January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
'Gades win third straight Sandy's title
Women
The ladies competition kicked off first with last year's unbeaten, all-conquering Renegades side against the Police, while Mariners and Teachers faced off in the other game. Renegades quickly picked up where they left off last season as they overcame a gallant Police side, who were showing a big improvement on last year.
The 'Gades ended up 3-0 winners thanks to speedsters Laura Haynes with two, and Melissa Field who scored the other. Mariners showed that they are going to be a strong side again when beating Teachers by 4-0. Abbey MacPherson, Amy Wolfinger, Nicole Brennan and Fiona Beckerlegge all crossed the whitewash for the ladies in green.
The second round of the ladies pitted Mariners against Police and Renegades against Teachers.
Both victors from the first round again came up with the goods, with Mariners and Renegades again preventing their opponents from scoring. MacPherson scored twice and Wolfinger added another as Mariners consigned Police to their second consecutive 3-0 loss. Renegades were dominant as they beat Teachers 5-0 with tries from Field (2), Vanessa George, Nicola Jones and Jess Gilbert.
The final round saw the two unbeaten sides match up and renew their intense rivalry from last season. The first half was very tight but eventually gaps began to appear. It was Haynes who was to be the heroine for the 'Gades though, as she cut three sublime lines through tight holes to grab a hat-trick and lead her side to a 3-0 win, and Sandy's champions for the third year running.
The final match was Police against Teachers, and after a very tight affair, Police secured their first win in quite a while as they edged their opponents 1-0. Lauren Wilson scored the only try for a jubilant Police team.
Men
The men's competition kicked off with Renegades overcoming Police 10-3. It was a frenetic opening game that ebbed and flowed from end to end. The only try of the game came from Greg Garside as he ran an intercepted pass under the posts for Renegades. Darragh O'Donoghue added the conversion and also a penalty, while Tommy Edwards kicked a penalty in response, leaving Renegades with a 10-3 win.
Mariners were facing off against Teachers in the next match and it was a close, hard-fought affair. There was no score in the first half, but reigning league champions Teachers went ahead through Greg Fraser's penalty. Mariners dug deep though, and superb ball retention and forward driving put them deep in Teachers territory. A quick tap penalty from Tony Stott released Warren Green to score in the corner. Alun Thomas slotted the difficult conversion to give the Mariners a 7-3 win.
The next round pitted Mariners and Police together. Dominant powerhouse Scott Brown drove over for a try and a penalty from Thomas handed the men in green their second win on an 8-0 score line.
The other second round was another hard-hitting match, with neither Renegades nor Teachers able to get a score as they played out a scoreless stalemate.
Police then faced Teachers in the final round of games. With both sides looking for their first win in the tournament, it was an eagerly contested clash. Teachers went ahead in the first half thanks to Shauntino Simons penalty. A try from Kai Edwards after a fantastic burst in the second half, converted by Fraser, saw Teachers home with a 10-0 win.
The last game in the men's competition, as in the ladies, was a title decider between Renegades and Mariners. Renegades scored first with O'Donoghue beautifully slotting a penalty.
They forged further ahead with Jay Roobottom scoring in the corner after a wonderful break from Brendan Plessis. Mariners fought back superbly and worked the ball up the pitch for the impressive Ryan Gonsalves to score his first ever try. The conversion was missed and though Mariners pushed for another score, the 'Gades defense held firm to secure the title.[[In-content Ad]]
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