January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Rugby
Police thump Teachers as Tonkin scores hat-trick
Police thump Teachers as Tonkin scores hat-trick
Scully Cup
Police 9, Teachers 1
The opening match was the clash of Police and Teachers in the Scully Cup, and it was Police who continued their fantastic form as they romped home with another very impressive performance.
Teachers had no answer for the pace and skill displayed by their opponents, who never looked likely of being beaten.
Saphia Tonkin lead the way with a fine hat-trick, Mika Tomita scored two, while Kerry Heigham, Lauren Wilson, Julia Mansfield and Tammy Hall all grabbed one try each. Christine Rickards scored the sole consolation for Teachers in the 9-1 defeat.
Renegades 4, Mariners 0
The second ladies match was the clash of the top two sides from the league, with Renegades looking to continue their unbeaten run which has stretched back three seasons now, facing runners up Mariners. Mariners had held them to a draw in their last meeting so they went in with high hopes of inflicting that first defeat. However, Renegades were at their imperious best and were 2-0 ahead at half-time thanks to tries from Amy Harvey and Melissa Field. Field scored her second after half-time, with Laura Haynes also going over with a fine try as Renegades advanced on a 4-0 score-line, to set up an intriguing final with Police and a chance to yet again do the double.
Nicol Shield
Teachers 18, Police 0
The first men's encounter also pitted the top two teams from the league as two-time champions Teachers playing their nearest foes in the league Police. Teachers had come out on top in the last encounter and they continued on where they left off. Their back row and second row were everywhere, making numerous turnovers as they reached the breakdown quicker time and again. The pressure up front yielded two early penalties, one for coming into the ruck from the side and the other for hands in the ruck. Greg Fraser, who had a superb game, slotted both penalties to push Teachers ahead. A fine move involving Andrew Males and Harry Andrews saw some wonderful offloads from the tackle the released Fraser who stepped inside and went over for the opening try. The conversion was missed but Teachers held a commanding 11-0 lead at half-time.
Police tried to up their game in the second half, and made some fine breaks, but ultimately struggled to break down the solid defence. Fraser then caught a poor clearance, chipped it over the top and got a kind bounce to recover his kick and ghost over under the posts. He converted to bring his own tally, and that of Teachers, to 18. They almost added another try after Shauntino Simons made a brilliant break, but he was stopped short by an amazing covering tackle from David Pringle. The final score was 18-0 to Teachers, who advance to the final with high hopes of clinching the double.
Mariners 29, Renegades 17
Their opponents in the final will be Mariners after they overcame Renegades in a repeat of the last two finals. It didn't look good for the men in green as they yielded two early tries to the 'Gades. Greg Garside went over in the corner after the ball went wide and caught the Mariners defence all over the place. Ian Henderson made the fantastic conversion. Renegades struck again soon after, when a fine passing move drew the defence and allowed Mohamed Dao to go over in the corner. Mariners fought back though, and excellent work from Steve Husbands, followed by more good work from the forwards, saw tenacious hooker Bongani Ndlovu burrow over from close in. Rich Holden made the conversion as half-time came with Renegades leading 12-7.
The second half started terribly for Mariners, as Ian Henderson caught a high ball and offloaded it wide for Danny MacMillan to go over in the corner. This seemed to kick Mariners into life however, and the closed the gap with a super try. Husbands again made a great break, and some fantastic interplay between Dave Rourke and Tony Stott ended with Husbands going over the try line out wide. Husbands grabbed his second try when he burst through the middle and fought his way over the line to even the game up at 17-17. It got better when more pressure resulted in a five meter scrum, and captain Rich Brown powered his way over the line to put Mariners in front for the first time.
The last score again went to Mariners and it was again the inspirational Brown who went over after great work from Holden.
Holden converted and Mariners advanced to their third final in a row on a score of 29-17 over Renegades.
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