- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
In hindsight, we should’ve seen it coming. With just a bonus point win separating second and seventh coming into Round 7, some surprise results were always going to make things complicated around the middle of the National Rugby Championship table.
And sure enough, that’s what happened.
Canberra and North Harbour played out one of the less inspiring draws in recent memory, while Brisbane City blew a chance to consolidate second spot overall with a heavy defeat to the Rams.
Perth then repeated their competition table long jump, with their second 60-plus score within a week and a big win over Queensland Country.
Meanwhile, without lifting a finger, Melbourne have maintained their 14-point gap at the top of the table, confirming that they will host the final should they win their semi.
The race for the remaining playoff spots remains wide open, with anywhere up to six teams still within reach of third and fourth spot.
Here’s the round wrap, the first in which I was able to watch two of the four games live.
Canberra Vikings 21 drew with North Harbour Rays 21, at Viking Park in Canberra. Crowd: 1500
I have to say it, this was one of worst games of rugby I’ve had the misfortune of witnessing live in 2014, and a draw was a fair reflection of both sides and the contest itself. Though the last ten minutes of the game made the 70 preceding mind-numbing minutes worth enduring, I still had the feeling that neither side really deserved the win anyway.
And that probably seems harsh if you didn’t watch the game, but I’d wager that those who did watch it would agree. Safe to say it didn’t linger on my Foxtel IQ box.
Yes, both teams scored three tries, and in truth, a couple of them were crackers. The angled run of Vikings centre Nigel Ah Wong’s to score the first try of the night was superb, as was Robbie Coleman scything his way through the Rays’ defence to score out wide in the second half. And I’m still trying to get my head around Ah Wong being a former flanker, too.
But neither team ever looked like stringing together anything resembling consistency in their attack, as handling errors and turnovers dominated the night. Three yellow cards for the game and 32 full-arm penalties is all you need to know about its scrappiness.
Yet somehow, almost in spite of themselves, both teams had chances to win the game in the final 10, only for the last pass to sail over the sideline, or nine phases to amount to nothing with a knock-on at the back of a ruck. Puzzlingly, Canberra played better and looked more dangerous with two players in the sin bin.
It’s probably an indication of just how little there was worth reporting in this game, that the biggest talking point post-match was whether Jesse Mogg’s 80th minute penalty was in fact successful. For what it’s worth, it was always wide of the left upright from my vantage point.
Worthy mentions: Coleman did play reasonably well at flyhalf for Canberra, while North Harbour lock and skipper Greg Peterson was strong for the visitors. Oh, and the steak sandwiches at Viking Park.
Greater Sydney Rams 56 defeated Brisbane City 29, at Parramatta Stadium. Crowd: 1632
With my sincere thanks to the Rams for hosting me in the Golden West, this was the result that I’d wager very few saw coming. And the effect of the Rams’ win on the table highlights just how tight things are getting there in the middle.
Coming into this match sixth on the table, the Rams’ bonus point win gave their points differential a big boost, while obviously putting a dent in City’s. And I mention this because with so many teams within less than a win of each other, the number of wins and the points differentials are going to be important.
The Rams got out of the blocks early to lead 16-0 after 15 minutes, before Brisbane were able to get into the contest with their pick-and-drive game. A corker offload from Henry Seavula put young Newcastle-based scrumhalf Vasa Faleali’i under the posts, and 32-13 seemed fair at halftime.
Quade Cooper remained in the second half, encouragingly, and Brisbane even hit straight back through Samu Kerevi. But then it quickly became one-sided again as the Rampage started (see what I’ve done there). Three more Rams tries put the lad about beyond 30 points before City captain Dave McDuling picked up a consolation try.
The noisy Parramatta crowd enjoyed a big day of Pacific Sevens action, and the Rams are obviously thrilled to have kept their season alive for another week. They do face an enormous Melbourne-sized challenge at home next week, but then again, no-one expected them to beat Brisbane this round.
