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2024 NSW Shute Shield Grand Final: Eastern Suburbs finally tasted premiership victory in 55 years following a one point win by 36-35 over Northern Suburbs at Leichhardt Oval

by Sports Benches

After 80 minutes of Shute Shield Grand Final rugby of 2024, we saw another new winner since Randwick lost the Week 2 Finals last weekend. But today’s moment was all about the Eastern Suburbs who just ended their long 55-year drought since 1969 over the Northern Suburbs by one point, 36-35. 

To begin with, Norths had some close battles earlier on when they led for a bit at one stage but Easts dominated most of the first half pie by 16 points, 29-13. 

Now Norths began to play catch-up while Easts able to extend their lead a bit further on the scoreboard as this 20-30 min grand final came down to a close two-horse race towards the final front stretch where one will win & another will have to watch on with disappointment at the finish line. 

In the end, that unfortunate last-minute TRY attempt by Norths was ruled as knocked-on by the ref when they were one point shy off the lead sums up this season-ending match, with Easts finally able to taste grand final winning glory for the first time in a very long time. 

Congrats with the win by the way to Easts where they’ve got excellent players with some of their brilliant youngsters on the books at the Tahs while Norths came from a long way who knows what it takes to succeed in Finals footy from 6th spot.

Easts No.10’s Jack Bowen had a whirlwind 2024 from overseeing the Easts’ unbeaten campaign including today’s long-awaited Grand Final triumph to making some Super Rugby appearances for the NSW Waratahs. Gotta say he demonstrated excellent creativity that is paramount to the Easts’ counter-attack where you got some excellent wide players and forwards around him through the gate. We’ve that before when he was earning his stripes and like Teddy Wilson, he came back as a better player – more to come as the Tahs future 1st choice No.10.

Here’s another standout Easts player that you need to know and it’s Jamie Adamson from England who also put in a championship-winning display on the blindside No.6. Yes, he’s plying his trade here normally for work on weekdays but glad he brings top level World 7s experience from both England and Team GB to Easts that benefitted his team-mates & some juniors coming through the ranks. He was simply destructive with his towering height and physical skillsets both in attack and defense where Jamie nailed it right there to help steer his Easts clear off Norths.

And Norths outside midfield 13 Henry O’Donnell did the best he can to try and crack the code once again on what has been his second straight Shute Shield grand final at the same Leichhardt Oval venue. There’s a reason or two why Western Force wanted him under former Norths coach Simon Cron where he was blessed with the service being given on the counter-attack via his excellent running when looking for space & the way he beats defenders which is the same when being tested defensively. Yes, so unlucky when their reserve hooker just couldn’t nail it down at the in-zone but poor ball retention every time Norths lost/gave the ball away is what really consigned them to another Shute Shield runner-up finish of 2024.

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Rugby

Mark Nawaquanitawase’s 2nd Half double TRY for the Waratahs was cancelled out by the Blues fightback response & Zarn Sullivan’s match-winning drop-goal at Leichhardt Oval

by Sports Benches

What a game to look back from last night when I had the chance to watch the Waratahs v Blues on-site at Leichhardt Oval. It was a quiet first-half by both teams where the Tahs made plenty of chances going forward but without any score, while the Blues were held back by a series of lost penalties & ill-discipline before they took a late three-point penalty goal ahead of half-time.

The 2nd half though was wild where the Tahs led the way courtesy of Mark Nawaquanitawase’s sensational double tries that almost shocked the reigning Super Rugby Trans-Tasman champions. But in the end, the Blues were the better team; Not only responded really well, but they never gave up until the very end where that sensational drop-goal from Zarn Sullivan was enough to secure them the win, 17-20.

Unlucky from the Waratahs with the narrow loss here last night at Leichhardt Oval. The Tahs got the breakthrough they needed with the renewed momentum after half-time where Mark Nawaquanitawase scored a double TRY from his own end on the right-wing. However, they just couldn’t get the best of executions despite plenty of chances being created in the first-half off the back of a good defensive structure & winning penalties. That one huge weakness, as well a small lead just wasn’t enough for the Tahs to fend off the Blues towards the homestretch.

And congratulations to the Blues who snatched the win at the last minute that sent the Tahs supporters a huge blow on their home turf. They were lucky to get away from a dangerous Tahs attack when Ill-discipline stalled their progress in the first-half, as the Blues lost Adrian Choat & Akira Ioane to the naughty chair for a while at one point. It almost came back to bite them when Mark Nawaquanitawase’s double TRY gave the Blues some alarm bells to turn around in a race against time. But a change of tactics including some fresh faces off the bench helped the Blues respond to this fight, before Zarn Sullivan’s increased kicking responsibilities was enough to leave Leichhardt Oval with the win via a three-point drop goal.

So the Tahs will now face the Chiefs from Waikato on early Saturday afternoon instead of the 3rd placed Brumbies in the Quarter-Final if it’s not for that heartbreaking defeat. Meanwhile, the Blues will find out tonight on who they will face their 8th placed opponent for Quarter-Final No.1 on Friday; Is it the Western Force if the Melbourne Rebels can answer their favour v Highlanders as long as their opponents don’t take the bonus point, or the Highlanders beat the Rebels that will leave the Force outside the Top 8 Playoffs bubble.

The final game of the regular Super Rugby Pacific between the Rebels v Highlanders will take place on 2pm this afternoon at AAMI Park in Melbourne, while I will continue my big sporting weekend today at Sydney Motorsports Park in Eastern Creek, NSW, for the ARG SpeedSeries.

