the coach
Bob Davidson (42)
Is the great Toa Asa injured or unavailable this week? He'll be sorely missed around the paddock against the bore merchants tonight.
Lingering back injury apparently.
Might be caused by running too fast
Is the great Toa Asa injured or unavailable this week? He'll be sorely missed around the paddock against the bore merchants tonight.
Great account - thanks.What a game on Friday night.
Started with a bang and did not stop until after the bell. Wicks down 9-3 at the half , having endured a yellow at the 20 minute mark and a horrible penalty count against them.
University were piling on the pressure but Wicks fought back each time. The penalty count was being evened out and Wicks got three more before a broken play try by Uni. Wicks fought again and after a great offload from Asa to Boileau and good backing up and running from Norton Wicks scored under the posts.16-13 with 25 minutes to go. One mistake in defence could see this game go either way. Uni started their attack pattern and finally built the pressure to allow them another try. 23-13. Wicks were not done and refused to be beaten and as Uni started to tire , Norton, who had an excellent game, started to find holes. A penalty to wicks and 23-16 would seem to be the final score line. With a minute on the clock, Wicks had a run, made good metres but then knocked on. All Uni had to do was win the scrum , hold the ball for a few seconds then kick it to touch. They won the scrum , but somehow Wicks got the ball and with a huge overlap kicked to the far corner for the winger to pick up and score after the bell.
23-23. The kick from the sideline misssed by 'that much'.
Having lost 78-0 the last time they played Uni, Wicks should be justifiably proud of their game.
Thanks SidSaw a bit of colts ones which Uni took out well. The teams looked reasonably equal with the Uni boys being more disciplined and working their patterns well. The score line was something like 38 - 22 but a couple of tries to uni were from missed tackles one on one. As usual Uni backing up was superior.
Must make mention of the 15 for wicks who was outstanding in his cover of the field especially in defence
You are a bloody legend, thanksReserve grade , threes and fours were played today in front of a very sparse crowd and with out purchasable refreshments in the vicinity.
The rugby was exciting and close in fours and threes. Both these grades the Wicks forwards were superior at the set piece imo but Uni were more disciplined.
Fours almost got up at the bell. It was a tale of two halves , Uni leading 17-0 at halftime and Wicks winning the second half 12-0. The 9 for UNi was good and saved a try by taking out a flying wicks winger. 17-12 final score
Third grade Uni went to 6-0 at the half having kicked a penalty in the first minutes and then another in the final minutes before the half. The second half had another penalty to uni to get them 9-0. There was a very bad head clash resulting in a stretcher for a wicks player and sub for the uni player. Finally Wicks got an intercept and the 'The Show' raced away before passing for a wicks try. The game was very exciting with Uni and then Wicks going hard at each other and exchanging scores with Uni always slightly in front.
17-12 to Uni with 4 minutes to go and Wicks have another crack. With 40 seconds to go the Wicks scrum pushed over uni to win after the bell 19-17.
Reserve grade looked a brand new team with many of the regulars out injured.
Both sides went at each other hard exchanging penalties. Uni finally broke through for a try and led 8-6 with a yellow card to Wicks just before half time.
Uni took advantage and scored their second try on the bell to lead 15-6 at the half. Another well worked try in the corner had Uni just after half time had uni well in control. As Wicks had to fight hard in defence, Uni's relentless attack kept the score ticking over leading to a good win for them.21-6
For Wicks , handling was the the major problem and that together with discipline at the breakdown never really allowed them into the match.
missed the game any standout performances in the forwards?Loved Andrew Norton on Friday night. His scything runs, passing & backing up were first class.
Our piggies again stood up. Thought the guys showed tremendous ticker.
They have a horror draw however with the results being all over the shop we might have a sniff. If we make the playoffs, I reckon we can surprise a few.
Tim Wright again showed the youngsters coolness & direction.
Up the Wicks!
missed the game any standout performances in the forwards?
who came off bench?All the forwards stood up.
Use of the bench really helped a very tight game.
Alex Harrod, Toa, Junior Tavili, Hodgetts.who came off bench?
Unfortunately goal kicking let us down again. Hodge didn't miss a kick for Uni (5 from 5), but Windon was unable to convert either of the 2 tries we scored in the last 15 minutes although, to be fair, they were both from the sideline. I thought we were gone at 23-13, but the Goodbody try (he ran around a couple of defenders!) brought the score back to 23-18 and then we scored again on the bell. We more than held our own in the line outs and scrums but Uni definitely had the edge at the breakdown and our backs spilt the ball too often on 1st phase. And more injuries I suspect as we eventually had 5 replacement forwards on the field. Kotescky still has the annoying habit of stepping back inside every time he runs which just takes our outside backs out of the game. The extra 2 points would have been good given the draw over the next month. Bugga!
PS: Fantastic crowd, but given the free list I'm not sure how many paying customers there were. Good food options on Friday night but only luke warm pies and muffins on Saturday.