Not sure if a game report organised here but I'll throw in my 2 bobs worth.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon a crowd estimated at 5000+ were entertained to both some tough and skilful rugby at Knox No. 1
The first half was both willing and entertaining- Knox leading 21-13 at the break. Second -Rower, Milan Basson had been well placed to finish off backline breaks for Knox and out-centre,James Armstrong ran brilliantly for the 3rd try prior to half-time. It should be noted that both scorers had come up from the 16 years age group over the past few weeks.
Barker were competing well for the ball in the forwards- their lineout appearing to dominate Knox early on. Knox defended very well for bulk of half but Barker prop,Johnathan Green powered over for a try 10 minutes before 1/2 time.
It would appear Barker's first half efforts perhaps drained them somewhat and Knox dominated the 2nd half-running in a further 5 tries- probably the most astounding thing here was that Jimmy Widders-Leece did not score.
Second half scorers for Knox were Lachlan Swinton(2nd Row),Brett Van Zyl(No.6) Jake Pierce(No.7) Connor Watson (5/8) and Lucas Price(Wing).
Pierce's try was spectacular,including palming off Barker Captain,David Smerdon. Smerdon compensated for this late in the half by scoring off a good chip and chase.
Knox's 2nd half scoring was assisted by improved lineout-winning a lot at the back, a tight-head to Widders-Leece and just a more aggressive game. Barker could not match the intensity.
A good finish to a very good Knox team-but slip-ups in 2 early games cost them the premiership. I did not watch them all season but I saw both Cranbrook games, the first where a freakish bounce turned the tide. Often Knox relied too much on it's standout players- who often tried to do too much on their own. A number of players could and would do tremendous off-loads but at other times they hung on instead of looking for support.
Nevertheless they have a very good foundation for a excellent team next year.
