My Sporting Weekend: Rugby LEaster

My Sporting Weekend 21-25^th April 2011:

Warm-Up's:

Co-Operative Championship (Rugby League):

Dewsbury Rams V Batley Bulldogs, The opening match of a bumper Easter weekend of sport, especially for rugby league. Dewsbury had a good start to the game, and even though they were playing into the sun they were leading 8-0 after a try from Elliot Cosgrove and a conversion and penalty from Dominic Brambani. But after 20 minutes forward Anthony England was sent off, pretty harshly, for lashing out at a Batley player. Batley then pretty much dominated the rest of the half and eventually got their first score on 30 minutes when David Tootill went over and they then took the lead just before half-time when Jason Walton scored.

Dewsbury also opened the scoring in the 2nd half with Brambani going over after Batley conceded a penalty for a high shot, but Batley responded with 3 more trys, with Dane Manning, Danny Maun and Alex Brown all scoring. Rob Spicer scored for Dewsbury with 5 minutes to go, to get them within 10 points of Batley, but they couldn't get another and the game finished with George Flanagan scoring for Batley to deny Dewsbury the losing bonus point.

Even though they were down to 12 men after 20 minutes Dewsbury played well in defence and even though Batley had most of the possession Dewsbury kept forcing errors so they never ran away with the game.

Engage Super League (Rugby League):

Bradford Bulls V Leeds Rhinos, A packed Odsal Stadium saw the regular Easter match-up of Bradford Bulls taking on local rivals Leeds Rhinos and 7 minutes into the match Patrick Ah Van had a fantastic catch off a Marc Herbert high kick to get the opening try of the game, and 3 minutes later Andy Lynch went over to get the Bull's 2nd try. Paul McShane got Leeds back in the game, on 26 minutes, after going over from dummy-half, and Jamie Jones-Buchanan used his upper-body strength to fight off 2 Bradford defenders and get the ball down to score Leed's 2^nd try on 36 minutes to draw the score level at 10 all.

Olivier Elima got his 1^st score 7 minutes into the 2^nd half, getting Bradford's 3^rd try, but Leed's Keith Senior responded 6 minutes later, scoring after breaking going through 2 tackles, and Ryan Hall got another Leed's try 4 minutes later to take the lead. Elima then got his 2^nd try to level the scores again, at 22 all, but after a Bradford played blocked off Jones-Buchanan Kevin Sinfield scored the resulting penalty to take the lead again and on 77 minutes Danny Buderus went from dummy-half and around the post to get Leed's 5^th try and seal the win. Leed's played well in the 2^nd half, stepping up their game, and not letting Bradford get too much momentum and allow them back into the game.

Wigan Warriors V St Helens, this was played in front of a sold out DW stadium and had a fast, exciting and end-to-end start. Micheal Shenton got the first try on 13 minutes for Saint's, after a Iosia Soliola offload, Gary Wheeler made a break through the Warriors defensive line and released Shenton for the score. The game was then pretty even but after a couple of good breaks from James Roby and Jonny Lomax, Jamie Foster went over down the left wing to extend the Saints's lead on 25 minutes. Just before half-time Sam Tomkins had a good run across the Saints's defensive line, before winger Josh Chandley went over for the Warriors first try of the game, after receiving what looked like a forward pass.

5 minutes into the 2^nd half Pat Richards got his 1^st try of the season down the left wing to open the scoring for the half for the Warriors and they then look the lead 4 minutes later when Charndley went over after a nice inside pass, round his back, from Joel Tomkins. Richards then got his 2^nd try as the Saints sliding defence couldn't get across fast enough to further extend their lead. Wigan had dominated the start of the 2^nd half but on 64 minutes Foster went over for his 2^nd try, after a Wigan player gave away a penalty on half way, to get Saints within 6 points, and youngster Thomas Makinson drew the scores level when he went over for Saints 4 minutes later. On 71 minutes Wigan's Brett Finch had a poor drop-goal attempt before Saints went up the other end, after Shenton stole the ball off Sam Tomkins, then George Carmont gave away a penalty, for being offside, and Foster converted. Wigan then had some sustained pressure on the Saints goal-line, and the Saints defence couldn't hold out as Liam Farrell went over with 50 seconds left to win the game for Wigan 28-24.

Catalan Dragons V Bradford Bulls, as the game started it became extremely hard game to watch due to the constant loss of picture, due to thunder storms in the area around Perpingan. The Dragons got the opening score on 12 minutes after winger Ben Farrar spun out of a tackle and found a gap in the Bulls defensive line and went over. After half an hour Sky coverage disappeared all together with the channel then showing Sky Sports News. Pictures returned at half time and we learnt that Heath L'Estrange had gone over and have a try awarded by the video ref on 32 minutes as well as both teams having a player sin-binned, Paul Sykes for the Bulls and Sebastien Martins for the Dragons. After a scrappy start to the 2^nd half Scott Dureau slotted over a penalty kick on 48 minutes after Bradford gave away successive penalty's and the Dragon's then had another played sin-binned after Greg Mounis gave away a penalty for holding down, which Patrick Ah Van converted, on 57 minutes. From that point both teams had missed penalty and drop-goal attempts and the game was played out to a pretty dire 8-8 draw. The game started off ok but as the rain fell errors came into the game and both teams found it hard to hold onto the ball, as well as keeping their footing, the pitch seemed to cope well with the rain, draining fast, and leaving very little standing water, but it was the players that found it hard to cope, giving away too many silly penalty's and winding up referee Steve Ganson who probably awarded too many penalty’s and didn't really take the conditions into account for some decisions.

