- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Queensland Country finally broke their NRC duck at the fourth attempt with an exciting win over the Greater Sydney Rams at Ballymore on Thursday evening.
The crowd of around 1500, including Reds favourites Quade Cooper, Rob Simmonds, Saia Fainga’a and new recruit Ben Hunt, were treated to a tight game full of incident, with four yellow cards being dished out in the gritty encounter.
Queensland Country started the brighter of the two teams, and scored within five minutes when scrumhalf Sam Grasso darted in under the posts. Significantly, this chance arose after a lineout which resulted from a kickable penalty being kicked into touch, instead of for goal.
Two yellow cards in quick succession for Queensland Country fullback JJ Taulagi and centre Anthony Fainga’a allowed the visitors back into the game, the Rams using the extra space in the backs to score through Jarome MacKenzie.
With each try converted by Brandon and Volavola, the game was evenly poised at 8-8. With two minutes to go in the half, the Rams were awarded a kickable penalty on the Queensland Country 22. The two points on offer for a penalty goal were not attractive enough for Rams captain Jed Holloway, and he made the decision to kick for touch.
Just as with the earlier Queensland Country try, the decision paid off, and the Rams worked the overlap for Dane Chisholm to score in the corner.
What we cannot know is whether or not Holloway would have taken the points under the normal scoring system. But in my view, in the context of the game, taking the points would have been the logical step.
Kicking for touch and going for the try is incredibly positive. Normally only the bravest or most daring of captains would forsake points in a tight game yet, in the NRC – with its revolutionary scoring system – the decision to go for the try is an easy one, and the biggest winners are the fans in the stands.
The second half was just as hard fought, only this time the Rams were the recipients of the yellow cards.
Queensland Country made the most of their opportunities with the extra man. The Queensland pack was starting to show its dominance by this stage and forced the Rams to collapse a rolling maul from a lineout.
The perpetrator, Hugh Perrett was shown a yellow card and due to the Rams repeatedly collapsing the scrum, the referee was forced to award a penalty try. Incidentally, this was another score directly from the decision to kick for touch instead of for goal.
At this stage the score was 16-13 to the home team. On the hour mark, a great break by replacement scrum half James Tuttle and number 8, Ben Adams lead to a series of collapsed scrums and penalties, and eventually a second yellow card for the Rams, with Dave Lolohea being sent to the bin only minutes after entering the fray.
The scrum infringements lead to a series of kickable penalties, the last of which was also kicked for touch. This resulted in the game winning score for my man of the match, JJ Taulagi, who dived over in the corner after dancing his way down the line. A superb touchline conversion by Brandon, his third from three, stretched the score out to 24-13, which Queensland Country held onto for their first win of the competition.
I would suggest that a tight game such as this could easily have turned into a battle of the kickers. However, the new NRC rules allowed, or perhaps forced the players to abandon the goal kicking we have have become accustomed to and run the ball, resulting in an exciting game, that had the crowd buzzing with excitement as they left the ground, as opposed to lamenting the fact that they saw another union game without tries.
Interestingly both teams had five kickable penalties in the game, and kicked for touch each time. The Queensland Country side scored three tries directly from plays directly following the ensuing lineouts, whereas the Rams only scored once. Proving that no matter what scoring system you use, if you take your chances, you’re more than likely to win the game.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.