The U15s Parkes Boars travelled to Bicentennial Park Wellington for their round 17 match against Wellington.

The game commenced with a must win attitude. With a desire to get points on the board first. Alas a number of early handling errors and the percentage of ball to Wellington.

Wellington went over for their first try in the 5th minute and converted which was not the start Parkes wanted or needed.

The Parkes boys dug in and hit back with a great try from the captain, Zane Pearce and Brad Burrell converted with his first attempt for the day.

Wellington hit back and scored again within 2 minutes of the Parkes try but was unable to convert. In the 21 minutes Seth Pearce broke away from a break down and went over to keep Parkes in front with assistance from Brad Burrell who was on fire with his kicking.

Coming back from the half time break there was only two points separating the teams, but only minutes from the restart, Luke Wright went in for a try with Brad Burrell still kicking conversions. Captain Zane Pearce went in for his second try in 33rd minute with Bradley Burrell converting again.

Wellington hit back and with 4four minutes until full time Wellington was only four points behind and was putting pressure on the Parkes boys by hitting the advantage line time after time, but Parkes was able to hold them out with some of the best defence all season.

It must be said that the game was a very competitive and hard fought game with both teams playing great rugby, and the Parkes boys played to their full ability until the final whistle.

Parkes Boars ran out winners with a score line of 28 -24. 

The under 13s travelled to Narromine where they enjoyed a convincing 38-14 win over the young gorillas.

This weekend sees all Saturday games being played at North Parkes Oval with Juniors kicking off at 9:30am, with the Seniors kicking off at 11:40am.  Walla rugby is being hosted by Kinross Wolaroi School, Orange.

Parkes Under 11s Bathurst Gala Day

Despite bleak weather conditions the under 11s were out in force for the Bathurst gala day held at Scots College last weekend. With 14 players ready to do battle it was another great day of rugby.

The team’s first match against Wellington was a solid affair with the opposition sneaking in an early try. The group rallied quickly and showed plenty of determination to match it with their counterparts.

Gab Goodrick broke the defence on several occasions, but was quickly rounded up by the Wellington team.

Liam Moody controlled the back of the ruck and made a number of quick runs to sneak his through, but the defence stood strong. Campbell Scally in his second carnival this year was solid on the wing and threw himself at any-one who tried to get through.

At the half time break the boars were feeling the frost bite conditions and rubbed their hands briskly as the coaches emphasised for the team to have greater control at the ruck and for them to keep things simple.  

The second half was as tough as the first with the team trying everything in their power to cross the line. The Green twins Stirling and Hunter made a number of solid tackles to dominate the red backs. This was to no avail as the siren sounded as quickly as it began to close out the game giving them a 1-0 win.

With the sleep out of their eyes and food in their stomachs the team’s second match against Bathurst saw them lift to another level. Bathurst were first to score with a blind side play that caught the team napping. The boys regathered and slowly began to put their rugby skills into action. Perseverance paid off with Alex Delacy levelling scores through a strong dominant run.

This was a feature of Alex’s ability which also earned him player of the day.  The bigger Bathurst side came back with everything they could muster, but this did not deter the young boars. Xavier Scally worked hard in defence while Paige Duncan did her best to wrestle the ball in the mauls. At half time the score remained equal with the side lapping up instructions from the coaching staff. 

The battled continued in the second half where it at left off. Neither side was prepared to give in. Charlie Summerhayes tried in vain to slice through the opposition on a number of occasions; however the damp slippery ground gave him no favours.

The boys were disappointed when Bathurst scored in the corner, despite claims that the ball carriers foot had step over the side line.. Never-the –less the try was awarded and in true rugby spirit they steady themselves for the restart, knowing time was not on their side.

From the kick off James Osbourne charged forward with the ball well supported by the Alex and the Green twins. Cries from the sideline that there were only seconds to go, saw quick hands to Jordan Milne who powered through and dive at the line.

The referee wasn’t convinced, but quick thinking by Geordie Duncan saw him lunge forward and assist Jordan to finish off the movement. Both boys deciding they had added a half point each to tie the scores 2-2. Jordan also earned toughest on the field for his solid performance throughout the day.

The final match against Emus was as robust as the other matches. Highlights included some strong running by Jack Rice who levelled the score one a piece during the first half. The second half was very entertaining with several great facets of play.

New recruit Jack Skinner brought the crowd to their feet as he weaved and stepped his way to the line only to caught short. Unlike the last game there was no fairy tale finish, but the boys stood proud with the draw.

Coaches and parents  were very pleased to see the level of skill and improvement across the players and look forward to Orange this week.