BRIARS 1^ST GRADE MATCH REPORT

Saturday 12^th vs. UNSW

Sunday 13^th vs. Hunters Hill 

The long weekend was supposed to be a week off for Briars, but having the weather against us for the last couple of weeks meant Briars embarked on the weekend from Hell with a double header weekend against UNSW and Hunters Hill. Both were top 5 teams in 1st grade which only added to the challenge. 

Saturday was a tough day with some close results in all grades. 1st Grade stepped out onto the paddock with an opportunity to cement a position in the top 4 with a victory. Defence had been a worry for Briars in the past few weeks and it had been something the team had worked on in training. From the kickoff it showed with some tough tackling and patient defence that earned Briars a 17-0 lead at half time.  The second half was a little bit different. Briars went into their shell and UNSW took advantage of it and scored a couple of quick tries to get back into the contest. This woke the boys up however and a special mention has to go to Luke Sinai who could have won the game himself with bonus point for the 4 individual tries and a cracking game overall. Briars ran away with the game 37-17.  

The club then had to back up the next day with another game after Hunters Hill decided we would play our make up game against them on Sunday which is in the rules, but not really in the spirit of the game. After some more close games in the lower grades with 3rd grade losing after the full time siren, it was 1st Grade’s turn to play another tough 80 minutes of rugby.  Unlike Saturday Briars took a little time to get into the game and with a shocking penalty count against us it was Hunters Hill who took the early lead and continued to play good scrappy rugby. The supporters could see from the sideline who was fresh and who was backing up from the day before. There were great games from the fullback Nathan Maclaughlan and fly half Sean Hudson, who led from the front and scored a try each. It was not the greatest game that 1st grade has played this year but it was the toughest game. To grind out a 19-18 victory in those circumstances shows the true competitiveness of this team.

Old Boys Day is at Rothwell Park this weekend against Hornsby. Come down and watch Briars continue their winning streak, 1st Grade kicks off at 3.15pm.
 
Mark Gudmunson
1st Grade Coach