2016 BUILDCORP NRC: ROUND 7 REVIEW

Oct 10 • General News, International • 1907 Views • Comments Off on 2016 BUILDCORP NRC: ROUND 7 REVIEW

For the Pacific Island round, there were celebrations of Pacific Island culture around the country as six teams went into the final round of the 2016 Buildcorp National Rugby Championship still in semi-finals contention.

With six tries each, the NSW Country Eagles’ 44-40 victory over the valiant Western Sydney Rams kept the vocal crowd on the edge of their seats throughout the see-sawing match. The win secured the Eagles the minor premiership, the Horan-Little Shield for 2016 and the Benn Robinson Bell.

At Viking Park in Canberra, the Perth Spirit’s control in the second half secured them the all-important victory over the UC Vikings to take them into the semi-finals.

In 80km winds in Frankston, the Sydney Rays managed a gutsy 38-32 triumph over Melbourne Rising to stake out a home semi-final at Pittwater Park.

The Queensland derby for the Andy Purcell Cup saw a record amount of points scored at Ballymore with Brisbane City retaining the bragging rights over Queensland Country for another year thanks to their thrilling 58-52 victory.

2016 Buildcorp NRC standings after Round 7:
NSW Country Eagles 28 points
Macquarie University Sydney Rays 27 points
Perth Spirit 22 points
Melbourne Rising 16 points
UC Vikings 15 points
Western Sydney Rams 13 points
McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City 9 points
Bond University Queensland Country 7 points

NSW Country Eagles v Western Sydney Rams, Concord Oval, Sydney, 1.00pm, Saturday 8 October
NSW COUNTRY EAGLES 44 (Tries: J. Gordon 2, R. Robinson, F. Fa’ainga, S. Ward, P. Ryan; Cons: A. Deegan 2/4, T. Adams 2/2) def WESTERN SYDNEY RAMS 40 (Tries: T. Viiga 2, W. Wessels, B. Paenga-Amosa, L. Smart, D. Minute; Cons: P. Asquith 2/6)

Perth Spirit v UC Vikings, Viking Park, Canberra, 3.00pm, Saturday 8 October
PERTH SPIRIT 42 (Tries: B. Stander 2, E. Vasukicakau, R. Louwrens, B. Meakes; Cons: J. Lance 1/1, I. Prior 3/3, AJ. Alatimu 1/1; Pens: AJ. Alatimu 1/1) def UNI OF CANBERRA VIKINGS 36 (Tries: J. Mann-Rea 2, L. Taliauli, E. Sinoti, I. Thompson; Cons: I. Thompson 3/4, A. Horan 0/1)

Macquarie University Sydney Rays v Melbourne Rising, Frankston Oval, Frankston, 1.00pm, Sunday 9 October
SYDNEY RAYS 38 (Tries: J. Dempsey, C. Foley, D. Roos, H. Jones, I. Simone; Cons: A. Sinclair 4/5) def
MELBOURNE RISING 32 (Tries: J. Placid, S. Cummins, T. Lomax, T. English; Cons: L. Johansson 3/3, M. Snowden 1/1)

McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City v Bond University Queensland Country, Ballymore, Brisbane, 3.00pm, Sunday 9 October
BRISBANE CITY 58 (Tries: T. White 2, I. Naisarani 2, A. Gibbon 2, L. Beauchamp, C. Kuridrani; Cons: J. McIntyre 5/8) def QUEENSLAND COUNTRY 52 (Tries: J. Tuttle 2, T. Postal, T. Tupou, I. Perese, T. Lefau, T. Banks; Cons: M. Third 0/1, D. Paia’aua 5/6)

Semi Finals:
NSW Country Eagles v Melbourne Rising, 3.00pm AEDT, Saturday 15 October, Newcastle No.2 Sportsground, Newcastle
Macquarie University Sydney Rays v Perth Spirit, 3.00pm AEDT, Sunday 16 October, Pittwater Park, Sydney