Narrabri Rugby Club first XV get the job done against Pirates in a wet and muddy contest

Narrabri Blue Boars brought home the Kookaburra Challenge Cup and four valuable points from Tamworth on Saturday after beating the Pirates 18-16 at Chillingworth Oval in round nine of the 2024 Central North Rugby Union season.

The only thing separating the two teams after 80 minutes of gruelling action was a successful conversion after they both scored two tries and kicked two penalty goals each.

It was a wet and muddy day in Tamworth, making for an intriguing battle between the two rivals who entered the day ranked second and third.

They traded penalty goals in the opening half as Todd Nichols kicked two for Narrabri and Ryan Witherdin slotted two for Pirates. Witherden’s second was on the stroke of half-time and it sent the two teams into the break locked at 6-all.

Tamworth hit the lead for the first time in the game in the 58th minute when Sam Collett crossed for the first try of the contest, but Narrabri hit back in the 69th minute when Josh Schwager charged over to score and they went ahead 13-11 when Nichols added the extras.

Morgan Jones went over untouched a few minutes later when he received a brilliant pass from halfback Charlie Radford and scored Narrabri’s second try to put them ahead 18-11.

There was another twist in the 77th minute when Tamworth winger Luke Johnstone claimed the home side’s second try, but Witherden missed the kick and the Blue Boars found themselves in front 18-16 with about a minute to play.

The visitors produced one of the worst defensive passages that coach Craig Gleeson said he had seen all season following the kick-off as the hosts charged down the other end. Johnstone looked set to score his second in a matter of minutes before Radford produced a match-winning tackle five metres out from the line, with the game coming to an end after Johnstone unsuccessfully offloaded.

Despite being impressed with the Blue Boars’ performance as a whole, Gleeson thought his men were below their best late in the contest.

“I thought they were in,” the Blue Boars coach said of the Pirates’ late raid.

“I was a little bit dumbfounded with our restart after their last try. We went long straight down the middle of the field, so it opened up the whole field for them. I was pretty disappointed with that segment of the play.

“Then that last 30 seconds was the worst we’ve defended all year. We probably missed half a dozen one-on-ones and they just kept making ground and working their way down the field. After being a slugfest in that mud though, fatigue comes into it at the end.

“There were a few of our blokes, to their credit, still busting themselves and coming across looking to make tackles. As much as it was poor, it was great to see the effort and what the boys are willing to do out there for their teammates.”

Gleeson was pleased that his men worked hard in the tough conditions for 80 minutes to earn the win, but admitted he would have liked to see them chance their arm a bit more.

“Overall, I thought we were good,” he said.

“The conditions dictated the game a little bit with how it was going to be played.

“I thought we were a little bit too wary with the conditions though. We probably didn’t back our skills enough and we went into our shells a bit and played too much one-out footy.

“At times, we got a little bit flustered and I thought our decision-making, especially our exiting, wasn’t great, and we put ourselves under a bit of pressure there. A few times when we needed to slow down, blokes were speeding up, and our game plan was going out the window.

“There’s definitely things we need to improve on, but in saying that, when you go to a place like Tamworth in those conditions, which is how they would like it against us I imagine, to still come away with the points speaks volumes of the boys, how much they want to turn up for each other and the efforts they’re putting in.

“We had a couple of chances in the first half where we were over the line and very close to scoring. Whether we did or not was a matter of millimetres I would have thought. We score those tries and go up by a couple of tries, the game might look a little bit different.”

Gleeson thought that his front row trio of Sam Spanton, Will Turner and Will Ciesiolka were brilliant again, as were Nick Anderson and Radford, who started in the number nine jersey for the first time since breaking his nose against Gunnedah Red Devils back in round three.

Spanton earned the three players’ player points for the third week in a row and Radford earned the three CNRU best and fairest points.

There were two other first grade games played on Saturday in round nine. The Inverell Highlanders defeated Scone Brumbies 26-17 in Inverell, and Gunnedah Red Devils travelled to Quirindi and drew 24-all with the Lions.

Narrabri’s win saw them defend the Kookaburra Challenge Cup a second time after they won it off Inverell back in round seven, and they also earned four valuable points that have left them entrenched in the competition’s top two for the next month.

They now have 35 points following five wins and one loss, leaving them seven points behind the undefeated ladder leaders Moree Bulls (42) but six ahead of the third-placed Inverell Highlanders (29).

Moree, Narrabri and Inverell all have byes when the season resumes after the King’s Birthday long weekend, meaning Narrabri are guaranteed to be second until at least round 12.

Their next game is on home soil at Dangar Park in round 11 when the Blue Boars host Moree during the club’s 60th anniversary celebration weekend.

Meanwhile, Narrabri went down 14-7 in the reserve grade game at Chillingworth Oval on Saturday. They are now fourth on the ladder with 31 points following four wins and three losses, trailing first-placed Moree (41), second-placed Quirindi (36) and third-placed Pirates (34).

There is breathing room between the top four and the bottom four as Scone are sitting fifth with 22 points.

The women’s tens match kicked off the day in Tamworth and it was won 27-5 by Narrabri as the defending champions head into the mid-season break still on top of the table.