Round 10 vs Souths Match Report

by Ben Mitchell

Round 10 – GPS vs Souths. Saturday 12th June, Chipsy Wood Oval

GPS begin the second half of their season on the road against the Souths Magpies, who they bested 29-11 in round 1. The Magpies will be looking to put up more of a fight against this Gallopers side, as the 7-1 record proves GPS are one of the premier teams in the competition.

Souths came out with conviction in the early going, as prop Andrew Romano peeled off the rolling maul and ran through Josh Vuta to score the first try. Fullback Luke Samoa converted and put the Magpies forward 0-7 after 9 minutes.

The Gallopers responded immediately, executing a set piece perfectly from the attacking scrum. 15 metres out, the ball found Jason Hofmeyr near the wing, who launched a pass out to uncovered winger Maaloga Konelio, running in untouched for a try in the corner. GPS trailed 5-7 after 12 minutes.

GPS weren’t done there, earning an attacking lineout only minutes later. Hooker Maile Ngauamo quickly got the ball in, but the Gallopers met no resistance in the rolling maul, so flanker Ratu Vio rumbled forward. Vio delivered the offload to lock Tuaina Tualima, who placed the ball down for another try. Hofmeyr made no mistake with the kick, GPS leading 12-7 after 15 minutes.

Luke Samoa slotted two penalties for Souths in the 19th and 36th minutes to put his team up 12-13. Magpies hooker Theo Fourie saw yellow in the 39th minute for a high tackle, concussing himself in the process. The score remained 12-13 heading into half time.

The Gallopers came out running to kick off the second half. An early scrum near midfield gave GPS another opportunity for a set play. The ball found centre Teti Tela, who easily beat his defender with a goose step. He linked up with centre partner Chris Kuridrani, who chewed up a lot of ground and drew in defenders before dishing a timely offload to flanker Matt Gicquel. GPS led 19-13 after 42 minutes.

GPS were on the charge again with an attacking lineout 10 out from the line. Josh Vuta secured the ball and threw an enticing dummy that froze the Magpies defence, diving under tacklers for the try. Hofmeyr converted and pushed the lead to 26-13 in the 50th minute.

Coach Shane Arnold made an entire front row interchange in the 53rd minute. The fresh forwards flexed their muscles in the 60th minute, stringing together three dominant scrums 5 metres out to earn a penalty try, taking the lead to 33-13 with 19 minutes remaining.

Souths weren’t going to go down without a fight. Centre Michael Siaki broke the advantage line of the GPS defence, and once tackled, popped an offload up to running partner Liam Fletcher who dove over in the left corner. Luke Samoa converted a difficult kick, bringing Souths back to 33-20 with 16 minutes to play.

Even with a comfortable lead, GPS didn’t take their foot off the gas. Michael Richards pounced out the back and threw a dummy that faked three defenders to find a huge gap. He offloaded to Matt Gicquel who just missed scoring his second. A few pick and drives later, Tuaina Tualima bowled his way through two defenders to score his second try. GPS led 40-20 with 11 minutes left.

GPS had one last crack with an attacking lineout 10 metres out. The target was Michael Richards, who caught it cleanly, and the rolling maul was launched. They bulldozed their way through a defeated Souths defence, reserve hooker Matt Mafi falling over for an easy try. Reserve half back Cullin Cooper-Jones made a difficult conversion look routine. GPS won 47-20.

The GPS forwards were once again instrumental, with the dominance of the second half scrum essentially setting up the five tries that followed. Jason Hofmeyr gained massive territory from these penalties. Josh Vuta was excellent finding the right receivers from the ruck.