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Sunnybank Dragons overun Souths Magpies
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Souths were overwhelmed 59-17 by a spirited Sunnybank side in round seven of Trinity Premier Rugby at Chipsy Wood Oval to claim the Damien Drew Memorial trophy.
The Dragons ran in nine tries to two, six in the second half.
Both teams started slowly but Sunnybank were looking ominous when they ran in three quick tries before the break, including the first of two by No 8 Josh Afu, whose 60 metre intercept try put the visitors in front 19–3 at half time.
Second half handling errors and missed tackles by the home side played into the Dragons' hands as they overran the Magpies in the second half.
Souths coach Dan McKellar said his side would have to build on their performance in the weeks to come.
“(It was) very disappointing,” he said.
“We started off well, we had a good week in training and we just capitulated. There were a few standout performances by Filipe Manu and Albert Vulivuli, but overall it was a disappointing result.”
Sunnybank coach Roy Saunders said his team responded well after a sluggish start.
“The game started with end-to-end stuff without anybody doing anything,” he said.
"We spoke about straightening up and once we did that we started to dominate them. The boys got their tails up and it was a pretty good win.”
Saunders said they were able to build on their training that has concentrated on perfecting the tackle area.
“If you are taking care of things at the breakdown you start to put pressure on the other side, forcing them to make mistakes,” he said.
“Once that happens, the game swings and you gain a bit of momentum.”
The sides contested the Damien Drew Memorial Trophy, named after the popular Souths player who died at a young age.
Sunnybank 59 (J Afu 2, J Dart, K Bos, R Kingi, J Su’a, J Tufuga, O Avei, A Anae tries, B Gollings 7 con) d Souths 17 (E Teofilo, E Langi tries, R Meredith 2 con, pen)
Match report by Anne Lynch |
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Souths hold out late challenge from Uni.
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Souths clinched their second victory of the Trinity Premier Rugby season with a dramatic 27-26 win over University at Chipsy Wood Oval that went right to the wire.
Uni had a chance to snatch the Round 6 match after the Magpies conceded a try in the last minute following some desperate defence in the closing stages, however the conversion kick was unsuccessful.
The home side was slow to build on the early momentum created by a Chris Johnson try in the first half, with lapses in defence leading to two successive tries from the visitors.
University was looking dangerous when their key play-maker, flyhalf Ryan Gilliman, succumbed to injury and was forced to leave the field.
“I think the turning point of the game was when our five-eighth went off,” said University head coach Nick Leah.
"While Gilliman was on we scored two quick tries, and when he went off we struggled for any fluency in attack – we lost all structure.”
Shortly afterwards the visitors lost another player – this time to the sin bin - and Souths capitalised to lead 20-14 into the break.
The Red Heavies bounced back after half time with an impressive try by replacement Greg Willmott to lead the home side 21-20.
A yellow card against Souths put the home side on the defensive until a powerful scrum led to a converted try to Albert Vulivuli.
Souths coach Dan McKellar was grateful for the win, which he said owed a lot to the forward effort.
“I thought we were really sluggish early on but did really well to be in front at half time, and then we just scraped home,” he said.
“I was happy that the boys came back with a win under their belts – they have been working really hard for a long time now, I am really happy for the players.
“The forwards played really well today, as a unit they scrimmage really well. Last week (against Brothers) it really wasn’t our strong point. It is good to see the guys are back on track.”
Leah said he was pleased his team contested for the whole game.
“The difference from last week (against Norths) is that the guys played the game out, we didn’t give up. They gave up last week,” he said.
Souths 27 (C Johnson, F Manu, N Munro, A Vulivuli tries, R Meredith 2 con, pen) d University 26 (G Willmott, A Connelly, L Morahan, R Bradford tries, L Morahan 2 con, W Tuffley con)
Match report by Anne Lynch |
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Souths post a much needed draw against Brothers
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A slow starting Brothers fought back to claim a 22-22 draw with Souths in round five of Trinity Premier Rugby at Crosby Park.
Souths’ Anthony Ongolea and Filipe Manu both crossed for tries within the opening 20 minutes of the match, belying Brothers’ dominant possession which was finally rewarded with a try by Andrew Shaw near half time.
Leading 15-7 into the second half, Souths converted an early try which was equalled minutes later by Brothers Captain and leading Trinity Premier Rugby point scorer Brendan McKibbin, spurring on Brothers to eventually even the score.
Brothers Coach Rob Murdoch said his team defended well in the second half but needed to be competitive in both halves and take attacking opportunities.
"We do finish well but we seem to start the first 5-10 minutes quite nicely and then go to sleep; we have to get the first 20 minutes right as well - we can’t keep coming from behind," Murdoch said.
"We need more patience in our attack; if we can get past that 4th-5th phase and suck in more numbers then we’ll score more tries. We’re trying to score off a single phase every time," Murdoch said.
Souths Club Skills Coach Jason Gilmore said he was very happy with his team’s first half performance and the focus of this week’s training in reacting well during play paid off.
"The first half was probably the best we’ve executed this year, but in the second half a few missed tackles and some poor options probably put us in the back seat,” Gilmore said.
"Compared with last week we reacted really well and the mindset of the boys was a lot better," Gilmore said.
Brothers 22 (B Hunt, A Shaw, B McKibbin tries, B McKibbin 2 con, pen) v Souths 22 (A Ongolea, M Bennett, F Manu tries, J Tabrett 2 con, pen)
Match report by Alice McCarthy |
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Souths fall just short of fantastic comeback
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GPS came out firing on all cylinders in round three of Trinity Premier Rugby, to set up a thrilling 27-24 win over Souths at Chipsy Wood Oval.
