TAMWORTH’S hopes of turning the derby momentum might have to wait for another day but the Magpies showed on Saturday they’re going to be a force this season.
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The Magpies went into the game with high hopes of knocking their cross-town rivals off.
They couldn’t manage it, going down 34-21 in what was the closest derby for a number of years.
After coming out of the blocks running against Quirindi last week, the Magpies were stunned early, with Pirates running in two tries in the first 10 minutes.
They hadn’t conceded a point against the Lions but struggled to contain Pirates’ attacking threats.
Simply, they fell off too many tackles.
They fought back to 14-7 midway through the first half, with Lewyn Rapana steaming onto a short ball and stepping his way to the line but found themselves trailing by 17 at the break.
It left them with some work to do but coach Kevin Rooney’s message to them was simple – forget the first half.
“The first half was gone. We’ve got nothing to do with that,” he said.
“The second half will set the tempo for our season.”
Whatever he said did the trick. They came out with a lot more energy and punch and were first to score, with number eight Sanimo Navatu picking the ball up from the back of the ruck and charging to the line.
Pirates replied through number eight Conrad Starr and had a couple of chances to extend their lead before eventually pushing out to 20 – and putting the result beyond doubt – with 12 to go.
The Magpies had the final say, with Ben Coombes repaying the favour to Pirates and scoring a runaway intercept.
“We outscored them in the second half, which was good,” Rooney said.
He is keen to see them play an attacking brand and was reasonably happy in that respect.
“I thought what really worked was we tried to play expansive rugby,” he said.
“It needs a lot of confidence and teams to be together for a while.”
They’ve only had a couple of games together, but there were some promising signs.
Pirates were anticipating their toughest derby test for years and got that.
Coach Andrew Verrell said it wasn’t really until the last 20 minutes that he felt comfortable.
“If you look at them (Tamworth), there’s a collection of guys in there who are very good footballers,” Verrell said.
Harry Veitch for one.
The breakaway was immense for the Magpies.
He’s also taken on the captaincy this season and was their best for the second game in a row.
Rooney was also impressed with Nick Lyon’s game in the second row.
