July 15, 2013
The South Burnett Thrashers enjoyed sweet revenge against the Toowoomba Bears in their rugby union clash at St Mary’s Oval in Kingaroy on Saturday.
The South Burnett team defeated the top five team 19-15 in a sometimes fiery encounter, avenging their 59-10 defeat by the Bears in Toowoomba earlier this year.
Club president Shane O’Malley said the South Burnett team really played well.
“The Bears are a tough team and it was a tough match,” he said.
South Burnett got off to a brilliant start when front rower Chris Schmocker broke through the defensive line and ran about 30m to score under the posts. Brandon Walsh converted and the Thrashers were ahead 7-0.
The Bears and Thrashers then exchanged tries, with the local side leading 14-5 at half-time.
After the break, the South Burnett let in a try and then gave away a penalty, allowing the Bears to take the lead for the first time, 15-14.
“But the good thing was we didn’t panic,” Shane said.
The forwards played well, giving the backs room to move.
With about five minutes to go, Brandon Walsh scored, putting the Thrashers back into the lead.
“And we held them off for the last five minutes,” Shane said.
He said the Thrashers had a particularly good first half and held on better than the Bears in the second.
Man of the match was Scott Simms as No 8, and Chris Schmocker also had a good game.
Next week, the Thrashers face the Dalby Wheatmen in another home match at Kingaroy. This was originally scheduled as an away match but the teams swapped games earlier in the season.
This is a particularly important game for the Thrashers with finals coming up as both sides are at a similar spot on the competition ladder.
