UWA CLAIMS THRILLER OVER PALMYRA
Pindan Premier Grade – Round 13
UWA 15 defeated Palmyra 12 at McGillivray Oval, Mt Claremont
Cottesloe 43 defeated Wanneroo 10 at Harvey Field, Cottesloe
Wests Scarborough 42 defeated Joondalup 7 at HBF Arena Sportsplex, Joondalup
Nedlands 47 defeated Associates 24 at The Foreshore, Nedlands
Kalamunda 65 defeated Perth Bayswater 14 at Pat O’Hara Reserve, Morley
By Fraser Smith
UWA claimed their sixth win of the season will a nail-biting three-point victory over a determined Palmyra outfit at McGillivray Oval yesterday.
Palmyra dominated territory and possession for much of the first 40 minutes although were let down by numerous handling errors in the slippery conditions. UWA worked their way into their match off the back of their dominant scrum, earning four penalties to steal a five-point 12-7 lead at the change of ends.
Palmyra made all the running in the opening 20 minutes of the second half but once again discipline at scrum time and the breakdown brought an end to their most promising passages of play. A late try to the visitors levelled the scores, before UWA knocked over their fifth penalty of the contest to claim the four points at the death.
UWA head coach Steve McFarlane said he was happy with his side’s ability to grind out another tough victory.
“I’m pleased we got the win,” he said. I don’t think it was our best performance but it’s four points and we’ll take it.
“In the first half we were playing a bit too much rugby in our own half which put us under unnecessary pressure, but our defence did enough in the end to get the result.
“I was really impressed with our set piece; the boys scrummed well and we were good in the lineout, so you have to be happy with that.
McFarlane said that the grit his team has shown in the last few rounds sets them up perfectly to make a late charge towards the four.
“There’s no doubt that tight wins like this one hold us in good stead for the last few rounds. ,” he said. “We were a little bit unlucky against Wests a few weeks ago, ground out a win against Soaks last week and the same again here so we need to keep building on this.”
After Palmyra controlled possession for the opening 10 minutes of the match, ‘Uni’ earned a penalty just 25-metres out with Levon Kvas-Rothwell successfully kicking it for the first points of the match, 3-0.
After sustained pressure in the UWA 22m, the Palmyra forwards strung phases together, picking-and-driving down the right side for Joe Savage to drive over from two-metres out for the first try of the match. Jonny Alston converted to take a 7-3 lead.
The remainder of the first half scoring came through the Kvas-Rothwell boot on the back of three further penalties to give his side a five-point 12-7 buffer at the break.
Palmyra – determined not to let their three-match winning streak end – came out firing in the second half, however, a lack of discipline proved costly bringing an end to any try scoring opportunities.
Eventually the visitors’ ill-disciplined came at a cost with Jarrod Menary receiving a yellow card for repeat infringements.
With the clock against them, Palmyra fought on despite being a man down, and in an all-or-nothing play, spun the ball wide to Onehunga Kaufusi on wing, who broke three tackles running 40 metres before throwing a pass out the back door to Josh Tatupu, who dove over in the corner to level the scores. Sam Jurisich failed to convert, with the scores remaining locked at 12-12.
However, in the last play of the game, UWA burst forward from their own five-metre line, thanks to a break down the left wing from scrumhalf Ethan Carlisle, taking them into Palmyra’s half. On the back foot, Palmyra infringed just 30 metres out directly in front to hand ‘Uni’ a last second shot for victory. Kvas-Rothwell kept a cool head to knock over his fifth penalty of the match and deliver a thrilling 15-12 victory.
In yesterday’s other results, Cottesloe overran Wanneroo, 43-10; Wests Scarborough were too strong for Joondalup, 42-7; Nedlands accounted for Associates, 47-24, and Kalamunda were victorious over Perth Bayswater, 65-14.
UWA 15 (Levon Kvas-Rothwell 5 penalties) defeated Palmyra 12 (Joe Savage, Josh Tatupu tries; Jonny Alston conversion)
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