Pirates get their scrum right, now for the errors

It and their defence earned the big ticks from coach Andrew Verrell following their 31-23 minor semi-final win over Tamworth.

They were their saving graces. 

“The thing that kept us going was our scrum,” Verrell said.

“We scrummaged so well.

“We got them a couple of times on the 90.”

Defensively they just choked them out.

The big thing was shutting down the Magpies’ big ball runners. 

They didn’t do that effectively last time they met and it really got them on the front foot this time, skipper Jake Douglas said.

“We just spoke about two in the tackle and only ever one or two on the ground,” Douglas said.

He said it was a hard grind.

“I think our forwards really stepped up,” he said.

“We sort of knew at half-time our physicality needed to lift and we did that.”

As has often been the case this season, they also spoke about controlling the ball.

“We didn’t do that as well as we would have liked but we did enough to win,” Douglas said.

The errors again earned Verrell’s ire.

Some of them were more frustrating than others, such as Matt Grinter throwing the ball dead in the closing seconds of the first half to gift the Magpies an easy three points.

He was also a bit puzzled by some of their options, particularly going to the lineout rather than the scrum when they had penalties close to the line.

The first half was a see-sawing battle, with the two sides trading points and neither really looking in control.

Pirates went into the break four ahead after five-eighth Jake Hartmann slipped through to score in the final few minutes.

“I think it just gave us a little bit of momentum and belief,” Verrell said.

He thought they probably played a bit too wide too often in the first half and, consequently, were getting isolated.

“We spoke about closing our running channels up,” he said.

They did that, and didn’t do that in the second half.

“Fast and direct”  was their motto and, when they were able to play that quick game they strive to, that’s when they hurt the Magpies.

“I think there were opportunities in close but we had to be quick,” Verrell said.

Several of their tries came in that fashion – from a break, quick recycle and then shift.

Douglas said he felt in the second half like they were on top of the Magpies physically but was never comfortable.

Not until the Magpies missed the conversion of Scott Blanch’s late try, and he did the maths.

They did pick up a couple of injuries and look like being without breakaway Chris O’Connor for the rest of the season.

He went off with a possible anterior cruciate ligament injury  midway through the first half. Verrell said losing him was a big blow.

Winger Colby La Chiusa was also forced off with severe muscle damage in his lower back late in the game and won’t play again either.