SCRUMS are a necessary evil in rugby union, but a beautiful thing in the eyes of the converted for a winning pack of forwards wins premierships as the Forster Tuncurry Dolphins have proved over the last three years.
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With Mid North Coast Zone Axeman representative tight-head Ben Manning and goal-kicking loose-head Lee Crozier at the forefront of the collisions, the Dolphins’ forwards have paved the way for five-eighth Matt Nuku’s backs to harvest the tries out wide.
So, the game is the ultimate test for the second-placed Wallamba Bulls when they clash with the unbeaten Dolphins in the battle of the top two teams in the 10th round of the Lower MNC rugby competition at Nabiac on Saturday.
Adding spice to the game will be the personal struggle for honours between the Dolphins’ front line hooker James Clarke and the bearded newcomer, Scott Walmsley, who made a splendid impression last weekend in the Dolphins’ defeat of the Manning River Ratz.
The Dolphins’ forward coach, former Penrith first grade hooker from Sydney, Mark Coble, remarked that the pack’s scrums in the second half against the Ratz were the “tightest” and most impressive he had seen for some years.
If 47-year-old “strong man”, Rob McCabe, one of the finest lock forwards the Dolphins has had in the decade of the Lower MNC competition, is available tomorrow, it will be fascinating to watch how the Dolphins’ pack performs against James Watt’s Wallamba scrum.
Without Aaron Gordon leading the Bulls against the Ratz in their seventh round clash under floodlights in Taree, the Bulls had an enormous struggle before hefty Ben Blanchard came to the rescue in the front row in the 9-5 defeat of the Ratz.
On that occasion, goal-kicking halfback, “Shorty” Curnow, drove over three penalty goals to save the night for the Bulls. His accuracy will be of crucial importance tomorrow for the Dolphins are prone to negligence and giving away penalties.
Two men the Dolphins need be especially aware of are strong-running Daniel Aldridge off the back of the Bulls’ scrum and dashing fullback Chris Tout, whose step and speed make him one of the most dangerous attacking backs in the competition.
The forward struggle will be exceptional. Daniel Hessing and brother, Rhys, both MNC representatives, are a pair of tigers in the heaviest going, as important in the air in the lineouts as on the ground for the Bulls where they will encounter torrid opposition from Brad Murray, Tom Homer and Chris Simon.
With fine weather expected to continue tomorrow the game should provide an excellent spectacle at the Nabiac Showground.
Wallamba’s new coach, Lee Sullivan, has brought a new spirit and cohesiveness to the club although he is still far from satisfied, claiming the team has been “winning ugly” whereas the Dolphins produced their best performance of the season for the game against the Ratz last weekend.
In the ranges, the Gloucester Cockies’ injury toll has been so great they forfeited two away games last month, an alarming development for last season’s grand finalists. They are to play the Old Bar Clams at Gloucester Park.
In the third game, the Myall Coast Mud Crabs travel to Taree to play the Manning River Ratz, another affair causing some disquiet as to how Myall’s numbers will stack up although they were adequate for the game in the slush at Old Bar.
