Going into last week’s round with four teams vying for fourth spot, Parkes Boars Under 13s knew they needed a bonus point win to keep the pressure on the other teams.
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With this in mind, the junior Boars’ focus at training was to create space to play expansive rugby.
After a bye the week before, the Boars were keen to get back onto the field against the travelling Bathurst Bulldogs.
Electing to kick into a stiff breeze in the first half, Parkes sent the ball deep into the Bulldogs quarter to start the match.
Line speed in defence from Seth Pearce, Luke Wright and Jack Turner kept the bulldogs stuck in their 22.
An early turnover at the breakdown saw Parkes gain possession.
Vincent Reilly used his size and strength to charge over for the opening try.
Bathurst were shell-shocked from the early onslaught and returned the ball with a shallow kick-off.
Zane Pearce, playing in the uncustomary position of centre, took the ball on the full and charged into the Bulldogs forwards.
Footwork at the line and a turn of speed saw him break the line to score the second try of the morning.
Not to be out done, brother Seth Pearce was next to score after showing blistering pace.
A Further double to the ”rampaging bull “ Vincent Reilly, one to fly half Blake Medlyn and one to hooker Luke Wright saw the Boars well in control heading into the break up 41-0.
After a half-time reshuffle, Parkes were able to rest some of their bigger forwards.
This allowed the likes of Jack Turner and Jon Hands to take control of the ruck.
Both players got through a mountain of work at the breakdown.
Fly half Blake Medlyn found plenty of space to bamboozle the opposition.
With the defence at sixes and sevens, he off loaded the ball to flying fullback Will Blunt.
Blunt was able to link up with Zane Pearce who drew the defence before hitting Jon Hands with a pin-point pass.
Jon beat the fullback and unselfishly popped the ball to supporting Blair Smith to score for Parkes.
A dropped ball from the short kick-off gifted Bulldogs with some much needed possession.
They were able to hold the ball and maintain possession for the following five minutes.
A clever pilfer at the breakdown from Jack Turner gave Parkes the ball again.
The Boars then moved the ball down field through Jackson Mitchell, Jon Hands and Aaron Wright.
This gave the Parkes great field position deep in the Bulldogs quarter.
Bathurst were up to the challenge with gallant defence holding the Boars out.
Bulldogs counter-attacked the ruck and were able to steal the Boars ball.
Not wanting the opposition to get out of their 10, Parkes rolled up their sleeves and with good line speed and solid defence were able to trap Bathurst on their line.
A clearing kick from the Bathurst fly half was charged down by ”Jonny on the spot” Hands.
He caught the ball behind his back, spun around in the same motion to plant the ball over for a try, much to the amazement of all who were watching on the sidelines.
A further try to Aaron Wright saw Parkes run out easy winners 58-0.
Best for Parkes and earning the three points was lock Jack Turner who was tenacious in everything he did on the field.
Two points to freakish try-scorer Jon Hands and one point to the “rampaging bull” Vincent Reilly.
Players’ Player went to Luke Wright.
With three rounds of the competition remaining, Parkes Boars 13s are still well in the mix for finals contention.
Tomorrow sees Parkes at home against Mudgee Blue with the winner likely to take fourth spot in the finals series.
UNDER 17s
The Under 17 Boars started strongly, driving the Platypi back on their first kickoff and putting a lot of pressure on Forbes in their own half.
One minute into the match, Brodie Henderson stole the ball and put Alistar Kopp over next to the posts.
It was only two minutes later when Aron Peters found his way over the line after a number of strong attempts at the line earned Parkes a penalty five metres out.
From the next kick-off, James Sellings sent the ball downfield with Dylan Manks giving a great chase to regather the ball and score the Boars’ third.
Brodie Henderson scored the next try when he recovered a Chris Sellings kick and earn the Boars a bonus point just 12 minutes into the match.
Seven minutes later, Brodie scored again after a penalty near Forbes’ line.
The second half kicked off with Parkes spreading the ball from a lineout deep in their own half.
Mitchell Baker ran 70 metres to score.
Soon after, Alex Warren scored from a similar move albeit from a scrum in Forbes’ own half.
Forbes then hardened their defence and kept the Parkes onslaught at bay until James Sellings was rewarded for his effort and great play with a try of his own.
James then made the difficult conversion to finish with seven from eight attempts for the day.
Final score was 54-7 to complete a comprehensive Boars victory..
Parkes dominated all areas of the game, with the tight five strong at every scrum and the lineout taking a great amount of the opposition’s ball.
Work at the breakdown was a strength in what was a complete performance from the entire team.
