked away from the chasing Lions defence to extend his sides lead out to ten points.

It was then time for the Lions to hit the scoreboard when a set play from the back of the scrum saw Liae Tuilagi run a strong line back against the sliding Viking’s defence and find his way over the line near the left hand upright making the conversion attempt for Declan Meredith an easy one to put his side within three of the leaders.

The Lions were at it again just seven minutes later when another scrum play close to the line saw number eight Shammah Tiumalu crash over again right next to the uprights to put his side in front for the first time in the match before Meredith again converted the extras to increase the sides lead to four.

Declan Meredith would cap off the scoring for the Lions and the match when he slotted a penalty goal to extend the lead to seven to close out the game and ensure they left Viking Park with the four points.

 

Callida Consulting Premier 15’s Results:

 

Royals Women’s 17 Def Goulburn Women’s 10

It was a day for tries from the forwards with three of the five tries in this game coming from the forward pack which saw the Royals move up into second on the table.

 

Uni-Norths Women’s 39 Def Queanbeyan Women’s 0

It was yet another dominant display from the Uni-Norths side who once again proved that they are the benchmark in the competition while this performance leaves the Queanbeyan side firmly anchored to the bottom of the table.

Words: Mathew Williams

 

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