Prems (1)
Matches
Sat 30 Nov 2019  ·  Premiership
HKU Sandy Bay RFC
Prems (1)
Tries: M Prior, L Van der smit, A Post, S BienvenuConversions: I Phillips (4)Penalties: I Phillips, J Metters
34
31
Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers
Sandy Bay Prems Again Last 81 Minutes for Victory

Sandy Bay Prems Again Last 81 Minutes for Victory

Grant Beuzeval2 Dec 2019 - 03:29
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Hard fought bonus point victory at the Po sees the Bay climb to third on the Premiership ladder but still plenty to work on

It was yet another “lastminute.com” salvage job at So Kon Po for the Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay men’s premiership team as they clung on until the 81st minute to peg a clutch penalty goal to prevail over USRC Tigers 34-31 in round 6 of the Saxo Capital Markets Men’s Premiership.

This was a critical match for both sides, who entered the match dwelling in the bottom two spots of the six-rung ladder. The first half saw plenty of mistakes by both sides who squandered opportunities and kicked poorly from the hand but somehow managed to score a try apiece after forty minutes, with a penalty to Tigers the difference at 10-7.


Mark Prior blows the stats machine up again

Mark Prior, the newly minted Hong Kong international managed to muscle over for the Bay’s meat pie while his fellow international debutant colleague, Guy Spanton, ran hard and straight and made good gains across the Tigers stern defensive line.


Guy Spanton runs hard at the Tigers defence

Head Coach Brett Wilkinson could not hide his displeasure at the break and only after Tigers opened the second half with a very quick converted try did the wrath of the coach seem to provide the catalyst for the Bay’s second half intensity. Three quick and pleasing converted tries to Liam Slatem, Alex Post and an intercept to the cunning Simon Bienvenu plus a penalty to Iwan Phillips seemed to put Sandy Bay in the driving seat at 31-17 at the sixty-minute mark.


Iwan Phillips of the bomb squad, defuses another one.

But the spirited Tigers found an extra gear and seemed to cut the Bay’s defensive efforts to shreds, breaking the line at will, and justly rewarded with two more converted tries inside the final ten minutes – the second coming in the 79th minute – to tie things up at 31-31. At that point, each side had already secured a bonus point for four tries, but neither was willing to share the win points.


Flyhalf Nik Cumming, breaks the Tigers line

From the restart, the final act of the game, the Bay won the ball back and piled pressure on through a series of carries and rucks. Eventually, Tigers conceded the penalty that saw substitute, and leading club points scorer for the season, Jack Metters stride forward with the responsibility of closing out the match and securing the five points. As he has done so many times, he duly converted the attempt into three golden points and the Bay squad, bench and management erupted with equal measure of delight and relief.


Lawrence Babe supported by Alex Post up the middle

That makes it three successive games where Sandy Bay have had to score in the closing moments to take the win – an ability that makes them a threat for 80 minutes but also a trait that threatens Wilkinson and co’s mental and cardiac fitness. He wanted a "W" for his birthday - and he got one - but it was in lower case.

The win sees the Bay leap two spots into third on the log, behind Valley and HKFC, with four rounds remaining in the regular competition.

Next week, play returns to So Kon Po with Kowloon coming to visit in another vital match for both clubs.

Up the Bay!

Match details

Match date

Sat 30 Nov 2019

Kickoff

15:00

Location

Competition

Premiership

League position

3
Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay
6
Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers
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