A depleted Bull Sharks Premier Women’s side have highlighted the credentials of their premiership defence with a hard-fought victory on the road against Easts.
It has been a tough season for the Premier Men, but they were also celebrating on the trip back down the M1 after fighting out a two-point win.
Premier Men
Bond won 28-26.
Where it was won:
Our scrum and particularly our front row dominated. The pressure this put Easts under led to mistakes and two yellow cards. We had a one-man advantage for much of the game. The boys didn’t let up, they continued to pile on the pressure and ground out the win through lots of hard work.
The highlight:
Our last try with only 4 minutes left on the clock was a very good team try. It started well within our own half and showed great desperation.
What made you happy:
The sort of spirit that was displayed by the boys. They went behind late in the game but fought their way back into it. A great mental victory.
The work to do:
We still have to prove our defence in the middle of field. Our line out small defence needs attention as well.
Trademark player:
Rhys Sheriff is one of the older guys and always leads very well. His scrummaging lead to us getting eight penalties and a few of opposition getting yellow carded.
With Mick Heenan.
Premier Women
Bull Sharks won 24-19.
Where it was won:
We did not have the dominance up front that we wanted, and this can be put down to losing 6 of our starting eight to Reds duties. This was always going to make it a tough assignment up against a physical Easts team. But we never gave up the fight and took it to them out wide. Both wingers Eva Doblo and Dianne Waight were very impressive with both ball in hand and defensively. Eva has a background in Oztag and is relatively new to rugby and the Bull Sharks. We have been thrilled with the start she has made to her Premier Rugby career.
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The highlight:
The end-to-end team try to seal the victory from inside our 22.
What made you happy:
The obvious answer would be the win against a tough opponent at their home, what was most pleasing was despite all the changes we still managed to gel and get the win.
The work to do:
We have to build towards the finals. Unfortunately, we don't have a game next week due to the forfeit of the Souths team, so it is not ideal preparation. So, we have adapt and prepare as well as possible.
Trademark Player:
Stand-in captain Paris Mohr led the inexperienced pack all day and picked up a couple of tries for her efforts.
With Shannon Symon
Colts 1
Bond v Easts
Bond lost 21-26.
Where it was lost:
We definitely made a lot of individual errors, some that we haven’t made for a big part of the season. Costly errors, a lot of dropped ball and Easts got a lucky bounce and picked up an intercept try - they were our mistakes.
The Highlight:
Our scrum was really strong, and we earned three scrum penalties. I was very happy with this area of our game. Our ability to convert was also a factor. We got into their A zone only a couple of times, but we scored each time we made it in there.
What made you happy:
There was a set play off the line out that we had been practicing all week. One of these resulted in a try.
The work to do:
We just have to get the group really refocused and excited about the challenge ahead. Being back at home we think that will happen by default anyways. During the week we will focus on bringing the group together and having a bit of fun while also putting in the hard work at trainings. Get over the game just played and look forward to putting in the hard yards this weekend. We will just have to really get into working on our connection and focusing in on jobs.
Trademark Player:
Zeb Misios was really strong and impressive. He leads the way with his ball carrying and work rate. He is someone the boys can get behind and follow.
With Rico Gear