The warm weather continued as the stage was set for the U19 Super Rugby ‘s final game of the tournament. As a result of yesterday’s fixture, the Waratahs were now unable to make the final. They now had everything to prove and were fiercely determined to finish their campaign on a high.
The game opened with a string of attacking efforts from the Force, as prop Daniel Christodoulou powered through the Tahs defenders to score the opening try.
The Waratahs didn’t want a repeat of last week’s performance. Liam Grover was able to shift the momentum with a superb run from inside the Tahs' 40, hurdling around defenders before offloading to Brendan Palmer, who finished the try.
The Tahs went back-to-back, continuing their momentum with a team try,using a rolling maul to push the ball over the line, as hooker Charlie O'Kane scored his first try of the day.
The Tahs looked likely to score again at the 15-minute mark, however an unfortunate knock-on cut their attack short. The excitement for the Tahs continued to build as flanker Jacob Veiru leapt into the sky, which forced a charge down and showed substantial promise in the opening quarter.
Grover followed by scoring a try of his own, proving to be the epicentre of the action, as he broke through a hole in the defensive line and covered the remaining few metres to find the try line.
The Tahs remained patient, battling up to mid field before a ruck in the centre allowed the backs to connect. They quickly passed the ball out to Grover, who added one final pass to winger Sid Harvey for the Tahs' fourth try of th e half. Harvey continued the positive energy and converted his own try.
Veiru looked likely to score a try himself however he was held up over the line by the Force defense. Fly-half Joey Fowler then broke through the line with a clinical pass to inside centre Matteo Cleverley, who scored his first try of the season.
The Force responded with their second try, as flanker Jackson Bridges quickly got up from the ruck and lunged over the line with the ball in hand.
The second half opened with a tight arm-wrestle between the sides, as the Tahs maintained strong attacking momentum. With a penalty advantage, the forwards displayed light hands, passing the ball wide to Tom Klem on the wing for the opening try of the half.
The Tahs went back-to-back again, scoring their next try on the opposite wing, as Palmer spun around defenders to land over the line. Following this, a try was awarded to Josh Va’alotu which came off a maul, closely followed by a pick-and-go try by Will Guilfoyle, with two successful conversions by Harvey.
Guilfoyle used his skill and drive to add two more tries to his tally. The first was from a loose ball in the air, which he planted down, and the second from a driving maul only minutes later which completed his hat-trick.
Try Sorcerers: Brendan Palmer x2, Charlie O'Kane, Liam Grover, Sid Harvey, Matteo Cleverley, Tom Klem, Josh Va’alotu, William Guilfoyle x3
Conversion: Sid Harvey 5/10, Felix Turinui 1/1
