National Under 16 Championship – Day 3

Sydney Juniors 20 — Victoria 15

by Lee Grant

Earlier in the day these well-matched teams were drawn together.  There was a bit of magic in the first quarter by Juniors but after that, as expected, it was an even game, with an equal share of good and bad play shown by both teams.

First half

After surges from both sides Juniors had one that paid off when the Vics were caught narrow and a wide pass had winger Toohey scoring.  Soon after the restart Juniors were in again when 8. King went on a bullocking run and passed in a tackle as he went to ground. Fullback Hurley took the ball backing up and they couldn’t stop him.

But wait, there’s more.  Juniors scored one of the best tries of the week when they played hot-potato rugby in the wind and the passes stuck.  When the touch-line beckoned Hurley kicked through and the move was too good not for Juniors to get the bounce.  They did, and winger Toohey scored his second.

Juniors had scored three tries in six minutes and led 17-0 after thirteen.

The Victorians looked sluggish as they were getting blitzed by brilliant ball work and backing up.

The Victorians  recovered and the rest of the half was even: neither side could take their chances, though Juniors kicked a penalty goal and led 20-0 at oranges.

Second half

The third quarter was as even as the second.  Victoria kicked a penalty goal to get on the board but the tries weren’t coming.

Juniors were the first to crack when winger Veru went over for the Victorians.  The Sydney side still led but by only 20-8.

Victoria had a few chances to whittle down the lead but if was just before the final whistle when Vic 13. Tuipoluto scored an outstanding individual try, stepping lightly for a bruising player.

However, they had run out of time and Sydney Juniors won 20-15.

The Players

Sydney Juniors (points): 3. Daniel England; 2. Cameron King; 1. Connor Hurley.

10. England had a classy all-round game and was influential in the Juniors starting the game how they did.  8. King bent the line several times and set up the Junior second try.  Hurley backed up well and kicked through for one of the tries.

Victoria: 3. Jacob Elordi, 2. Sione Tuitpoluto, 1. Josh Coward

Elordi was had a storming second-rower game: from taking restart kicks and lineout ball, to running with the ball in space a chasing down defenders.  13. Tuipoluto could work on his passing but with ball in hand he was dangerous several times.  Coward was the super glue of the side.

Wrap-up

Victoria could not deal with the ball work of the Juniors early in the game and gave them too much of a start.  On the other hand they should be given credit for coming back at the end of the match.

Sydney Juniors had opportunities to put the Vics away but weren’t good enough for long enough to do so.

Two of the most enthusiastic teams in the competition played in some horrible conditions and full marks to them for putting on a great show.

Western Australia 31 — NSW Country 22

by “Tahspark”

In a complete turnaround from the sweltering heat of Monday, under leaden skies this Pool A clash would decide who would open their account following previous spirited displays by both teams.

First Half

W.A. dominated territory in the early stanzas. After Country fluffed an attempted chip kick, W.A. was awarded a penalty in centre field for Jooste (10) to step up for the penalty goal: 3-0.

In the 9th minute Country was inflicted with their 1st yellow card. Jooste slotted another penalty goal after Country was reduced to 13 following their 2nd yellow card: 6-0. W.A.’s first try came in the 16th minute after Country secured a turnover only to lose possession close to the line and Mario (1) dived over and Jooste converted: 13-0.

W.A. then took full advantage of its overlap producing 2 quick tries in a similar vein when good hands saw Ngamaru (15) score (converted by Jooste from the sideline: 20-0) and Savea (14) in the same corner but Jooste was unable to convert: 25-0. Just as it appeared that the floodgates might open on the field (with the rain starting to fall more heavily),

Country enjoyed their best period of territory and firstly, Townsend (11) scored in the corner (25-5) and with a couple of minutes to go before the break, Pohla (12) accelerated into the gap to take the score to 25-10.

Second half

During the break I made the fortuitous decision with other spectators to take shelter under the Fr Mac Pavilion and although further from the action, I avoided the small hail stones that now greeted the players!

Country started to control possession more and in the 8th minute, Townsend (I think, it was tricky at a distance to confidently get the number plate) touched down in the corner & with his left footed conversion from the touch line, Cushan (1) put Country within striking range: 25-17.

There followed a period where W.A. had the better of the territory and Jooste slotted another 2 penalty goals for W.A. to go out to a 31-17 lead. At the 25th minute mark, Country’s tireless #8, Peden, scored but the conversion was unsuccessful: 31-22. Despite a couple of other potential raids Country was unable to bridge the gap any further.

Final Analysis

Both teams are to be congratulated for going hard at it for the duration. I feared for Country at 25-0 with 2 boys in the bin. Ultimately they scored 4 tries to 3 and showed true grit to close the gap but their indiscretions were very telling.

Best for NSW Country: Stewart (2), Johnson-Holmes (3), Peden (8)

Best for Western Australia: Mario (1), Reedy (3), Savea (14)

Photos by Lee Grant