The Young Yabbies claimed the upset of the season when they downed highly fancied and undefeated SIRU competition leaders CSU Reddies 27-24 in Wagga on Saturday.
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The bonus-point victory was the first win for Young since 2012 and stamped the Yabbies as true title contenders this year.
And it came in style with versatile number eight Rory Sheard busting through the defence before executing a deft offload to put fullback Michael Stallard over and take back the lead with only five minutes to spare.
The Yabbies rallied in the final minutes and kept their defence resolute.
First Grade co-coach James Shannon applauded the Yabbies’ forward pack for their dominant display which provided a solid platform for the win.
“We are very happy with improvement in scrummaging and other set piece work, and the boys did very well around the park in contesting the ball,” Shannon said.
Shannon revealed that his forwards worked particularly hard in preparation for CSU, with former NSW Waratahs star Will Caldwell and ‘Enforcer’ scrum machine specialist Matthew Corkhill offering their expertise in extra training sessions.
“The team has worked very hard and the exceptional help of Matt and Will has really seen our forward play turnaround in only a matter of weeks,” he said.
The Yabbies were quick to occupy the scorekeepers with 10 unanswered points in the opening 10 minutes, with Al McNab touching down for a converted try and in-form fullback Stallard following up with a penalty.
Reddies finally got into the game with seven points of their own before Player’s Player McNab again muddied the defensive line with a beautifully weighted cut-out pass to Stallard who scored out wide for a 15-7 scoreline.
A lapse in concentration saw a Yabbies kick charged down and gift the students another converted try to close the gap to a point, but the Yabbies bounced back when captain Aaron Seaman turned down an opportunity for three points to take a quick tap and put young fly half Jack Redmond over just before half-time for a 22-14 lead at the interval.
The students came out in the second half bristling, notching up two quick tries to take the lead and lock the visitors in to an arm wrestle to the final whistle.
Abrasive work at the breakdown from lock Phil Linsell, flanker Sam Bunny, Sheard and prop Hagan Williams kept the Yabbies in the match.
