WILMINGTON 30 - ROSES 37

The Roses traveled to Wilmington this past Saturday and opened their account with a win on the road. With a solid preseason recorded, this match would always prove to be a worthy barometer on how the Roses gauge their development in the off season and also, what they may need to work on.

The Roses kicked off and were given the advantage of the substantial hill the Wilmington pitch resides on. In the opening encounters, you would be forgiven for assuming that the visitors would score first based on territory and possession. However, it was the home side who touched down close to the posts, exploiting the stretched defensive line and their superior pace in the back line. From a scrum, Wilmington scythed through the ten-twelve channel and a delicate offload from the outside center gave the home side first blood.

The score seemed to galvanize the Roses and after several handling errors, the visitors were once again camped in the Wilmington twenty-two. If that wasn't enough, the Roses forwards bossed and bullied the Wilmington scrum. Finally, the referee lost his patience and awarded a penalty to the Roses for front-row hinging. The resulting phase play pulled Wilmington’s forwards together and allowed Keegan Pflumm to get around the corner and off-load to debutant winger Killian Gauze; scoring his first try.

It may have been that both teams were trying too hard or the proverbial cobwebs needed dusting off, but errors contributed to several scoring opportunities going awry. Once again, strong and repetitive phases drew in the opposition and created space outside – only for a forced offload to go forward in the tackle. Anderson Smith also had a clear scoring opportunity after a devastating line break from Bruno which was unable to be converted.
The Roses second try came from an off-the-top move at the line out. The ball was then crashed through the middle by Inside Center, Dan Falcon who broke the gain line. The following forward crash from newly voted co-captain Frank Bruno allowed for quick distribution from scrum half Jamir Phillips who fed player/coach Kevin Laporte. Laporte’s beautifully weighted pass was somewhat ‘Danny Cipriani-esqe’. An initial dummy, hold and floated over two Wilmington defenders, dropping in to the arms of Killian Gauze to touchdown for his second.

The Roses continued to press the Wilmington defense and pull them across the pitch in their own half. While Wilmington defended staunchly, not committing to the rucks and reducing space across the field, the Roses ability to continuously get in behind the opposition resulted in a penalty try for a professional foul. The laws regarding high tackles has continued to evolve from the game at a professional level and have not diluted into the amateur ranks. The referee was consistent towards both teams regarding seatbelt form tackles and anything above the shoulder. But committing the offense so close to the try line, left the official with little choice but to send a player off for ten minutes and award seven points to the Roses. A second yellow for Wilmington followed immediately after the first had finished, leaving the home team to play a man down for another ten minutes.
The Roses secured their bonus point just before half. This time coming from a turnover in the breakdown in Wilmington’s twenty-two. None other than Gauze was on hand to secure his hat-trick on debut.
Wilmington responded immediately after a professional foul (High Tackle) and dotted over to score before the break.

Half – Wilmington 12 Roses 22

Having been on the receiving end of some hammerings at the hands of the opposition on this field, Wilmington’s somewhat predictive, yet incredibly effective game plan was to be unleashed. From the opening minutes of the second half, the home side were awarded a penalty (From a high tackle infringement) which was kicked precisely into the Roses twenty-two. Wilmington brought the ball down and the forwards went to work. After making significant gains from the maul, the home-side forwards continued to strike around the fringes of the ruck. Two phases later, they were over for their first score of the half which was converted.

The Roses then responded with a try of their own. Once again, turning over possession from an isolated attacker, led to Gauze heading over for his fourth score of the day.
Wilmington then responded with a score of their own. Against the run of play, the Roses lost their own ball at the scrum which was fed the Wilmington winger who ran in from eighty meters.
In what seemed to be the evolution of a full contact ‘ping-pong match’, it was the Roses who were strung ten plus phases together again. Fly half Kevin Laporte broke the line and offloaded to inside center Falcon only for him to drop the ball over the line while placing it.

Once more the referee found himself delving into his pocket to dish out his yellow card again for yet another high tackle and Wilmington’s third of the match. With space starting to appear across the field and with forwards now appearing in the wider channels it was second-row Malachi who galivanted in making the score 24-32 to the Roses.
More high tackles and more opportunities for both sides, with Wilmington utilizing their ability to ‘kick sticks’ narrowing the gap.

The final try of the afternoon came from veteran half-back Eric Garman. The Roses pushing the Wilmington pack off their on ball in their half, allowed for Phillips to feed Garman. Garman showed the ball on an arching run and eventually tucked it under his arm to sprint unchallenged to the line.

To ensure this entertaining competition didn’t die down in excitement, it was the Roses who were called for holding on at the breakdown in front of their posts. With two minutes to go, Wilmington’s fly half converted.

While there were some nervy exchanges at the death, ultimately the ball was kicked dead, and the Roses were able to hold on for the win.

Wilmington 30 Roses 37

Man of the Match – Killian Gauze

Some fantastic pieces of play from the Roses. A well-balanced back row with Smith leading by example in his second year of captaincy, was dominant in the way of carries and tackles. Danny Falcon versatility to float from the backline to the backrow was incredibly impressive and the distribution and decision making from scrum half from Jamir Phillips was imperative in the Roses game play.

Highlight of the Match - Zach Beegle propping against a loosehead who was easily two and half times his body weight. Beegle executed great form with his shins parallel to ground in a low body position. He could not be moved. Pure scrum lust!