| Match Report Round 2 |
|
The Under 10 Black Division side from Grammar hosted rugby power St Edmund's in what was their first home game of the season. There has been a lot of work carried out on the Junior School Oval and the boys were eager to have a match on it to test the new surface. It was a beautiful morning for rugby and both teams attacked the early stages with great enthusiasm. If anything the visitors had the early ascendency with their physical approach to the breakdown. It seemed to put Grammar off their game and St Edmunds became the team that was going forward. Despite this it was Grammar that found themselves within striking distance. Powerhouse centre Andrew Whittle found himself with the ball about 10m from the line. He threw himself with great courage at and through the St Edmunds line to score the first try of the match. The try was unconverted and Grammar led 5-0. Grammar were not prepared at all for the kick-off and a quick mistake had the Grammar defending their line, while in their heads they were still celebrating the try. St Edmund's seized their opportunity to score a try and convert to take the lead 7-5. The Grammar staff and supporters were wondering how the boys would rebound from this setback. What they saw would have impressed them greatly. The forward pack consisting of Oliver Wayte, Lachlan Dowse, Eamon Carpenter, Peter Kiemann, Ethan Zissler and Callum Ball led the way. Their defence was tough and they started to steal a lot of St Edmunds' ball. From one such turnover newcomer Jacob Angelatos appeared to find himself isolated when four of the visitors had him trapped. Amazingly, the ball came out to Grammar's advantage and quick hands saw Riley Fallon touch down for a great try. The try was again unconverted. Momentum was with Grammar again now and their confidence was sky high. Skipper Nick Ryan started to get good ball from energetic scrum half Luke Davies and the backs started to get involved as well. The backline, which also included Jordan Kibukamusoke, worked hard defensively and offensively. It was developing into a real team effort. This led to another try, this time to barnstorming second rower Lachlan Dowse. Ryan nailed the conversion to give Grammar a 17-7 half time lead. The second half became a dour struggle. There were limited opportunities so it was great thinking by hooker Ethan Zissler who scored a great try by taking a quick tap and barging over. This made the score 22-7 and Grammar looked in control. However, like all St Edmund's sides, this one wasn't about to give up and got one back in exactly the same manner as Zissler's try – a quick tap that caught Grammar napping. That would be the final points of the match with Grammar edging out their opponents in an even match by 22-12. The boys will be at home again next week as they take on the Gungahlin Eagles from the North. The boys will train hard this week to make sure that they limit the number of errors that sometimes occur and give ascendency to their opponents. |