Blue Boars fall to second as Red Devils score a big win

Gunnedah Rugby Club has set up the most highly-anticipated game in the Central North Rugby Union comp in years following a dominant away win on Saturday.

The Red Devils travelled to Walcha for their round eight clash, well aware that a bonus-point victory would see them leapfrog Narrabri Blue Boars at the top of the table.

The Gunnedah men got the job done as they outscored Walcha 45-10 in a seven tries to two rout, which saw them finish the eighth round on 37 competition points.

The Blue Boars are also on 37 points, and in fact, the two sides have been neck and neck throughout the entire season as they have sat on the same number of points at the completion of every round. The Narrabri men have been ranked higher for the majority of the season due to having had a superior number of wins.

In the CNRU competition, wins is the first tie-breaker to split teams on the same number of points, and then for and against difference comes next.

Gunnedah has had a superior for and against difference to Narrabri for weeks, and now that they have the same number of wins following the Blue Boars’ round eight bye, the Red Devils are the new ladder leaders.

That has set up a blockbuster round nine match when the Red Devils and Blue Boars go head-to-head for the first time on Saturday, June 18, in the ninth round of the campaign.

That match could potentially be a grand final preview and will certainly see one of the two teams finish in the outright first position at the halfway point of the season unless the result is a draw.

In other first grade matches that were contested in round eight on Saturday, Inverell demolished Scone 59-3, and the Moree Bulls outscored Quirindi Lions 41-14. Both victorious sides hosted their respective matches.

For the Highlanders, their victory was their first successful Kookaburra Challenge Cup defence. The Inverell men won the cup off Gunnedah two weeks earlier and were well and truly up for the challenge following a round seven bye.

They finished the weekend in third, just two points ahead of the fourth-placed Pirates. Like the Blue Boars, the Pirates had a bye on Saturday.

Saturday’s second grade games were won by Gunnedah, Barraba/Gwydir and Moree.

The Red Devils narrowly defeated Walcha 24-21 away from home, while Barraba/Gwydir edged out Pirates 19-17 on home soil, and the Bulls scored a 45-5 home ground victory against Quirindi.

Scone forfeited against Inverell in the other match, and the Blue Boars, which are still ranked fourth on the ladder, had the bye.

There were two women’s games played on Saturday as the Tamworth Pirates scored a 51-19 home ground win against the Barraba/Gwydir Ram Rats, and Gunnedah won 32-17 away from home against Quirindi.

Narrabri had a bye in round eight and was overtaken by the Pirates on the top of the ladder. Both sides have accumulated 35 points this season, and both have scored five wins. However, Pirates have a superior for and against difference.