Brisbane Grammar @ Gregory Terrace
By Nic Darveniza (The King)
A new Stadium beckons a new beginning for Terrace Rugby, epitomising the growing professionalism of Schoolboy Sports. In a grand ceremony with thousands in attendance Headmaster Dr Peter Chapman called upon prominent Old Boys and Donors to give speeches, unveil plaques, and provide blessings for a monument to Terracian sport that put the Spring Hill institution back $5 million. The post match highlights, courtesy of the GT Jumbotron, revealed a performance by the home team that left plenty of points on the park, but some excellent scrambling defence from their Spring Hill neighbours in blue.
Politics had forced high profile Rugby League star Hiale Roycroft-Slade out of the First XV on Friday, and new addition to the GT Rugby Program Matt Forsyth, formerly of Brisbane Grammar until the school holidays, was nowhere to be seen for the First XV. Brisbane Grammar in turn were missing key members of their backline in starting centers Lachi Lanskey and Eddie McCorley, with Forsyth also unavailable for selection…
Brisbane Grammar received the kickoff for the first touch of the 2014 Rugby season, but ground was hard to find with a tough defensive line halting most Grammar charges short of the game line. Within a few phases BGS took to the skies as flyhalf Tom Sly put up a midfield bomb, but gave away a penalty in the ensuing breakdown. A second consecutive penalty in the lineout saw Terrace’s dynamic backline click in to action with some very fluid attack. A knock on from monster loose head Kyle Leofa was the signal for a dozen young Terracians to stream on to the field, wielding bottles of water and a kicking tee for Queensland flyhalf Alex Horan to place some early scoreboard pressure on their Spring Hill opposition.
With the kick successful, Brisbane Grammar were able to counter-ruck their restart through some good work from rookie tight head Josh Graham. Just phases later Leofa performed a hit that even knocked the wind out of me – and I was sitting pretty in the grandstand – to again halt BGS. A breakdown penalty relieved the pressure on Grammar’s struggling attack, and Tom Sly stepped up to the plate to kick for points.
With possession returned to the Light Dark Blue inside their 22, a midfield bomb targeting the space between the deep back 3 and the retreating defensive line was heavily contested by Year 11 rookie Michael Wolstenholme. With possession secured, Terrace’s halfback Reuben Wall sent a long ball to Alex Horan, who immediately sparked the dynamic Terracian backline into life by firing a pinpoint bullet pass to edge man Quilian Pritchard Malaki. As the pint sized winger rocketed inside BGS’s 22, flanked by 4 supporters, the chasing defence performed 3 desperate tackles in a row as GT’s skilful offloading created a nightmare situation for the defence. Inspirational Captain Paddy Dooley completed two consecutive try savers over the line on both Horan and Wall to deny Terrace in a situation where they seemingly couldn’t possibly not score.
Terrace earned a penalty 5 metres out as Grammar attempted to slow down the ball. Australian Schoolboy Connor Moroney, captaining GT from openside flanker, took a quick tap and sent defenders flying on a strong run, but neither he nor the runners after could find their way through a BGS wall that was working overtime to cope with some very fluent attack. Grammar were finally able to end the raid by counter rucking on the far wing after several phases- but not for long. One of the dozens of handling errors through the match gave Terrace a prime opportunity to send someone through on a set piece move, which they so nearly did when fullback Jack Lodder streaked through in centre field, but for a knock on in the tackle. Off the set piece, Grammar again kicked high, and for the first time were able to reclaim the kick through basketball convert John Cavaye, though the ruck was turned over.
Out center Nikau Te-Rupe carried Terrace from halfway to the 22, setting the scene for lock Isaiah Grace to bust through 4 tackles to take GT even closer in a starry individual effort. Lo and behold, another costly knock on over the goalline saw possession turned over – Terrace had been denied 5 times in the opening 13 minutes, but the 6th effort would prove the charm.
The fourth midfield bomb of the opening stanza saw Jack Lodder rise above the contest of outside backs Johnathon Traves and Michael Wolstenholme, and when he touched back down to Earth he had only a red carpet stroll to the try-line to finish, crossing untouched by a non-existent kick chase. Horan could not convert.
Off the kickoff Lodder’s day got even better, as a helping of set piece magic saw him score his second in under a minute. A wide Horan ball to Nikau Te-Rupe sucked in the defence to the threat of the devastating centre, but were bamboozled by a perfectly timed inside ball to Lodder, who streaked away again for a perfectly executed try.
The rest of the half was relatively uneventful, with some clever territorial kicking going close to creating another try for the Red and Black, isolating Grammar’s rookie fullback but going off their feet.
At oranges the score was 13-3, with two tries to Jack Lodder, and a penalty to Alex Horan. Though Terrace look the better team by far, something needs to be said for try saving defence. Though the Terracians have gone close multiple times, they fact that they’ve only scored two long range tries on a kick return and some nifty backline play is a testament to the work being put in by an under the pump Light Dark Blue.
The halftime break signalled a change in tactics for GT, with Horan opting to give BGS a taste of their own medicine by outplaying them in the territory stakes. One precision kick inside Grammar’s 5 metre line forced fullback Clancy to carry the ball out under great pressure from the kick chase, allowing Horan to unleash a set piece move that nearly took GT over the line with Right Wing Campbell Grigson breaking a tackle in the midfield. As it was, another last gasp tackle saved the day for Grammar. Quick thinking from Reuben Wall saw GT spread the ball hard right, and young Hooker Dominic Fraser fell over the line untouched on the right wing. Horan’s kicking woes continued.
Terrace will be happy with the result, but left a lot of points on the park. On the flip side, BGS could hold their heads high that a significantly weakened First XV were able to hold out one of the most dynamic attacking back lines in the competition for so long.
