It took the Pirates just over a minute to score in their Central North Rugby Union clash against Inverell and while they didn’t keep that ridiculous strike rate up for the full 80, the Pirates gave it a good shake.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
By game’s end, Pirates had run in 15 tries to two in an 80-14 drubbing.
We do have some good depth there and some great young talent coming through.
- Mat Kelly on the Pirates' bench
Captain Conrad Starr lived up to his name with four tries while Bart Leach was the envy of props everywhere as he grabbed two and Doug Biffin also snared a double.
While the starting players set the platform and did the majority of the scoring – Jackson Sharpe was the lone try-scorer off the bench – Pirates coach Mat Kelly was impressed with his bench’s ability to slip nearly seamlessly into the game.
“Definitely. We do have some good depth there and some great young talent coming through,” Kelly said.
“It was good to see them get some decent minutes, a lot of times they sit there and don’t get on so it was good to be able to reward them and blood them.”
Wayward kicking by the Pirates was just about the only blemish on their report card with a team total of five conversions from 14 attempts.
Brendan Rixon was the saving grace in that department as he nailed three while James Trappel – who was heard saying “I can’t buy one” after his last kick of the afternoon – kicked the other two.
For Inverell, fly-half Nick Cummins nailed both his conversion attempts and also crossed for his side’s opening try of the day while Lai Natuaca scored the other.
Both were the final tries of each half and Kelly thought it highlighted his opponents never-say-die attitude.
“It was good to see Inverell kept coming and really fought right to the end,” Kelly said.
Just about every time Pirates got into an attacking position, they scored.
As for the Highlanders, they were able to break the Pirates’ line but the last pass wasn’t on the money a lot of the time which saw possession go begging.
Kelly said the holes in his side’s defence came down to lapses in concentration.
“The urgency was there at times and at other times it slackened off. I think the scoreline was partly the blame for that,” Kelly said.
“There’s definitely room for improvement.”
FINAL SCORE: Pirates 80 (C Starr 4, B Leach 2, D Biffin 2, B Goodman, N McCrohon, A Moodie, A Mepham, S Trappel, J Sharpe tries; B Rixon 3, J Trappel 2 cons) d Inverell 14 (N Cummins, L Natuaca tries; N Cummins 2 cons)