Two quick points to finish. Firstly, I dare not rave about the excellent BAR TV coverage again, lest I bring more sledging from the editor upon myself again, but I will say Gareth Wasik’s jacket was outstanding.
And secondly, it was absolutely sensational to see both teams heading back to the Rams’ sponsor pub for a post-match function and few lemonades. Players, officials, staff, sponsors and supporters from both sides enjoyed a proper, old school rugby gathering (as did this reporter), and well done to both sides.
Worthies: Henry Seavula and Dylan Sigg were both very good for the Rams, but there was no better player on the ground than Chris Alcock. Curtis Browning was solid for Brisbane, and Samu Kerevi was a handful for most of the night. Cooper gets a mention too, just for being so accommodating with every person that approached him. A real class act.
Perth Spirit 68 defeated Queensland Country 29, at Rockingham
Perth repeated their rapid ladder climbing efforts of last week, where they again jumped from the seventh spot they found themselves in after the shuffling, right back up to third. They’re equal with Brisbane and the Rams on points, but currently hold the second best differential in the competition.
After another high-scoring affair down at Rockingham, south of Perth, the Spirit have now scored 19 tries and 131 points in the last week. It was 10 tries this weekend in the big win over Queensland Country, who find themselves in a horror Perth-Townsville-Melbourne schedule to finish the NRC.
Flanker Kane Koteka bagged a hat-trick, and hooker Robbie Abel a double as the home side ran amok to keep their semi-final hopes alive. With a bye next week, it will be interesting to see what sort of squad Perth takes to Dubbo for their final round clash with NSW Country. If they need to win that last game to qualify for the playoffs, will they still attempt that with their Super Rugby regulars relaxing at home?
Worthies: I’m guessing Koteka is going to be hard to top, but again, I’ll take the advice of anyone who saw the game down at Lark Hill.
Monday afternoon: Sydney Stars v NSW Country Eagles, at Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Round 7 concludes with the Stars hosting Country from 3pm this afternoon in the public holiday clash at Leichhardt. You can follow The Roar‘s live blog closer to kick-off, which will also include a live stream of the game with many thanks to www.clubrugbytv.com.au.
Sydney Stars: Paddy Ryan, James Willan, Laurie Weeks, Andrew Leota, Matthew Philip, Tipiloma Kaveinga, David Hickey, Patrick McCutcheon (c), Jake Gordon, Angus Roberts, Jono Sullivan, Jim Stewart, Michael Hodge, James Dargaville, Jack Macklin.
Replacements: Tom Coolican, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Tilse, Byron Hodge, Mitchell Whiteley, Jock Merriman, Jonathan Fakai, Stuart Dunbar.
NSW Country Eagles: Duncan Chubb, Bill Johnston, Jake Ilnicki, Mitch Chapman, Cam Treloar, Tala Gray, Will Miller, Ita Vaea, Brendan McKibbin, Sam Windsor, Andrew Kellaway, Ed Stubbs, Samu Wara, Ethan Ford, Paddy Dellit.
Replacements: Michael Alaalatoa, Ben Suisala, Will Weeks, Ben Matwijow, Richard Stanford, Pauli Tuala, Mick Snowden, Apukaki Ma’afu.
Tip: Sydney have struggled in the NRC, and I can’t see that changing today against a Country outfit refreshed after the bye, and with a chance to move into second place. NSW Country by 15.
Melbourne Rising had the bye.
NRC ladder after Round 7
Melbourne Rising 30, Brisbane City 16, Perth Spirit 16, Greater Sydney Rams 16, NSW Country Eagles 15*, Canberra Vikings 13, North Harbour Rays 12, Queensland Country 6, Sydney Stars 2*.
Note: Though Perth and Greater Sydney both have superior points differentials over Brisbane City, I am assuming the NRC is running with the same tie-breaking methods as in Super Rugby, whereby more wins will trump points differential for teams on equal competition points.
Full and official table can be viewed here.