NRL (Rugby League):

Wests Tigers V Brisbane Broncos, English international Gareth Ellis was playing in his 3^rd game since returning from a ankle injury, and his 50^th overall for the Tigers, but it was the Broncos, after a good start, who got the 1^st score with a nice leap and catch from winger Jharal Yow Yeh, and an easy touch down, after a high bomb from Darren Lockyer, on 20 minutes and 3 minutes later the video ref gave the Broncos their 2^nd try, after Alex Glenn slid over and just got the ball down. The Broncos got their 3^rd try on 28 minutes when Sam Thaiday went over, after a fantastic run from Yow Yeh, breaking through at least 4 tackles, got the Broncos down the pitch. With only the Tigers 2^nd decent chance of the game they got their first try on 32 minutes after Tim Moltzen broke through the Broncos defence and went over. The Tigers then got some momentum, and the crowd got behind them, but after Beau Ryan made a mistake in defence, losing the ball in a tackle, Peter Wallace picked up the loose ball and went over for the Broncs 4^th try and just before half time Lockyer completed the 1^st half scoring with a field goal to end the half with a lead of 25-6.

During the 1^st half the Broncos pretty much controlled the game and never allowed Tigers play-maker Benji Marshall to feature, or get any sustained possession in the Broncos half.

The Broncos started the 2^nd half well, but after a mistake from Yow Yeh the Tigers got the ball back and on 7 Minutes, after the Tigers won a penalty within 5 meters of the Broncos goal-line, Robert Lui got his arm between 2 Broncos players and got the ball down to give the Tigers a glimmer of hope of getting back in the game. The Tigers then won successive penalty’s within 20 meters of the goal-line and, after they spread the ball from right to left, Moltzen went over for his 2^nd try of the game, amid a protest from Lockyer about Corey Parker being taken out by a dummy runner. On 67 minutes Lockyer went over, down the right side, to extend the Broncos lead to 13 points meaning that the Tigers needed 3 scores to take the lead, and from that point the Tigers never looked like scoring with the game finished 31-18 to the Broncos.

Again the Broncos dominated the 2^nd half, and never looked like losing the lead they built up in the 1^st half, and apart from a 10 minute spell when they got their 2 try's the Tigers were never in the game and didn't really create that much within 20 meters of the Broncos goal-line. The Broncos would have being disappointed letting in 3 try's as they have the best defence in the competition, but before this game the most points they had scored in a game was 24 so at least they have improved their ability to score.

Melbourne Storm V New Zealand Warriors, the Storm started the game with 4 back-to-back sets and got the 1^st try on 4 minutes with Beau Champion going over, but after that the Warriors had most of the territory and possession and they eventually scored on 22 minutes with some assistance from the video ref. Krisnan Inu got the loose ball and went over after a good kick from Brett Seymour into the corner was not dealt with by the Storms's Matt Duffie. After scoring a penalty, they then got their 2^nd try 7 minutes later when Jacob Lillyman went over after after taking the short ball from Aaron Heremaia out of dummy half and their 3^rd try came on 32 minutes, Storm's Anthony Quinn made a good tackle on Ukuma Ta'ai, but the ball ricocheted loose and Michael Luck dabbed it down in the in-goal area. The Storm finished the half with a penalty that Cameron Smith slotted over. As the half went on mistakes crept into the Storm's game and they found it hard to deal with the high bomb, as well as finding themselves out of position when the Warriors made breaks.

The Storm got their 2^nd try 4 minutes into the 2^nd half with Cooper Cronk going over after Gareth Widdop kicked over and Billy Slater tapped back. The 2^nd half was a lot more competitive with both teams having about equal possession and territory and even though their was no more points scored it was thrilling match when the Storm decided to play and get back in the match, but it was the unfavoured Warriors who came out on top, winning 18-14.

Barclays Premier League:

Manchester United V Everton, United dominated the match having 60% the possession and 21 shots, but only Javier Hernandez looked like scoring, and did so on the 84^th minute after getting on the end of a Antonio Valencia cross. Everton played well in defence, not really letting United into the final third of the pitch, but it was their midfield that was poor, not being able to hold the ball up or move the ball forward into the United half. They were slightly better though in the 2^nd half after Tim Cahill replaced Diniyar Bilyaletdinov at half time, but they were still not good enough to keep out the constant onslaught on their goal, and it was only a matter of time until United got a goal.

