City hold off late Country comeback in thrilling Under 17s clash
Westpac NSW City have held on to claim a hard-fought 28-18 victory over Westpac NSW Country in the Westpac Under 17s Girls representative clash at WIN Stadium, Wollongong, today, surviving a fast-finishing Country side after leading for much of the contest.
Despite Country enjoying the early share of possession, it was City who struck first in an end-to-end opening to the match. After earning a penalty and working their way downfield, City capitalised on their opportunity with halfback Leilani Kavapalu producing a wide cut-out pass to find Khiarna Munro unmarked on the right wing, allowing her to dive over in the corner. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful as City took an early 4-point lead.
A huge defensive effort from City prop Isabella Brown forced an error and piled pressure back onto Country, with City earning a scrum 20m out from the line. Capitalising on the opportunity, second-rower Sarah Alameddine stepped off her left foot and powered her way through the defence to score. Tahli Weigand added the extras as NSW City extended their lead to 10-0.
Country continued to defend with plenty of hunger but struggled to break through City’s line throughout the opening half. However, a play-the-ball error handed them one final opportunity before the break and they capitalised immediately. Charging onto the ball at speed, Jayda Cohen burst straight through the middle of the defence and stormed over the try-line to keep Country in the contest. Sybella Pike added the extras to narrow the margin to 10-6 heading into halftime.
City extended their lead early in the second half after electing to shift the ball on the final tackle of the set. Five-eighth Tahli Weigand spotted an opportunity on the left edge and fired a pass wide to centre Hine Rikiti, who threw a dummy before cruising through the defence to score. Weigand was unable to convert her own try as City took a 14-6 lead six minutes into the second half.
The City surge continued into the second half with back-to-back tries to winger Georgia Wansey. After being held up over the line moments earlier, City continued to pile pressure on the Country defence. Shifting the ball through multiple hands to the edge, Wansey powered her way over in the corner to extend the lead to 18-6. Just minutes later, City struck again when a last-tackle kick from Kavapalu was regained from a clean take by Rikiti, who charged towards the line. She drew in the defence and produced a short pass for Wansey backing up on the inside as she crossed for her second try in quick succession. With both conversions unsuccessful, City led 22-6.
A penalty to Country 30m out gave them a much-needed opportunity to fight their way back into the contest, and Havana Cook delivered with a moment of individual brilliance. Receiving the ball on the right wing, Cook put in a clever grubber kick before chasing through herself, beating the defence to get a hand to the ball in the in-goal and score. Isabella Pike added the conversion to cut the margin to a 10-point ball game with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Country stormed back into the contest with another late try as lock forward Jarrah Young charged onto the ball at speed, reached out, and planted it down over the line with just four minutes remaining. After a series of strong carries throughout the half, Young finally found her reward to bring Country right back into the game. The successful conversion narrowed the score to 22-18.
Eager to march back upfield and potentially steal the win, Country were dealt a crushing blow when a forward pass handed possession back to City in the closing stages. City made the most of the opportunity, shifting the ball quickly to the right edge where they created an overlap before finding Munro in space. Munro stepped back inside to race away to score, sealing the result. Kavapalu added the conversion as City secured a hard-fought 28-18 victory.
