Round 1 vs Souths Match Report

by Ben Mitchell

Round 1 - GPS vs Souths: Saturday April 10th, Ashgrove Sports Ground, Yoku Road

Clear skies and little wind set up perfect conditions for a round one clash between the GPS Gallopers and Souths Magpies at Ashgrove Sports Ground. With a kick-off temperature of 32 degrees, fans and players were expecting a free-flowing and exciting game of rugby. Before the game commenced, Freddy Burke, a stalwart at prop for GPS, was congratulated for his 100th cap for the side.

The Gallopers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, taking a commanding 14-0 lead after just 16 minutes of action. A beautiful set play devised by the back line led the speedy right-winger Josh Collins over for the first try of the match, assisted by his fullback Patrick Nicholson playing up from his position. Following several dominant scrums by the GPS front pack early on, the Blue and Green were poised for another attacking opportunity with a lineout deep in the Souths 22. A well-executed rolling maul allowed Captain Michael Richards to easily cruise over the line for try number two.

Despite their rocky start, Souths snatched back some of the momentum with a huge turnover win by flanker Sean Farrell, proving to be a problem for GPS all game at the breakdowns. This allowed them to push the ball down the pitch, and after several phases the Magpies finally broke the advantage line of GPS as half back Jakob Morrison delivered an excellent offload to prop Phransis Sula-Siaosi for their first score.

A yellow card late in the first half for Souths tighthead prop Andrew Tuilagi had the Gallopers licking their lips for another score. Teti Tela broke through in the final minutes of the half off a well-worked set play by GPS, but the ball was knocked on by Patrick Nicholson behind some desperation tackling of the Souths back line, wrapping up the first half action.

The Magpies came out a different team in the second half, almost securing a stunning long-distance try in the first minute of action, but fortunately for GPS, left-winger Leone Cama just put a foot in touch. This did not waver the confidence of Souths however as they controlled the next 20 minutes of play with the return of prop Andrew Tuilagi from the sin bin.

After the Gallopers conceded several penalties inside their 22, Souths fullback Luke Samoa slotted two simple penalty goals to bring the score to 14-11 with 21 minutes left in the match.

As the tension started to build around the home fans, GPS needed to find that extra gear. A well structured attack led the Gallopers within metres of the try line, and slick work by half back Josh Vuta to find a small gap in the defence from the ruck earned him a try on his GPS debut.

From here the points began to pile on for GPS as replacement fly-half AJ Alatimu continually drove his team down the field with booming kicks. This set up a penalty goal 30 metres out for Alatimu, which he converted with ease, giving the Gallopers a 22-11 buffer.

Undoubtedly the play of the game came with 6 minutes left, off the back of a dominant scrum by the GPS front pack. Winger Josh Collins received the ball from Alatimu in full stride and blitzed through the Souths pairing of Cama and Samoa for an acrobatic try in the corner.

When the final whistle was blown, the score had GPS defeating Souths 29-11.

There were several standout players for the Gallopers; winger Josh Collins terrorised Souths with his lightning speed, scoring a brace. Alongside him, replacement fly-half AJ Alatimu made an immediate impact after being inserted in the game, controlling the tempo masterfully. Special mention must be made for the GPS forwards who maintained a powerful scrum throughout the game.