14/09/2010
Onka Devils down and out
By Huw Cushing
Following last week’s crushing loss to Brighton, Onkaparinga have exited the finals winless after being outclassed by Burnside.
With a lead changing game where each team showed quick bursts of brilliance, it took the speed and skill of multiple try scorers, Stephen Kim-Davies and Leigh Cunnington to give Burnside passage to the grand final, winning 35-26.
Both teams exhibited great strength in the opening minutes with hard tackling and disciplined defensive lines.
Eventually, Onkaparinga were able to move away from Burnside as they took control of the game through possession and inched forward up the pitch.
After a missed penalty from fly-half Troy Doughty, it was starting to look like another game of missed opportunities for Onkaparinga who failed to capitalise on their first half possession the same way they did last week against Brighton.
Burnside quickly made Onkaparinga pay for their mistake as Nigel Lam-Sam gained much needed ground to assist Kim-Davies with his first try for the match, darting onto a short pass 25 metres out to dodge two weak tackling attempts from Onkaparinga.
Minute’s later fullback Cunnington extended Burnsides lead with his first of two tries, mirroring Kim-Davies’ previous attack.
The sheer pace and deep run onto the ball from Burnside went unmatched by Onkaparinga whose legs still seemed tired from last week’s match played in a bog.
The only worthy opposition of Burnside’s speed was the brick wall defence of flanker Geoff Bracken, who met each attack with brutal tackling.
As Onkaparinga approached another scoreless first half, fullback Renata Pahau linked up on the left wing with Ashley Tapara, running wide of Burnsides stretched defence for a converted try, taking the half time score 14-7.
The second half opened the same way as the first for Onkaparinga, who maintained possession of the ball and continued to add mounting pressure to Burnside.
Onka’s took it up a gear in the second with great scrumming pressure, turning Burnside 90 degrees on two separate occasions.
With morale boosted from little victories, Onka’s gave Burnside everything, making opportunities from nothing with the Doughty brothers coming together for some magical play.
Inside centre Tyson charged down a Burnside kick, with the ball bouncing five metres from the try line where Troy led the charge as a pack of Onka’s took the ball over the line, throwing off Burnside tacklers.
Troy, to the disappointment of Onka’s fans was unable to convert his own try to level the scores.
Troy rectified the kicking error immediately with a 30 metre sprint from Burnsides attacking half with support from captain and Sir Norman Jude tackling trophy winner George Taka who took Onka’s into the lead with a try, converted this time by Troy.
As much as Onkaparinga continued to control the game and have continual possession, the speed of Burnside continued to leave Onka’s defence bewildered, especially the play of Nigel Lam-Sam.
Lam-Sam’s explosive pace across the right wing would prove priceless in the second half as he broke through Onka’s defence with brute force and speed, then letting scrum half Patty Fahey do the leg work with a 30 metre run to the try line to be finished off by Kim-Davies for his second of the match.
The conversion put Burnside back in the lead by two points, which Onka’s looked like getting on top of immediately with a promising scrum just 10 metres from their try line.
With 10 minutes remaining, Onka’s continued to push for another converted try to put them five points up instead of the one point lead that would be gained from a penalty.
The push came quickly as Tyson Doughty made a difficult try look easy, breaking through Burnside’s defence with a 20 metre run, with only the fullback left in his way, Tyson despatched of him viciously to put Onka’s back in the lead.
The lead would soon be nullified as would Onka’s 2010 season, as Burnside’s Lam-Sam once again utilised the right wing for a 40 metre sprint, passing off to Kim-Davies for his hat-trick and a Burnside spot in the grand final.
In the dying seconds, a deflated Onkaparinga let one last try slip by from a line-out, with Lam-Sam again setting up the final try for Cunnington.
The running game of Burnside will face off against the well oiled machine of Brighton in the grand final next week, as Onkaparinga bow out of the 2010 season after a disappointing finals campaign.
Here are the remaining results of the round.
Reserve Grade – Preliminary Final, Brighton 22 def Burnside 18
3rd Grade – Preliminary Final, Old Collegians 33 def Brighton 17
4th Grade – Preliminary Final, Southern Suburbs 60 def Brighton 0
Women’s Grade – Preliminary Final, Old Collegians 31 def Burnside 19
SA Rugby Junior Grand Final Results
Under 12, Onkaparinga 28 def Brighton ‘B’ 17
Under 14, Onkaparinga 10 def Burnside ‘2’ 7
Under 16, Southern Suburbs 31 def Burnside 0