Alex Warren earned three Best and Fairest points, Brodie Henderson two with Will Haskell and Caleb Allen earning one each.
Mitch Baker was Players’ Player.
WALLA RUGBY
UNDER 7s
Under 7 parents gasped in horror at the forthcoming laundry nightmare as they approached the Orange Emus rugby fields, with barely a blade of grass to be seen amidst the vast plains of soft mud.
The excited young Parkes Boars and Piglets were naturally in their element however, providing an ideal environment to surmount their opponents from Orange, Bathurst, and Canowindra.
A total of six games were played by the two Parkes outfits, enthusiastically lead by coaches Richard Rice and Brett Pinkstone, who have both experienced far worse playing conditions in their combined rugby careers.
Spectators were treated to an impressive display of evolving rugby skills well beyond the years of this most junior age group.
Passing amongst the team was frequent and accurate, leaving the opposition guessing where the ball was going next.
Jack Pinkstone added a new dimension to the game, spontaneously adding a kicking element with an intelligent chip and run which he quickly pursued across the line.
Holly Duncan performed brilliantly all morning with perfect discipline in defence as well as gaining many valuable yards when in attack.
Her brother Riley Duncan showed great prowess on and off the field, and is a player not to be underestimated in the future.
Angus Johns and Lachlan Reynolds stepped up to the mark, making quantum leaps in their performance which did not unnoticed by team management.
Both players were particularly quick off the mark in defence, leaving little manoeuvring opportunities for the opposition.
When in possession of the ball, Lachie and Gus impressed their team mates with blistering sideline runs, leaving streams of mud in their wake.
Despite the sticky conditions, Parkes executed a try-scoring rampage with points scored by Jack Pinkstone (7), Flynn Thompson (6), Sam Rayner (5), Zac Guy (4), Aidan Rayner (3), Ashton Scally (2), as well as Henry Rice, Liam Middleton and Tomas Scally.
The highlight of the day was a debut-try to Oliver Hayes, who scored a desperate but very impressive corner-post try on the final siren.
Performance awards for the Boars were awarded to Sam Rayner and Aiden Rayner for their faultless display of rugby all morning.
Awards for exemplary performance in the Piglets outfit were earned by Angus Johns and Lachlan Reynolds for their exceptional work rate and dedication to the task.
With the work of the young Boars and Piglets done for the day, their dedicated parents’work was only about to begin.
With half of Orange Shire stuck to the boots of their little heroes, many hours of showering, washing and scrubbing were ahead prior to fronting at a probably drier Trangie next week.
UNDER 9s
In what can only be described as a carnival of mud sweat and tears, the Under 9s Walla rugby Boars had a tough day in bog like conditions at Orange last weekend.
While the players were caked in mud from head to toe, the mothers shed a tear thinking of the washing ahead.
The day started poorly with Parkes only managing to field eight players against Cowra who proved too superior in the gluggy conditions.
The team found it difficult to move forward and keep up with Cowra’s defiance to the mud.
Notable players were Xaivier Scally who played strongly, scoring the only Parkes try of the match.
Nat Francis made several strong runs and Ashton Bennie tried to involve himself in everything.
Jack Rice also chimed in with some good running and work in defence.
Game two against Canowindra was a more evenly matched affair with the presence of Malakai Folou arriving to lift the team’s spirits.
He took no time to make several good runs only to be pulled short of the line on a number of occasions.
The team threw the ball around to avoid being drowned at the bottom of the rucks, but with no dry spots they continually found themselves stuck, struggling to maintain possession.
Despite Canowindra scoring three tries to none, the boys deserved plenty of praise.
Xavier Lasserre tried vainly to get the ball by falling on anything that moved.
Geordie Duncan was consistent in defence and his usual busy self.
Xavier Scally once again worked hard throughout the game.
The final match against Bathurst Gold proved to be just as exciting despite the Boars finishing 6-2 behind.
The game saw plenty of rugged defence and passing from the Boars.
Some good running by Malakai and Nat helped gain valuable metres.
Strong defence by Cambell Scally and Ash Bennie helped to slow down the opposition.
Geordie Duncan scored a good solo try through his persistence to stay on the ball and harass the opposition players near their line.
Try of the Game went to Jack Rice who made a good lengthy run in one boot, with the mud refusing to let go of the other as he swooped on the ball to race away and score.
The Player of the Week went to Xavier Scally while Ash Benny picked up the Toughest on Field.
Xavier Lasserre came away with Most Improved while Jack Rice picked up Try of the Week.
The junior boars will play their final home game of the season on Saturday at Northparkes Oval with kick off at 9.30am.