QLD I 20 NSW II 0
by “Hugh Jarse”
QLD I played a more intelligent and accurate game and managed the remarkable feat of not conceding a point in their Pool games. The hopes of a three-peat of NSW II victories over QLD I were crushed.
First half
NSW II ran on behind Captain 10 J Wright with five “bench” players in their starting 15, mainly due to injuries.
QLD I, captained by 8 R Hewat were 1-15 as per programme. No injuries and a sign that the coaches backed the selectors.
With first use of the bracing Southerly wind, QLD I giraffe 4 D Swain won the challenge for 10 H Stewart’s kick off. An ominous sign perhaps.
The first penalty was against NSW II for not rolling away from the tackled player. This happened with monotonous regularity for the rest of the match. Perhaps the NSW coaches didn’t get the memo that the referees were going to crack down on ruck infringements.
After the third breakdown penalty against NSW II in the first 4 minutes, 10 Stewart opened the scoring with a penalty goal from 32 metres out. QLD I 3 – NSW II 0.
The first scrum of the game saw a powerful shunt from NSW II as the QLD I pack offered no resistance as the first shove came in due to the loose forwards and second row detaching early, like a clan of meerkats. A blight on the Under 19 scrum laws.
NSW II 10 J Wright broke through a couple of weak tackles from the ensuing phases and scampered down field, only to be driven into touch millimetres away from scoring by a desperate lunge from 15 J Ngamanu. Close but no bananas.
QLD I were unlucky not to be ahead by 6-0 when NSW II were penalised for yet another ruck infringement. 10 Stewart’s goal attempt wobbled left then right and smacked the crossbar near the black stripe but bounced back into play.
The first try was scored in the 17th minute after NSW II had been pinged for an early push at scrum time. Quick tap, two phases and 9 Lenac popped an inside ball to powerful 2 Ma’afu after drawing the NSW II defenders wide. Ma’afu bumped off some ineffective tackles and rolled over the chalk. 10 Stewart added the extras for Qld I to lead by ten points.
Despite a warning from the referee, NSW II continued to infringe at the breakdown. QLD I continued to make good use of the wind but be inaccurate at lineout time. It wasn’t until the 27th minute until NSW II received their first penalty – for a QLD ruck infringement. The subsequent penalty goal attempt by 23 Nisczcot into the teeth of the strong wind shaved the outside of left upright to keep them scoreless. While there was no change to the score before oranges, it was only desperation defence from NSW II that kept QLD I from adding to their tally.
Second half
With the strong wind behind them, NSW II kickers had difficulty finding their touch. With the lineouts being a game of chance, this would have been a smarter option than delivering ball to the QLD I back three who ran the ball back, often with interest after their strong forward runners bashed the ball further upfield. To their credit, the flood of breakdown penalties was reduced to a trickle. Maybe the youngsters had taken heed of what would have been said during the half time break.
Supporting a barnstorming linebreak by 8 Hewat which was brought down agonisingly short, 6 Meni took an offload and dived across the line to open the scoring in the second stanza. QLD I 15 – NSW II 0 with 20 minutes left in the match.
With some fairly predictable one-dimensional options, the NSW II attack seemed to lose composure and patience as they tried to close the margin. This suited the well-organised and aggressive QLD I defence to a tee. Even with QLD I down to 14 players after 20 J MacMillan received a Yellow Card in the 20th minute, NSW II were unable to unlock the solid QLD I defence.
17 J Tupai-Ui iced the cake for the Queenslanders in the final minutes of the game when he burrowed through the defence out wide for a meat pie after some patient build up work, following a NSW II clearing kick not finding touch.
The players
Players who took my eye were:
NSW II 6 Pletsch, 10 Wright, 8 McLennan,
QLD I 15 Ngamanu, 6 Meni, 8 Hewat, 14 Riley, 9 Lenac
Wrap-up
In a reversal of last year’s situation, QLD I were not impacted by injuries, and NSW II were. NSW II also started the game without bruisers in their back row, opting for three lightweight scavenging 7’s. The loss of their skipper 10 Wright to an injury in the shadows of half time further compounded their injury woes.
With the gusty wind, some inaccurate throwing, and poor timing by lifters and jumpers, the lineouts were a bit of a lottery for both teams all day. While NSW II had scrum dominance, QLD I played a smarter tactical game making better use of the wind when it favoured them, and competing more effectively at the breakdowns. They varied their point of attack well making great use of bullocking forward runners and some deceptively quick and silky incursions from their back three.
Credit must be given to the aggressive and well organised iron curtain defence of QLD I. They were able to react to and repel all attacks from NSW II, which were a too little predictable and one dimensional. Defence wins games and QLD I deserved their victory as NSW II were out-thought, and out-played.
Scoring
QLD I 20 ( 2 E Ma’afu, 6 K Meni, 17 J Tupai-Ui tries; 10 H Stewart con, pen) def. NSW II 0
See next page for earlier reports on ACT v Combined States and Victoria v. Western Australia