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Top 3 players from the Waratahs v Blues Game in Week 15 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific

by Sports Benches

Luke Romano left Leichhardt Oval tonight with lots of hard work on his sleeve at No.4 (second row position) for the Blues. He still has so much physicality to unpack alongside his vast World Cup and All Black winning-experience at the age of 36 which is amazing. All he did tonight was protecting his team’s defensive line, as well as being a huge presence going forward so the Blues know where to score through the gate. And having talked a bit about leadership a bit earlier on, he’s good at talking them up especially when passing over his word to these youngsters. Not only it helped the Blues respond to the Tahs’ double try from Mark Nawaquanitawase in the 2nd 40, but he also inspired his side with the win they wanted at the last minute.

The next Blues player after Romano is Zarn Sullivan who wears the No.15 shirt at full-back. He’s gotta be the complete package here; he’s very mobile with the pace where he bursts his way through the channels, as well as being able to track back and tackle in defensive mode, and most importantly, his kicking accuracy. He also credits the Blues change of tactics in the last 40 with a couple of fresh faces off the bench, and him replacing Jock McKenzie as the leading kick taker, whether it’s via line outs or taking a shot towards the goalpost. That favoured kicking responsibilities was also another good reason why the Blues never stopped fighting with an extra edge of a few successful two-point conversions, until Sullivan secured his drop goal moment not long after the final hooter delivered his Blues team a game-winning result.

And we can’t get enough of Mark Nawaquantawase’s finishing on the wide right for the Waratahs. His back-to-back tries helped his side lead at one point with credit from the renewed momentum following the half-time break. However, he wishes that more of executions would’ve been done at the start, despite creating numerous chances that was gifted from these winning penalties. Unfortunately, it’s one huge weakness that puts so much pressure to stop the Blues defensively before it’s too late when Zarn Sullivan broke their hearts.

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Rugby

Rugby News, Top 3 players from the NSW Waratahs v Hurricanes Game in Week 13 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific

by Sports Benches

Ardie Savea worked so hard tonight at Number 8 for the Hurricanes, especially during the 2nd half when his side came from 15-0 down at the break to a 18-22 win in the end. He made the most out of his game by smashing his way through the Waratahs defensive half where A. Savea is best served there with the Canes’ attacking contribution. That way, he helped the Canes find some space via the offload or talk-up before the job is done with a TRY assist to Bailyn Sullivan and also a TRY by himself. And it goes to show that Ardie loves to attack when the opposition began to falter; it gave the Canes a number of winning penalties, as well as more opportunities with the ball that reflects his match-winning performance.

Next up is another Canes spotlight player in Tevita Mafileo, who made a decent impact off the bench from the 34th minute, in place for Xavier Numia at loosehead prop. He has lots of physicality to unpack thanks to his impressive tall build, as well as the youth and talent by his side that helped Mafileo punish the Tahs. It’s important when it comes to his defensive contribution, especially in the 2nd half where the Tahs only secured a penalty goal on top of the opposition team’s red-hot 1st half spell. He can also be a great protector & communicator of the Canes attack going forward, where he made sure that his side were able to pick up valuable points which played a huge part of their comeback win tonight.

And Izaia Perese offers a lot of pace and physicality down in the outside centre role at the Tahs No.13 jersey. He credits his support runners who helped get the best out of him, such as the Charlie Gamble; having squared off 1 or 2 Canes defenders before Dylan Pietsch came to his rescue with the five-point score ahead of half-time. Unfortunately, not only the Tahs 2nd-half spell wasn’t the same over declined momentum and ill-discipline; he was also forced to leave the field early over a MCL injury where Perese will have to sit out for a few weeks. Without him, it just won’t be the same where he’s an very important player at the Tahs with some NRL experience.

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Rugby

Rugby News Australia, Hurricanes came from a scoreless first-half spell to haunt back the Waratahs with the win at Leichhardt Oval

by Sports Benches

It was a brilliant Saturday Night match-up at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney between the NSW Waratahs v Hurricanes in Week 13 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific. The home team fired off well with an easy 15-0 lead while the Canes struggled to get the ball rolling. However, the Canes began to make up lost time before they completed their remarkable rebound with the win, as the final score is 18-22.

Unlucky from the Tahs after they fell short by four points on their home turf at Leichhardt Oval. The fire off was fantastic in the 1st half where they accrued up to 15 points ahead of half-time, with two tries from Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco & Dylan Pietsch. But they just couldn’t hold off the momentum going into the last 40, especially when they failed to hold back the Hurricanes resurgence at their own defensive territory. A number of lost penalties and ill-discipline also let them down, especially when Paddy Ryan made a huge tackle on Jordie Barrett’s jaw in the 75th minute and had to be sent off with a straight red card which was disappointing. Not only that, they will also have to cope without their star centre Izaia Perese for a while after he was forced off with a MCL tear at the same time. The Tahs’ next match for Round 14 will be against the Highlanders next Sunday at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Meanwhile, how good was the Hurricanes on their comeback trail from a scoreless first-half to a unbelievable win away from home? Now they will still need to deal with the slow starts where the Waratahs exposed them with 15 points being conceded in the opening 40. But the way they made up lost time later on & be able to close it off with a win is such fantastic rugby to watch. There’s credit to their forward pack, especially with the 7 & 8s partnership on the back row from Du’Plessis Kirifi and Ardie Savea. A number of fresh faces off the bench also helped their cause, including Tevita Mafileo at loosehead, where the Canes were just simply a different beast this time around. They will return home to Sky Stadium in Wellington for their last regular-season home game of 2022 v Melbourne Rebels on next Saturday night.

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