STUDENTS GIVEN TORRID TIME BY AUSSIES Scotland Students endured a torrid start to their Student Rugby League World Cup campaign, losing 96-0 to an impressive Australia side in their opening Group A game at the Provident Stadium in Bradford. The Australians demonstrated their pace and attacking abilities to the full in a game where they scored 17 tries without reply, which were shared among 12 different players. But the young Scots stuck manfully to their task throughout and were unlucky not to score at least one try themselves during a good spell of pressure early in the second half. The Scots got off to the worst possible start when Christina Wonka went over for the first try of the game inside three minutes, and after conceding further tries to Matt Waugh, Jamie Anderson and Gary Warburton before 20 minutes had elapsed, there was little doubt it was going to be a tough night. As half time approached, Josh Damen ran in his first two tries of the evening and the Scots went in 44-0 down at the break, but after conceding another try to Jamie Anderson four minutes after the restart, the Scots then enjoyed their best period of the game, and twice came close to crossing the line. A good move led to Paul Stewart finding Dan Macleod in space on the left wing, but the centre was bundled out of play a yard from the line. Moments later, another good set from the Scots created a chance for Calum Macdonald, but although he got over the line he wasn’t able to ground the ball before it squirmed from his grasp. The Scots had kept their opponents scoreless for around 15 minutes, but the Australians soon gained control again and got the scoreboard ticking over once more in the closing stages of the game, as the pressure finally told on the Scots. Scotland Head Coach Alan Davidson said afterwards: “I think the guys were a little bit overawed in the first half, but they got over that and we can take a lot of positives from the way we played against a very good side. “Looking back at the first half we were getting to the fifth tackle and stopping yardage, and it was individual errors that cost us a few tries. So we tried to cut that out in the second half, although it was difficult with the energy we had lost in the first half. “We got over the line and it was deemed not to be a try which was unfortunate for the guys, but we never gave up to the end, and that is all we can ask for. The start of the second half was a very positive period for us. We composed ourselves and started putting them under a bit of pressure and got a bit of a foothold in the game. But after that, they seemed to step up another gear and our energy levels were low due to all the tackling we had been doing. “The lads are disappointed because they know that they made some errors, although I don’t think there was as big a difference between the sides as the score on the scoreboard suggests. They enjoyed the occasion at Odsal and it’s not often they will get the chance to play against an Australian and a New Zealand side within the space of a week”. Scotland Students: Paul Stewart, Liam Mclaren, Dan Macleod, Aidan Holland, Alasdair McDougall-Stone, Martin McNiven, Louis Senter, Bobby Stables, Douglas Crighton, Sam Herron, Dan Turland, Nathan Delgado, and Callum Boyle. Substitutes: Nathan Johnstone, Gavin Reed, Neil Cully, Calum McDonald. Australia Students: Shannon Norford, Matt Waugh, Jamie Anderson, David Sheehan, Josh Damen, Michael Gavan, Cameron Bruest, Isaak Ah Mau, Dan Mahoney, Dan McCarthy, Gary Warburton, Kristian Wonka, Luke Muttoon. Substitutes: Casey Bromilow, Cam Copeland, Kareem Emara, Darcy Wright. Tries: Wonka, Waugh, Anderson (2), Warburton, Ah Mau, Gavan, Damen (5), Copeland, Sheehan, Norford, Muttoon, Emara. Conversions: Bruest (14)
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 14:05:47 +0000
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