Season 3, Round 1: Spartans vs. Sharks @ The Hot Gates (vBookie)

The ball slowly comes out of the maul, and the Sharks look to rearrange their defensive line. Very quick hands there from Cribb. Out to Loughman, no look pass straight to Orr. I can’t see the Sharks stopping this. Blunder runs on, good pass from Orr...

And yes, Blunder is over. Great move from the Spartans. All came from solid work at the maul.

Tough conversion from out here. Wide on the right. Loughman takes his time. But it’s a good kick

Spartans 7 – 0 Sharks

 

24:00 Poor stuff there from Verigotta. To be fair to him, it was a poor pass from Bakkum, but a player of Verigotta’s calibre should have been able to pick that one up. He left the ball behind and Ritchie, who’d been lining up to tackle Verigotta comes through with the steal. Simon Laing recovers things for the Sharks, with an exceptional tackle on Ritchie. He nailed him there, the ball comes loose and that’s a knock on. Orr comes through and gets to the ball first, so no advantage there. Scrum time.

 

Great contact from the Spartans, and they’re pushing the Sharks back. A hint of early engagement there, maybe? No, the ref’s not interested. The Spartans trundle over the ball, and that’s a turnover. Cribb takes the ball and runs at the defensive line. He’s tackled. There’s a massive pile-up here. Bodies strewn all over the place.

 

Oh dear. This doesn’t look good. Simon Laing has collapsed in agony. He’s clutching his hamstring. On come the trainers as play continues. Davis with the ball. He makes a couple of yards before being tackled by Verigotta. Ritchie and Eggman secure ball for the Spartans. Eggman takes it under his arm and tries to drill through the defence. No luck. McDougal in there immediately with another tackle. Davis & Deane ensure the Spartans retain the ball.

 

The ball comes out to Orr. He’s seen some space on the far side of the pitch, and he’s gone for a little kick into that space. Blunder comes running over, but the ball dribbles out of the sideline beyond the try line. What a waste.

Finally, a break in play allows the Sharks to regroup. Simon Laing is being stretchered off. It doesn’t look good for him. Dexter Astele comes on to replace him.

 

Astele not available for the Landsharks, btw, as he'll have played >40 minutes.

 

36:45
Deane with the ball 20m on the Sharks side of the half way line. He’s tackled by Yates. Good tackle, and bodies pile into the ruck.

It’s hard to see what’s going on here, but the ball’s very slow in coming. The ref’s looking very closely at this. Yes, he’s blown his whistle. Sam Graham pinged for hands in the ruck. The ref’s already warned them, but he’s not hitting them for it. He calls over the captain and again has a word with him. Last warning I suspect.