Round 9 vs Brothers Match Report

by Ben Mitchell

Round 9 – GPS vs Brothers

Allsports Physiotherapy Hospital Challenge Cup

Saturday 5th June, Ashgrove Sports Ground, Yoku Road, Ashgrove

GPS look to conclude the first half of season fixtures with a win over long-time rivals Brothers Rugby Club. Fans well and truly showed out to support the Gallopers for this match, sprawled across Ashgrove Sports Ground in huge numbers. The day was also to celebrate the old boys who have been a part of GPS’s illustrious history, and they were honoured accordingly, as the team wore a heritage jersey inspired by the 1951 first grade side.

There’s not much to say about the games early stages, other than Brothers fullback Nathan Carroll kicking a penalty. Only a couple of minutes later, however, the boys in blue and white would strike again. A set play from the scrum drove them well over the advantage line around the 22. Fly-half Patrick James received the ball from the ruck and fired an inside ball to centre Hudson Creighton, who found a gap and stepped Josh Collins to score his team’s first try. Nathan Carroll made quick work of a simple conversion and put Brothers up 0-10 after 14 minutes.

GPS were on the back foot, and scrambling for an answer to Brothers fast start. They would find it in the 22nd minute, as territory gaining possessions would lead them to an attacking scrum 5 metres out. Nothing really came from the scrum, and it became a pick and drive battle between the forwards. As GPS inched closer, hooker Maile Ngauamo scooped it from the ruck and bulldozed his way through four Brothers defenders to score his first try of the season. Fly-half Jason Hofmeyr routinely kicked the conversion and brought the Gallopers to within striking distance, 7-10, in the 23rd minute.

The Gallopers really turned the pressure up from here, as only minutes later they were in control of possession 5 metres out. Several runs were thwarted from a strong Brothers defence, determined to keep their lead. 10+ phases passed before the witty half back Josh Vuta threw a dummy that froze his defender for a second, and dove under the tackle for a try between the posts. Hofmeyr slotted the conversion and gave GPS the 14-10 lead over Brothers with 29 minutes gone.

Near the death of the first half, GPS had drawn multiple penalties against Brothers in the rolling maul just 5 metres out, unfortunate not to see anyone yellow carded for their efforts. Despite the penalties stacking up for Brothers, the Gallopers were determined to score a try before halftime. One last rolling maul was formed from the lineout, and Maile Ngauamo found his hands on the pill. He spotted a favourable one-on-one matchup with winger Kamilo Guido on the blindside and ran straight at him, ploughing over for his second try. Hofmeyr, as he often does, made a difficult conversion look all too easy, putting GPS up 21-10 at the halftime break.

Brothers needed to come out with aggression to start the second half, and they did just that. A well-planned set-piece was formed at a lineout inside their own 50. They executed it to perfection, finding flanker and Reds star Fraser McReight flying through an open lane with the ball in hand. After several well-timed passes, right-winger Billy Bulley found his partner Kamilo Guido near the left sideline, who dove over for the try. Nathan Carroll stepped up and slotted a difficult conversion, bringing Brothers to within one score of GPS, 21-17, after 46 minutes of action.

The next 15 minutes would be dominated by the GPS forwards, winning six scrum penalties during this time, allowing Hofmeyr to kick the team closer and closer to the try line. Once again, Brothers were incredibly fortunate not to receive a yellow card for their repeated offences, referee Jordan Way being very lenient with them.

Several rucks after another dominant GPS scrum, lock Tuaina Tualima charged at the line, needing four Brothers defenders to bring him down. When he landed on the ground, he popped the offload back up to centre Teti Tela, who fell over the line for a try. Hofmeyr uncharacteristically missed the conversion, but the Gallopers were now up to two scores, 26-17 with 16 minutes to play.

Brothers gave it their all to get back into the game, forcing GPS turnovers and driving their way to inside the 22 for a potential try. However, flanker Matt Gicquel had other ideas. Winger Billy Bulley was left isolated with pilfering specialist Gicquel, and the reinforcements came too late, as referee Way blew the whistle for not releasing. This play undoubtedly sucked the life out of the Brothers team, and the crowd knew it, absolutely elated with the efforts of Gicquel.

With tensions now running high, a lengthy skirmish broke out between the sides, with a bit of pushing and shoving. Surely a yellow card was to be seen here, but Jordan Way gave both captains a stern warning, and let play continue.

In the 80th minute, Matt Gicquel would win another penalty for his side, clamping down on Fraser McReight with no chance of the ball coming back out. This sealed the win for the Gallopers, as Hofmeyr booted the ball in touch and the final whistle was blown, GPS winning 26-17 over Brothers.

There were several standouts on the day, obviously Matt Gicquel with his stymie defence down the stretch, ripping attacking opportunities away from Brothers. Flanker Ratu Vio broke through numerous tackles and made plenty of metres after contact, as we’re now accustomed to seeing. Josh Vuta controlled the tempo of the game masterfully, recycling the ball quickly from breakdowns and finding the right people in the attack. Once again, special mention must be made for the forward pack, with a dominant second-half performance at scrum time.

Next week the Gallopers will be heading on the road to face off against the Souths Magpies at Chipsy Wood Oval. GPS came out victorious in their round 1 battle, winning 29-11, and will be hoping to reproduce the same result. The boys would appreciate your support for this match, so make the drive to Annerley and steer them to victory!