Stanford 30 v 18 Kings Cross Steelers
EACH season the games between these two sides are always close and well contested. Both teams have started the season well so this first meeting of the season promised to be another hard game.
Stanford kicked off and put pressure on Steelers straight away, within 30 seconds Steelers had been penalised and Calum Reid stepped up to open the scoring with an early penalty. From the restart Stanford moved the ball wide testing the Steelers wings. Breaking through the first few tackles Stanford came close but couldn’t get over the line because of good defensive cover tackles. Stanford kept up the pressure and a good move from the back line saw Matt Greenhill finish off a very fast move to touch down for Stanford’s first try. Reid again put the kick between the uprights for the extra 2 points.
Stanford had started well and if it wasn’t for some finishing errors and some very good Steelers defence they would have added to their earlier points. Dominic McDonald was working the forwards well and mixing the forwards and backs play well. Reid along with the centre pairing of Sam Herbert and Liam Morley were varying the attacking patterns. On 19 minutes Morley cut a powerful line brushing off several tackles to run straight in under the Steelers posts. Reid had no trouble converting the ball for another two to the score line.
Despite Stanford’s early dominance Steelers were starting to get back into the game and Stanford were falling foul of the first tackler contesting the ball law, giving away far too many penalties. Steelers kicker was deadly accurate from a very long way out for their first points followed up by an easier attempt to double their score.
The first half was drawing to a close with both teams play some good rugby. With two minutes left Steelers were caught offside and Reid had no trouble to add another 3 points, to close the half out 6 – 20 to Stanford.
Stanford started the 2nd half strong and was putting constant pressure on Steelers. With a large part of the first 15 minutes being played in the home sides half, Steelers dug in and kept Stanford away from their line. A very kickable penalty was turned down by Stanford to go for an attacking lineout in an attempt to get more points. Stanford won their lineout but then went once too many times through the forwards knocking on and turning over the ball. Steelers camped on their 5 metre line controlled the scrum and pushed the ball through their players up field. On the back foot Stanford were scrambling back to try and defend their lines. Steelers kept the pressure up and earned a try but couldn’t convert the extra points.
Stanford was getting less ball and again were being penalised for a number of offences. Steelers took aim for the posts from one penalty but it rebounded off the upright. Jared Gounden reacted first and punched forward setting a strong position for Stanford to clear their lines. A huge kick down field turned the Steelers defence and took the ball out near the home side’s 5 metre line. The line out was pressurised by Stanford and the ball was fumbled back over the Steelers line, then a Steelers player pounced on the ball from an off side position when a clear try was coming giving the ref no choice but to give a penalty try. Reid once again slotted the kick.
The game was fast running out of time and despite the points gap probably being too great for Steelers to come back from they hadn’t given up. A powerful run from the Steelers and some lazy tackle attempts saw Steelers cross the Stanford line with an easy conversion. Stanford knew there was just a few minutes left and just after the restart they were awarded a penalty only a few metres inside the Steelers half, Reid was asked to go for the posts. Reid gave it one almighty boot and cleared the posts with some to spare keeping his 100% form from the tee.
A very good game of rugby saw Stanford take the win at 18 – 30; both sides had contributed to a very challenging and competitive game. Stanford’s man of the match was a tough decision, but was given to Calum Reid for his outstanding effort with the boot and his controlled distribution.
Next week Stanford are on the road again travelling to newly formed top of the league Benfleet Vikings who haven’t lost yet, another testing game.
