Round 6 Grade Vs Eastwood Roundup

Eastwood games are always a highlight of our season. After playing a solid game against Norths at Forshaw in Round 5, this game was seen as a way of cementing our position in the top 2. After a solid week at training, the boys were really up for this game. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be a shocker and we made too many unforced errors and poor decisions to really be in contention in this match. The first half started with us running into a strong southerly and driving rain. Souths made a number of attacking raids into Eastwoods 22, only to cough up the ball when looking dangerous. Once they got their hands on the ball, Eastwood did a great job of controlling possession and dominating field position. Our defence held strong, however Jay Ayoub kept turning us around with a pinpoint kicking game. Our scrum was again dominant and improved phase defence kept Eastwood at bay but 15 minutes in, Eastwood were awarded a penalty, which Ayoub converted into a 3-0 lead to Eastwood. From the following restart, Eastwood once again managed to drive deep into Souths territory and after a number of attacking waves, finally touched down in the corner for a converted try. Eastwood 10-0. Jason Hofmeyr replied with a penalty after 24 minutes to get us within 7, but another Ayoub penalty stretched the lead back out to 13-3 with 10 to go in the half. Eastwood had the lion’s share of possession during the run up to half time, but our defence created a number of Eastwood errors errors and went into the sheds down 13-3. We were confident we were in a strong position with the strong wind now at our backs and were looking forward to getting stuck in in the second half. The 2nd half started very well. We managed to finally get some ball and pushed hard into Eastwood territory. Some strong midfield runs by Rohan Saifoloi and replacement prop Willie Ma’Aumalanga put is within striking distance of the Eastwood line, however more handling errors and poor decision making cruelled our early attacks. Eastwood withstood a ton of pressure and managed to score a try completely against the run of play at the mid point in the half to take an imposing 20-3 lead. Souths hit back with a try to Kieran Black from a rolling maul that went unconverted to bring us within 2 scores, but that would be as close as we got. Eastwood scored another converted try before Kez Black scored his second. Final Score – Eastwood 29 - Souths 15 (Black 2 tries – Saifoloi Conv, Hofmeyr Pen). While the loss was disappointing, Randwick’s loss to Manly means the top of the table is bunching up. We have two extremely important weeks ahead, Parramatta (away) and Gordon (home – Back to St George) before we start a run of matches against the likes of Uni and Randwick. While we will certainly not be taking any opposition lightly, these next 2 games will provide an opportunity for us to hone our game plan, work on combinations and welcome back some senior players returning from injury. We also saw some solid efforts in lower grades with 4th Grade recording a solid victory and 2nds and 3rds giving Eastwood something to think about. A strong emphasis will be made on set piece work this week as we need to shore up primary possession. Lower Grades 2nd Grade – Eastwood – 17-3 Souths 3rd Grade – Eastwood 32-15 Souths 4th Grade – Eastwood 7-17 Souths Colts 1st Grade – Souths 25-21 Eastwood 2nd Grade – Souths 5-11 Eastwood 3rd Grade – Souths 33-0 Eastwood A great return to form for our colts teams on the weekend with 1st and 3rd Grade recording very good wins, while 2nds were unlucky to finish just short. I reiterate our focus on the club championship and this requires every single player to put in that little extra both on the field and at training. Sean Murphy Rugby Director SDRC