Blue Boars bow out of the CNRU second grade competition

Narrabri Rugby Club’s second grade side travelled to Tamworth on Sunday where they took on the Pirates at Ken Chillingworth Oval in the elimination semi-final.

The Blue Boars were ahead by three points with 13 minutes remaining but the home side were too strong in the end as they ran in three late tries to earn a 41-27 win and advance to this Saturday’s preliminary final.

The result saw the Narrabri men bow out of the competition, but they did so in style as they produced what was an entertaining, see-sawing game against the Pirates.

The Tamworth men opened the scoring in the 11th minute when James Trappel slotted a penalty goal, but Narrabri hit the lead five minutes later when Rhys Orman went over for the first try of the game and Matt Bradshaw converted it to make the score 7-3.

Pirates took an 8-3 lead in the 16th minute when Jioji Cakacaka crossed for their first try of the contest, and then Trappel scored and converted a try in the 23rd minute and kicked another conversion on the half-hour mark after Cakacaka had gone over for his second try.

The hosts entered the half-time break with a 24-11 lead after Bradshaw kicked a late penalty goal for Narrabri.

The Blue Boars came out firing in the second stanza as Bradshaw scored and converted a try in the 41st minute and then kicked another conversion when Damon Gleeson crossed in the 46th minute, which made the score 24-all. They then took the lead in the 54th minute as a Bradshaw penalty goal made the score 27-24.

Tamworth went ahead 29-27 in the 58th minute when Cakacaka completed his hat-trick, and the Pirates’ lead stretched out to seven points in the 64th minute when Ky Wheeler scored their fifth try of the contest.

Narrabri pushed hard to equalise and keep their season alive, but the Pirates would book their spot in the preliminary final in the 69th minute when Luke Johnstone went over for the final try of the game and Trappel converted it to make the score 41-27.

Narrabri’s first grade coach Craig Gleeson commended the second grade side’s effort on the day and their season as a whole.

“They were outstanding, our reserve grade team, I thought,” Gleeson said.

“They should all hold their heads up high. There are a lot of positives that have come out of this season for them.

“It was their strongest performance of the year, and the scoreline didn’t reflect how well they played.

“They were up 27-24 and they were the better team at that stage. They were dominating possession and field position.

“A couple of little things went against them and they couldn’t contain the Pirates’ roll-on.

“We were pushing hard at the end and Pirates got the late try against the run of play, which made it a scoreline that didn’t reflect the way the game was played.”

Gleeson congratulated Nathan Nott, who coached the second grade side to a fourth-placed finish and a place in the finals this year.