^ You may be right
Looks like button shirt guy is grabbing Deegs' jersey to provide a tether to ground ...
^ You may be right
Looks like button shirt guy is grabbing Deegs' jersey to provide a tether to ground ...
: Think it was Simon Rabbitt Chief Business Officer at RA. Strange choice. I guess the rest of the executive must be too busy.
Incidentally, I loved how two players just happened to sit in front of the RA logo when they were having the “2019 NRC winners” photos taken at the end there. :D
When you still have a staff of over 100 to run one of the now minor codes in the country, some of them have to miss the junkets. A trip to Perth to present the trophy to a bunch of Sandgropers is an irritating chore rather than a junket and seats are limited on the gravy train these days. :P
Haven't watched the replay yet but I bet RA cut the live feed when Twiggy went to the mike!!!
Jeez Ecky, never let the fact get in the way of a good story
A great video taken just after the game ended, courtesy of Garth Venter https://www.dropbox.com/s/8tz0l7e5i1...final.mp4?dl=0
National Rugby Championship: Western Force win final against Canberra Vikings
WAYNE SMITH
SENIOR SPORT WRITER
6:21PM OCTOBER 26, 2019
The Western Force helped themselves to six tries to seal their first National Rugby Championship title in Perth on Saturday and in the process helped contribute no less than $600,000 to charity.
Force backer Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation had pledged $100,000 per try in the grand final to the 2019 Telethon Appeal for underprivileged children and the Force side responded to the challenge, scoring five second-half tries to seal a 41-3 victory over the Canberra Vikings at the UWA Sports Park.
It’s not that the Vikings were lacking any motivation themselves, with Forrest also pledging $25,000 for every Canberra try.
But it very quickly turned into a one-sided contest from the moment former Super Rugby hooker Heath Tessmann broke the line and got his arms free to feed fellow forward Fergus Lee-Warner for a try just 52 seconds into the second half.
Up to that point, it had been a hard-fought battle, although the warning signs came through just before the break when Force halfback Isaac Fines broke left from a scrum deep in the Vikings territory and was just about to dive for the try when Vikings winger Tom Wright knocked the ball from his hands.
It’s not as though the Vikings did not turn out their big guns for the occasion with no fewer than four Wallabies in their line-up, and unlucky World Cup trio Tom Banks, Pete Samu and Joe Powell appearing for the Canberra side, along with former Test lock Blake Enever.
Banks had an unhappy game, twice turning the ball over with high carries, failing to find touch with a penalty kick and then unluckily kicking the ball dead virtually from his own 22. But effectively all the Test stars were silenced by a Force defence which grew more energised as it became clear the title was heading West.
Captain Andrew Deegan — a player who perhaps could have been used in the World Cup campaign as well — led the Force with distinction from five-eighth, kicking five goals from seven attempts but generally showing a good appreciation of the situation.
Never was that more evident than in the 72nd minute when he took the ball deep but realised there was plenty of space in behind the Vikings line. He deftly kicked ahead with his left boot and Jonah Placid, the competition’s leading try-scorer, was also alert to the opportunity, sprinting at fullback to collect a favourable bounce for a stunning try, his 10th of the season.
Even former All Black lock Jeremy Thrush made a rare appearance on the scoresheet, trailing halfback Fines on the inside to collect the try that took the charity donation to the $500,000 mark. It was a fair reward for the man who dominated the lineout contest and certainly played his part in the scrum dominance the Force exercised throughout.
The Vikings were the first to score, with halfback Ryan Lonergan, who started ahead of Powell, kicking a 40m penalty goal in the 17th minute. But from the moment Tessman was driven over for his first try in the 30th minute, courtesy of the Force’s driving maul, momentum headed west and essentially stayed there for the remainder of the contest.
It was only 7-3 at halftime but — as it happens, fortunately for the underprivileged children — the Force were able to capitalise on the combinations and teamwork developed during the Global Rapid Rugby season to press home their clear advantage.
Certainly there were any number of Force heroes, with Tessmann prominent, and so too Brynard Stander, while centre Nick Jooste ran a terrific line onto Fines’s pass for the West’s third try.
The fact that Canberra restricted the Force to only one try in the first half and didn't score any of their own for the entire match, meant that the CHILDREN missed out on even more money! Therefore, Canberra HATES CHILDREN!
That's reason enough NOT to support Canberra; I mean, you don't HATE CHILDREN, do you?
Go the Force! (who are not evil CHILDREN-HATERS)
(Boo Clyne)