Souths scored all the points in the second half to come close to claiming victory, but had conceded too many in the first half to a GPS side desperate to prove a point after their heavy loss to Sunnybank last week.
Souths scored a late try in the first half in response to three in succession by GPS, but the visitors claimed their bonus point fourth try to lead 27-5 at half time.
GPS began the second half one player down due to a yellow card, which gave the Magpies the encouragement they needed, hooker Anthony Ongolea scoring two converted tries to bring them within striking distance at 27-19.
A bit of ingenuity from scrum half, Nathan Munro, in taking a quick tap to score set up a barnstorming finish but GPS’ defence held out with Souths continually threatening their line.
Souths coach Dan McKellar said it was the cliché of a game being played in two halves.
“During the second half (our) effort was great,” he said.
“We have to look at the positives. We played the best football we have played in a couple of years up here in the last 40 minutes, but the same again, just that last pass and our option taking let us down.
“It was a good effort (with) plenty of fire. (It) is just the basics (of) dropping the ball in a try-scoring position.”
GPS coach Mick Heenan said his team would gladly accept the victory.
“We needed to get on the scoreboard today. We are very disappointed with the way we played last week and we wanted to turn that around,” he said.
“We did in the first half, we were under pressure but our defence held out in the second. We showed a lot of character to hold on in the last 10 minutes.
“Souths were really coming at us. They are a big, physical side and they are a good side, but we managed to make the tackles when they counted.”
GPS 27 (M Donaldson, G Ingram, M Perkins, S Satui, D Slade tries, D Slade con) def Souths 24 (A Ongolea 3, N Munro tries, J Vosuqa 2 con)
Match report by Anne Lynch
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Souths claim Inaugural Alec Evans Cup from Wests
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Souths recorded their first win of the season in round two of Trinity Premier Rugby, with a nail biting 13-12 defeat of Wests at Chipsy Wood Oval to claim the inaugural Alec Evans Cup.
The first half was dominated by handling errors, missed tackles and ill-discipline, resulting in the sidelining of a Wests player after a dangerous tackle.
The teams returned after the break with the visitors ahead 7-0 following a Geoff Abram try. The Magpies responded with two unconverted tries and a penalty to set up a dramatic finish.
Abram scored his second try of the match in the closing minutes, but the missed conversion meant victory eluded the visitors.
QRU Vice President Tom McVeigh presented the Alec Evans Cup to Souths captain Dan Draper, who promised their best was yet to come.
“We have pretty high hopes for our season this year,” he said.
“It was disappointing to lose to Norths (in round one) but the way we came back (today) was excellent."
Souths coach Dan McKellar echoed he was also optimistic about the Magpies' chances for the remainder of the season.
“I am really happy with the urgency and enthusiasm of the performance,” he said.
“We have been working really hard on our defensive shape and our line speed.
“Full credit to Wests – they threw everything at us but overall there was a distinct improvement in our urgency all around the park today.
“Our focus for next week is on getting our injured guys back on the field. We look forward to GPS on Saturday.”
Wests coach Dave Witt blamed a lack of cohesion in his team for the disappointing performance by last year's semi-finalists.
“I don’t mind being beaten because Souths were better,” he said.
“It would have been an injustice if we won the game. If we play like that again we are going to run last.”
Souths 13 (A Gilbert, N Munro tries, J Vosuqa pen) def Wests 12 (G Abram 2 tries, P Nelson con)
QRU website Report
Match report by Anne Lynch |
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Match Report Souths v Norths 29th March 2008
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Young Eagles "out-enthuse" Souths
A young and spirited Norths outfit have won their opening Trinity Premier Rugby clash, defeating Souths 29-15 at Shaw Park.
The match opened at a cracking pace with both sides displaying good ball movement, but it was Australian Sevens representative Blair Connor who opened the scoring with a 30 metre dash to the try line.
Souths' Anthony Ongolea put the visitors on the board with a try under the posts but the conversion was unsuccessful, leaving Souths trailing 10-5 at the break.
A piece of individual brilliance from Connor, a QAS Reds Academy player who shone in last year's Australian Rugby Championship, led to Jesse Mogg scoring in the corner off a well-executed scrum play to increase Norths' lead to 20-8.
Souths struck back minutes later with a try to debutant fullback Rhys Meredith to set the game up for an exciting finish, but ill-discipline and missed opportunities haunted the visitors, with Norths' Matt Petersen slotting three long range penalty goals to secure the win.
Norths Coach Chris Roche was delighted with the victory against what he describes as a very good Souths team.
“We had a particular style that we wanted to play and the boys seemed to achieve that with what was a real team effort,” Roche said.
“We have had a bunch of guys come up from the colts that are real competitors individually and collectively, where in the past we have had positions where we have been really light, but now we can put out a team across the park that is competitive.
“It’s been a five year plan and it seems to be, touch wood, at this point going okay.”
Roche was delighted with the team effort shown throughout the match.
“I don’t want to single anybody out as that was a real team effort. You couldn’t beat that Souths outfit any other way,” Roche said.
Souths Coach Dan McKellar said his side was out-enthused from the opening whistle and tipped Norths to win more games than they lose in 2008.
"We put a plan together to try and nullify how they play, but we just didn’t put it into action, unfortunately,” McKellar said.
“When we build pressure and maintain pressure we are as good a football team as any, but we aren’t maintaining possession or building pressure for any long period of time.
“In patches we showed what we can do, but patches just aren’t good enough.”
Norths 29 (B Connor, J Mogg tries, M Petersen 2 con, 5 pen) def Souths 15 (A Ongolea, R Meredith tries, R Meredith con, pen)
QRU Website Report
Reporting by Brendan Altadonna |
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