Yesterday afternoon, under ideal rugby conditions, the JBAA Premiere Reserve team hosted cross-town rival Castaway -Wanderers. The game, ably refereed by Go-Pro Moss, was a convincing victory for the visitors who exacted revenge for a loss to the Bays in the fall season.
Photos courtesy John Richardson
This was a much improved CW team, with many of their Premiere squad now on the Reserve group due to a very successful recruiting push over the winter break. The influx of quality recruits resulted in a trickle-down effect which makes this newly-minted CW Reserve team a force to contend wth for the rest of the Spring season.
The initial part of the game saw the home team forced to make multiple tackles inside their own 22 as CW pressed early, in waves. After scrum-half Brady White was able to relieve this pressure, play see-sawed back and forth in midfield until the visitors broke through to score and jump into a 7-0 lead. A prolonged period of midfield play ensued where Bays efforts were stymie by turnovers and stern CW defence until one of the turnovers gave CW the opening to score their second try of the match. Following this, the smaller and younger JBAA squad used the slope to their advantage as they pressured the larger Tweed Curtainers, despite being manhandled in the scrums. The Bays were ultimately reward with a well-executed try in the corner by teen-ager Owen Sparshoe, but despite continued pressure after the restart were unable to score again and the half-time whistle blew with the score favouring
CW 14-5.
Coming down the slope in the second session Castaways used their superior scrummaging to keep the bays on their back feet for much of the half. Two more tries moved the scoreline to 28-5 despite some monstrous defensive hits from big Peter Masimo and DJ Stewart as the home team spent much of their time defending. A quick penalty tap by JBAA allowed them to replicate the first half try as Sparshoe once again tallied in the corner bringing it to 28-12 following the JS Cooke convert. At this point in time, tempers flared and the game deteriorated somewhat into a rather messy affair with the Wanderers emerging from the sloppiness with their final try and a well deserved 33-10 pasting.
