NSW Schools teams open with mixed results
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Wednesday, 9 July 2008
NSWRU Media Unit
The NSW teams have kicked off the Novotel Australian Rugby Football Schools Union Championships with mixed results on the opening day of competition in Canberra.
NSW Schools Rugby Union
NSW Schools Rugby Union
NSW I scored four tries to one in their opening match victory over Queensland II, while Queensland I overcame a half-time deadlock to prevail over NSW II 22-10.
Match reports below are courtesy of the Australian Rugby Schools Football Union.
Match 1 (Non Comp)
ACT 25 (A Apirenu, T Stevens, A Crowe tries; B Taueki con, pen, A Crowe con, pen) d Combined States 16 (M D'Adamo try; D Mitchell 3 pens, con).
Match 2 (Pool A) - New South Wales I v Queensland II
New South Wales put the pressure on early and kept it on for the opening five minutes, however it was Queensland's Mitch Wenck who scored the first points when they were awarded a penalty in the eighth minute.
Two minutes later it looked as though NSW were about to score, but the ball was knocked on before the line. It looked promising again for NSW in the 13th minute when a very quick Cameron Mitchell ran down the touch line, but was pushed out of play.
A minute later NSW evened the scores with a penalty kick taken by Alex Pinson right in front of the goal posts.
In the 16th minute Mitchell and Michael Hooper combined to give Michael McDougall the ball and score the first try for NSW. Pinson missed the conversion.
NSW continued to threaten with aggressive runs in the following minutes, and were seconds away from scoring when they were penalised for diving over the ruck. The 23rd minute saw NSW drop a high ball, which gave Queensland the momentum from the knock-on advantage, and Teti Tela was able to break through, with Wenck converting.
In the final minute of the half Hooper made a break and passed off to Pao Pele who scored on half time. The conversion was unsuccessful.
Half-time: NSW I 13 Queensland II 10.
Queensland missed a chance to equalise with a penalty in the fourth minute, but the first try of the half didn't come until the twelfth minute from a very strong NSW rolling maul that the physically smaller Queensland side had no hope of stopping. Hooper eventually put the ball down, but the conversion missed, going across the face of the goal.
In the 15th minute Queensland missed another chance to score when the ball was held up over the line, and then again in the 19th minute, after being penalised for not releasing the ball. A penalty kick for NSW in the 21stminute for diving over the ruck was missed, and a minute later Queensland's Austin Smith made a break for the line but was run out of play.
Finally after sustained Queensland pressure, NSW turned the ball over and Hooper scored. Greg Jeloudev converted. QLD again looked promising in the final seconds of the match, however the game was already out of reach and the match was over.
NSW I 25 (M Hooper 2, M McDougall, P Pele tries; C Nadalo con, A. Pinson pen) d Queensland II 10 (T Tela try; M. Wenck con, pen)
Match 3 (Pool B) - Queensland I v New South Wales II
Queensland were strong early when in the third minute a very fast Nicky Price powered towards the try line and chipped the ball ahead, however he could not keep it in play. Queensland won their subsequent line out and after threatening, Edward Quirk was eventually able to score. The conversion was missed.
In the eighth minute the clouds darkened and the rain began to fall, causing several players to slip at important times during the match. An ugly spear tackle by Queensland led to play being stopped as the referee conferred with his linesman, and Quirk was sent off with a red card, 11 minutes into the match.
Under the new rules adopted from the IRB's U19 competition, teams are not allowed to replace a player who has been sent off, leaving Queensland a player down for the remainder of the match.
New South Wales chose to tap and go when awarded a penalty in the 14th minute which gave them a try by Chris Edwards, converted by Harry Bennett.
Queensland responded in the 21st minute when Price set up the try, running through the gaps from one side of the field to the other, and passed off to Stefano Hunt who finished off.
In the 27th minute Queensland were reduced to 13 players, as David Feao was sin binned for five minutes. NSW were given a penalty which Bennett made.
Half-time: Queensland I 10 NSW II 10
The first try of the second half came in the fifth minute, Queensland's Joel Faulkner broke through the NSW defence to pass to Hunt who put the ball down under the posts, and Eddie Bredenhann converted.
As the cold rain once again started to pour, both teams had their chances with impressive moves, however despite being very close NSW repeatedly knocked on, greatly diminishing their chance to even the scores.
In the 13th minute, following a Queensland lineout five metres out, all but two of their players on the field formed an 'all-in' rolling maul, and despite NSW having the larger players, they were no match for the strength of Queensland's team play. David Feao was the eventual try scorer, the conversion was missed.
Another rolling maul, this time for NSW at the other end, was unsuccessful, stopping just inches short of scoring in the 18th minute. Queensland could have increased their lead with a penalty kick by Bredenhann, however it was off target. NSW had their last chance in the 29th minute as they ran the ball very quickly down the touchline, however an ankle tap ended their run and the match.
Queensland I 22 (S Hunt 2, E Quirk, D Feao tries; E Bredenhann con) d NSW II 10 (C Edwards try; H Bennett con, pen).