Super W: Round 3
It’s been a little bit of a strange week for the Super W, with Western Force withdrawing from the competition due to the ongoing Covid outbreak in NSW, allowing players to return home to WA safely. The overriding feeling coming out of Rugby Australia and the Force is disappointment in having to take this action, but that safety and welfare of players and everyone else involved in the team takes priority.
That being said, there’s still a lot of rugby to be played and we are here to bring you a round up of the 3rd round of Super W Rugby fixtures.
Reds v Presidents XV
Ahead of the Reds v PXV clash it was hard to predict which way it would go. The Reds had managed to find a way to win against the Rebels last week without playing all that well, having lost fairly heavily to the Tahs in the previous round. PXV were coming into this one off the back of the first win in their history, a hard-fought result against the Brumbies that left them high in confidence with the wind in their sails.
The formbook suggested we would be in for a tight contest, but this was blown away pretty quickly with a relentless Reds performance. They got off the mark in the first 5 minutes through Carola Kreis, running a great supporting line inside.
The first half was a continuous flurry of unanswered Reds tries, with Destiny Brill, Ivania Wong, and 2 for Kauna Lopa. The half time score of 33-0 was fully deserved and it appeared there was no way back for PXV.
The second half continued in the same vain as the first, with Emily Bass after 10 minutes getting her first try of the season following a great offload from Melanie Wilks. Destiny Brill then ran in her second try of the afternoon through a simple pick and go off the back of a ruck, slipping through two soft tackles from PXV.
An hour into the game, PXV finally got themselves off the mark through Jasmine Huriwai. She gathered up and finished a nice Crossfield kick from Tylah Valance to ensure President’s didn’t walk away from the game with nothing. It was to prove a consolation try and their only score of the game though, with the Reds getting another try through Nat Wright. The final score was 54-5, with the Reds confirming their place in the Grand Final. A disappointing result for PXV, but this was a great first taste of Super W rugby this season for many of their young squad.
Waratahs vs Brumbies
The Brumbies had lost narrowly to the Presidents XV in their last fixture and were looking to get their season back on track, a tough task when faced with the 3-time Super W champions. For the Tahs, they were back playing again after their fixture with Western Force in the previous round was cancelled. Brumbies needed a large win to book their place in the finals.
The Waratahs started brightly, with Layne Morgan at scrum half showing speed of thought to take a quick tap penalty and getting the ball out wide to Bella McKenzie who ran a great line and raced over for a try within the first 5 minutes of the game.
The Waratahs then started to show their power up front with Grace Hamilton carrying off the back of a scrum from 5 metres out, only to he held up. There was a moment of confusion where the Layne Morgan appeared to have scored off a quick tap penalty, but the referee ended up reversing his decision and Tah’s opted for another scrum. Eventually, the ball made it out to Bella McKenzie who navigated her way through a scrambling defence for her second try of the game with a tidy finish.
Just before half time the Waratah’s struck again with McKenzie involved once more, breaking through a gap and drawing the defence before offloading to Maya Stewart. Stewart, who scored 4 tries in the opening fixture of the Super W, showed her pace to go past her opposite number and fly over the line. Half time score 19-3.
Stewart scored again 10 minutes into the second half, finishing tidily in the corner after a smart Waratahs move off the back of the scrum that drew in the Brumbies defence. There were no scores the rest of the game, with the Brumbies unable to create any momentum or chances and the Waratah’s unable to add to their tally. Final score 24-3, with the Tah’s confirming their place in the final against the Reds on Saturday.
