It was cold and windy on all grounds in Sydney on Saturday but there was some hot rugby.
It looked like the Scots juggernaut was about to be stopped at View; Newington was looking for a comeback after a thrashing last week, but the feelgood game of the weekend was the third game—between Shore and Kings.
Shore v Kings
by “The Spaceman”
Shore win in a gutsy performance in front of an ecstatic crowd
A blustery day at the War Memorial Playing Fields led to scenes of euphoria as Shore secured its first win in an astonishing 18 GPS competition games against Kings.
First half
Shore were running with a stiff breeze behind them in the first half, that I initially pegged to be about a 7 – 10 pointer if you played it correctly.
The Kings’ forwards set the standard early, with aggressive and effective running from well-structured pods making metres into the wind. However it was easy for Shore to relieve pressure through any sort of kick, with 9. Harry Emery even putting one dead from over 60 metres out.
The Shore boys came out with solid intent as well, especially in the inside backs where the defence was much better than weeks previous. 10. Harry Kemball, especially, upped his game, often getting on the front foot in defence.
First blood went to the home side, with a midfield scrum around 60 metres out—the unlikely start of the scoring play. 8. Henry Wrench took it off the back, giving it to Emery who chipped over the top to a flying 14. Will Connelly. He had runners on the inside but ended up passing it into the back of one of the Kings’ backrow who were chasing, the ball bouncing perfectly for a flying 7. Jum Woodhill to run a slight angle and crash over.
7-0 to Shore, ten minutes in after the conversion.
The phrase ‘play the whistle’ gets tossed around, but it was especially appropriate as Kings hit back quickly off a simple dropped ball from the 9 to 10 of Shore. 13. Defenders paused but it wasn’t a knock-on and Yates walked over to score a coach-killer try.
7-5 Shore, twelve minutes in.
The North Sydney boys didn’t hang their heads though, and scored another ripper off a backline move that had winger Connelly accelerating into the line and surprisingly getting through the tackle of 6. George Lehmann to juggle the ball over the paint and ground it.
12- 5 Shore after 20 minutes.
Lehmann then made amends with a steal at the back of the lineout, and followed it up with several powerful runs in the next period of play to put Kings firmly on the attack. 10. Chris Orpen slid through some poor defence to level it up, 12-all after the extras.
Kings kicked a penalty to round out the half after it seemed that Shore were panicking, and scared that they were going to lose.
15-12 to Kings at oranges.
Second half
The half-time chat did wonders for the Shore boys, because they adjusted their patterns of play to expose the Kings inside defensive channel. This resulted in possession, territory and pressure—and a simple Emery try from the base of a ruck about three metres out. This was converted.
19-15 Shore three minutes into the half.
The lads from Parramatta then camped down in the Shore 22 for what seemed like an eternity. With the wind behind them, hampering any attempts for Shore to exit through kicking, Kings showed impressive phase play and ball retention to test the Shore defence and commitment.
After what I estimate to be about 80% possession for the first 20 minutes of the second half half, Kings had their best chance yet, only to knock-on over the line after everyone had thought they had scored.
Shore was soaking up pressure like a Sham Wow.
Tension began to rise as the sun was setting on Northbridge.
It was an outstanding nudge into the wind by 12. Charlie King that relieved pressure for Shore and the inside-centre followed it up with a great defensive effort in the late stages to keep the TKS boys from snatching a victory.
A simple flat ball to 13. Matt Dowsett had Shore running well up-field, but he was cut down inches from the line. However that break was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Kings had worked so hard to maintain pressure and momentum that was wiped away in an instant.
Emery fittingly sliced through for the match winner shortly after.
Full-time: Shore 26 (4 tries, 3 conv.) defeated Kings 15 (2 tries, 1 conv, 1 pen.)
The teams
Shore
The boys deserved their win and did their school and their supporters proud after several heart-breaking losses in recent times.
Kings
Not the best showing from the lads today, seemed a little lacking in energy, spirit and intent. Would’ve liked to see how they performed against Newington, obviously Joey’s was a similar story to today.
The players
Shore
3 Points: 9. Harry Emery – Scored the match winner, brilliant service all day and his kick to Connelly was waited perfectly, a crucial moment in the scheme of things.
2 Points: 14. Will Connelly – contender for 3 points today, scored a ripper of a try and snagged some pilfers as well.
1 Point: 12. Charlie King – Arguably won the game through a relieving kick and also general play at the end, the defensive effort was great.
Kings
3 Points: 6. George Lehman – Stand out today, in both forward packs. Made several good steals in the lineout, followed it up with some crucial pilfers and carries.
2 Points: 10. Chris Orpen
1 Point: Collective forward effort/dominance
The wrap up
It was a long time coming but it finally did. The Shore boys celebrated like they had won the premiership but I think that the win today (echoed by results throughout Sydney) was much more significant than a premiership.
It demonstrated that GPS Rugby is by no means dead.
Other results
Shore went down to Kings in the 2nds in another exciting affair. Kings ground out the win as Shore were a little tense at the end – could have gone either way but Kings deserved the victory.
See next page for a report on Riverview v. Scots