Bolton Wanderers V Arsenal, The 1^st half was pretty competitive with both teams making some good chances and Bolton went into halftime with the lead after Daniel Sturridge slotted in after Samir Nasri couldn't properly clear the ball away from the goal line from a Gary Cahill header off a corner. The 2^nd half started with Bolton on top and with only 2 minutes gone they won a penalty after Johan Djourou caught Sturridge, who went down easily, but Kevin Davies's shot was poor and Wojciech Szczesny saved quite easily. And within a minute Arsenal had equalised with Robin Van Persie scoring after playing a nice 1-2 with Cesc Fabregas on the edge of the area. From that point on Arsenal had Bolton pinned in their own half, as they looked to take the lead, but they only had 1 shot on target, with Nasri finding the Bolton keeper, Jussi Jaaskelainen. Then on 90 minutes Tamir Cohen headed in off a Matthew Taylor corner to give Bolton the lead and end Arsenal's chances of wining the league. Arsenal had enough possession, but their shooting was poor, with only 6 hitting the target all game, Bolton were a bit lucky to come away with the win, but they played well in defence keeping Arsenal out and Sturridge had a good game getting involved to create a couple of good chances, as well as having a few shots himself.

Evo-Stik League South:

Sheffield FC V Romulus, Sheffield put on a poor display for their final home game of the season as they lost 3-1 to Romulus, a poor pass back led to FC's keeper, Dan Whatsize, taking out Romulus's Marvin Johnson, and giving away a penalty that Nathan Walker easily converted. FC got the equaliser on 21 minutes when Andy Gascoigne volley past the Romulus keeper from 10 yards out, Sheffield then had some more possession and a few more chances but they couldn't take the lead. Romulus started the 2^nd half well, and look the lead again after 7 minutes with Johnson scoring a siomple volley off a good cross. From that point they never looked like losing the game, as FC found it hard to keep up with them, and on 67 minutes they got their 3^rd, after Whatsize made a good save the ball rebounded to Robert Evans who slotted in easily from close range. After that both teams had a few more chances, but their were no more goals, as both teams seasons fizzled towards the end.

Main Event:

Engage Super League (Rugby League):

Hull FC V Hull KR, the big city derby and the only real true derby regularly played in the Super League. KR have had an eventful week with star player and their big signing for the season Willie Mason being de-registered with Michael Dobson, returning from injury, taking his place on the foreign player quota, and it looks like Mason may be on his way to French rugby union side Toulon, after meeting with their president in the week, and after only playing 6 games for KR. FC have also had some player news with Martin Gleeson signing, and making his debut, after being released from Wigan for disciplinary issues. After a poor start to the season the FC fans turned out in large numbers, as well as a good following for KR, for an attendance just short of 20,000 at the KC Stadium, and the FC fan would not have been disappointed with a fantastic performance from their team.

FC's Kirk Yeaman got the opening try of the game, on 3 minutes, after a Tom Briscoe run opened up KR's defence and left space down the left wing for Yeaman to go over, but KR responded 5 minutes later with Matt Cook going over down the center after FC gave away a penalty on half-way. On 21 minutes KR's Ben Cockayne made a fantastic effort to tackle over the goal line but could not stop Sean Long touching the ball down to get FC's 2^nd try but after a good cut-out pass from Dobson, Kris Welham went over and Dobson converted to level the scores on 27 minutes. Gleeson got his 1^st try for FC after they worked the ball from left to right and had the numerical advantage down the left wing, Gleeson broke through a tackle and went over for FC to be leading 16-12 at half-time. During the 1^st half Long kept using cross-field kicks to put KR's young winger Sam Latus under pressure, but FC could not take advantage of the occasions when he did make a mistake.

FC dominated the 2^nd half possession and had a good period of pressure in the KR half, after forcing 2 consecutive drop-outs, but Gleeson was unable to get the ball down as KR full-back Cockayne make a big effort to get across and dislodged the ball with his knee as he was going over. They then had 2 more cross-field kicks into the left corner with FC players coming up with the ball both times, but on both occasions they were short when putting the ball down, but they eventually scored after Richard Whiting went over down the left wing. after getting past KR winger Latus. With 10 minutes to go KR had a good break and got within 20 meters of the FC goal-line, for only the 2^nd time in the half, and after a short inside pass from Blake Green, Cockayne went over unchallenged to get back within 4 points of FC. But a few minutes later Mick Vella gave away a penalty just short of 20 meters out in front of the posts and Danny Tickle slotted it over for FC to extend their lead by 2 points and after winning a penalty on halfway for interference FC worked the ball down the center and on the 5^th tackle they gave the ball to Long who shaped up for the drop-goal, but ran it instead and after a good run and off load from Willie Manu, Yeaman went over for his 2^nd try to seal the win for FC, and then Tom Briscoe completed the scoring against a tired KR defence after they outnumbered them down the left hand side, for a final score of 36-18.

Hull FC pretty much dominated the game, but it wasn't until the last 5 minutes when they ran away on the scoreboard as Hull KR played well is defence, but they didn't really create very much going forward.

Cool-Down's:

Sheffield Eagles got their 5^th win in a row to extend their unbeaten run, but dropped down to 3^rd in the table, after only playing 1 game over Easter, with Leigh and Batley going above them and without another league game for 3 weeks hopefully they won't lose their momentum and keep the run up against an, as yet, unbeaten Leigh side on the 15^th of May.

My Sporting Weekend

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Rugby LEaster

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