In Round 3 of the Tasmanian Rugby Competition Hobart Harlequins have defeated Devonport Bulls on the road whilst Launceston caused the upset of the week with their defeat of Taroona.
At the Don Rec Ground, Quins spoilt the hosts’ fiftieth anniversary celebrations with a dramatic 31-30 victory, both sides scoring five tries. The Bulls dominated the early exchanges, taking a 15 point lead with flanker Brett Bentley scoring twice, but the defending premiers fought back to close the gap with an 18-12 halftime score. The second half was a great display of running rugby with the lead changing hands several times until in the final minutes Quins centre, Sidney Fielea, scored to give the visitors the win.
Despite the loss, Bulls’ coach Derik Joubert was satisfied with the performance, labelling it an improvement from previous weeks, with the forwards in particular performing strongly. Joubert paid tribute to the form shown by Siteveni Vasoro, Brett Bentley and Alex Reimer. For Quins, the halves combination of Fale Atielo and Telea Lauti controlled the game for long periods whilst hooker Vaha Afa was impressive.
At Rugby Park, Eastern Suburbs Roosters have defeated Hobart Lions on the back of strong second half. The Lions took the early initiative in the match, possessing a 21-10 lead into the break on the back of industrious work by flanker Tristan Lawrence. The second half saw a Roosters comeback which kept the Lions scoreless and allowed centre Judd Sherratt to grab a brace of tries to give the visitors the victory.
“After halftime we returned to our gameplan and it paid dividends”, said Roosters coach Brett Bourke, acknowledging the man of the match performance from lock Marc Whitfield, supported by Jake Hyland and Judd Sherratt. Lions’ Don Moor lamented a second half punctured by stoppages but credited prop Paulo Saisoaa and the wing pairing of Alex Wolfe and Greg Rodgers with strong performances.
Launceston stings the Penguins
In muddy conditions, the Launceston Bumblebees have upset the Taroona Penguins, 20-18 at Royal Park. The hosts shocked Taroona with an aggressive and passionate performance, stung by recent losses and buoyed by the return of veteran Colin Montgomery. For the Penguins, Christo Le Grange and Andrew Wicks led the way whilst for the Bees, young forwards Callum Lyall and Kieran van Brecht continued their development and prop Peter Crawt fought hard in the set piece.
In the first of the double header, the travelling Glenorchy Stags defeated the AMC Vikings. It was a tight first half with the visitors holding a seven point lead into the break before the strength of their forwards blew the Vikings away in the second, scoring an unanswered 17 points. The Vikings’ Ray Burgess attributed the loss to a lack of composure immediately following the break which the Stags capitalised on. For the home side, Glenn Morgan was sharp at halfback whilst Tom Scarfe and Sam Rice toiled hard in the forwards. Glenorchy’s backrow of Sean Reardon and Dylan Oakford provided a strong platform for Wally Dare to score two tries.
At University, the Students have defeated the Burnie Emus, 62-15. Five tries in each half secured the win for the hosts however the Emus showed plenty of heart to stage a fight back on either side of the interval. Burnie’s Michael Lohrey was their best, demonstrating a strong kicking game. whilst for Uni, Sam Henry and Nick Schmidt both grabbed hattricks.
Scores-
Harlequins 31 def. Devonport 30
Eastern Suburbs 27 def. Hobart Lions 21
Launceston 20 def. Taroona 18
Glenorchy 34 def. AMC Vikings 10
University 62 def. Burnie 15
Author credits to Issac Anderson – University Rugby Club
