THE Sydney Stars fell prey to country spirit and pride as some of rugby’s brightest prospects, super rugby stars, and a couple of local products gave fans a taste of the National Rugby Championships at Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was the first time many of the estimated 1500-strong crowd had watched an NRC game live, and they weren’t disappointed.
There was plenty of running rugby, some crunching hits, and some silky skills to whet their appetites.
And there was an Eagles win, with the country boys getting home 37-31 to end the Stars unbeaten start.
The home side had to absorb a lot of pressure early from the Stars but were first to strike with skipper and five-eighth Jono Lance slicing through after an electrifying run from outside centre Charlie Clifton.
Minutes later Clifton crossed for the first of his two and the Eagles were up 16-nil with 10 to play in the first half.
The Stars scrum started to turn the screws late in the first half, and they scored twice to bring the gap back to just three at the break.
After a bit of a half-time revving from coach Darren Coleman the Eagles came out and laid on two quick – and spectacular – tries inside the first 10 minutes to jump out to a 29-13 lead.
Lance scored the first off a chip that bounced cruelly away from the Stars winger.
Chasing through the Western Force-bound Lance juggled the ball, before regathering after it bounced off his head to cross for his second.
Minutes later Clifton snagged his second steaming onto a brilliant underarm out the back offload from Eagles second rower Sam Lousi.
As they did in the first half, the Stars hit back with two tries in the space of a couple of minutes to big winger Harry Jones to make it a three-point game with just over 15 to go.
Eagles number eight Sam Figg crashed through to restore the Eagles lead beyond a try as the clock ticked down to under 10 remaining, but, after former Pirate Andrew Collins’ homecoming was cut short about three out, they had to survive a final push from the Stars with the Sydney side scoring with two to get back within a converted try.
The win made it two from three for the Eagles to start the season, and while he wasn’t getting carried away by it as far as what it means to their season, the fact that it was over the Stars was a positive, Coleman said.
“The Stars will be one of our competitors to get finals spots,” he said.
They produced some enterprising play in attack, and their ability to keep the ball alive made life difficult for the Stars, but it was hard to go past the Eagles defensive effort.
“We struggled a bit at the scrum and the lineout so we had to do a lot of defending,” Coleman said.
“We had some really good goal line stands that kept them out.”
There were a couple of periods where they were camped in their 22 for several minutes but they kept the Stars out.
“That to me shows a team that’s got pride and passion,” Coleman said.
He said he always felt if they could control the ball they could score points.
“We seemed to break the line, not at will, but easier than them,” he said.
It was just a matter of being patient.
It was a game of doubles with Lance and Clifton both scoring two for the Eagles while Jones and number eight Mitch Whiteley crossed twice for the Stars.
