Blue Boars remain in the minor premiership hunt with away win

Narrabri Rugby Club’s first grade side remains firmly in the Central North Rugby Union minor premiership hunt
after returning from Quirindi with five competition points following a 19-point victory on Saturday.

The Blue Boars took on the Quirindi Lions in the 12th round of the 2022 campaign and outscored the hosts five tries to three, one penalty goal to none and four conversions to one to earn a 36-17 win.

Narrabri’s backline had a day out as they contributed all of the visiting side’s 36 points, with fullback Felix Cobb-Johnson scoring a brace, halves duo Jacob Nichols and Tom Nolan and outside centre Will McDonnell all crossing the stripe once each, and winger Toby Knight slotting four of five conversions and kicking a penalty goal.

The Blue Boars led 22-7 at half-time in that match and despite the scoreline not completely blowing out come full time, Narrabri Rugby Club first XV coach Jake Packer told The Courier that his men completely dominated the game.

“We were really good,” Packer said.

“We built on last week and we’re getting better each week at what we want to get better at.

“The scoreline doesn’t really show how dominant we were.

“We were really dominant and there weren’t many patches during that 80 minutes that we were under pressure.

“We were just really comfortable out there which was good.

“We got out of our half really well and we didn’t put ourselves under a lot of pressure.

“That is usually our downfall but we played really smart footy.”

Packer was full of praise for the Blue Boars’ backline after they scored all 36 of their points on the day, and also commended the forward pack, which was dominant from start to finish.

“The backline all played really well,” Packer said.

“Felix at fullback played unreal. His speed, there’s no substitute for speed in rugby, he really opened up the line and we made a lot of breaks.

“The backline were all really sharp.

“But that came off the back of our forwards.

“We dominated the middle and the forwards got us really good ball.

“We were strong at the ruck and at the breakdown, which then allowed us to get good ball out to the backs to score those tries.

“The platform was definitely set by the forwards.”

Packer was thrilled that his men not only returned home from Quirindi with the five points on offer but also prevailed on what is a special day for the Narrabri and Quirindi clubs.

They competed for the Nick Tooth Memorial Cup in memory of the former Quirindi player, who passed away from a devastating head injury suffered while playing for his home club against Narrabri in 2015.

“It’s always very special to be a part of that game,” Packer said.

“For me it’s really special, especially being one of the players on the field when it happened.

“It changed the mindset of rugby for me a little bit, how you have to be grateful to get to play.

“I know it means a lot to both teams and it does create a really good bond between both clubs.”

The win was a crucial one for the second-placed Narrabri Blue Boars as the top-ranked Gunnedah Red Devils continued their impressive 2022 season form.

Returning to the field following two consecutive byes, Gunnedah scored its seventh win in eight games when it beat Scone Brumbies 24-10 away from home.

The bonus point victory saw the Gunnedah side move to 57 points to remain five points clear of the Blue Boars. That duo moved even further clear of the third-ranked team, which is now Inverell following its 26-19 home ground win against Pirates in round 12.

The Highlanders went into the weekend ranked fourth on the ladder and overtook the Tamworth-based side, which dropped from third to fourth. Inverell is now on 46 points and Pirates are on 45.

Other round 12 winners were the fifth-placed Moree Bulls, which beat Walcha Rams 62-19 at Weebolla Oval to move within five points of the top four.

Meanwhile, Narrabri went down in the two games prior to the first grade fixture on Saturday.

The women’s match was a sevens game that the hosts won 24-17. Blue Boars captain Toni Gale scored two tries and kicked a conversion in her team’s win and teammate Natalia Smith crossed for the other try.

Narrabri picked up a bonus point in that match for losing by seven points or less and are now ranked second, four points behind the ladder leading Tamworth Pirates following their bye in round 12.

Third-placed Gunnedah Red Devils prevailed in the other women’s game in round 12 when they downed Scone 27-20.
Gunnedah is now just eight points behind Narrabri.

The Blue Boars were then beaten 24-17 in the second grade match but remained in fourth spot on the ladder.

Narrabri will return to Dangar Park this Saturday when it hosts the Moree Bulls in both first and second grade.