The Bulls have completed a marvellous Division Two season, winning their way straight back into Premier League with a three point start on their nearest opposition. On the other side of the coin, the Suva Suns have been a wildcard side all year. Beating the big names, and blowing their chances against the lower sides. Last week Suva accounted for one Queensland side, could they do it this week on the back of their Union imports?
Brisbane Bulls Suva Suns
1 Nathan Merrit 1 Brian Carney
2 John Hopoate 2 Fred Backhaus
3 Shannon Hegarty 3 Wes Davies
4 Willie Talau 4 Caleb Ralph
5 Fifita Moala 5 Olivier Sarramea
6 Preston Campbell 6 Christian Cullen
7 Paul Green © 7 Matteo Giocometti
8 Tomas Larsson 8 Mark Tookey
9 Kandy Tamer 9 Tim Clark
10 Sean Ryan 10 Barry Eaton
11 Phil Waugh 11 Tim Horan
12 Brad Thorne 12 Demetrius Lichtenstein ©
13 Scott Prince 13 Ronan O'Gara
++Interchange
14 David Westley 14 Todd Olliver
15 Adam Mogg 15 Ryan McGoldrick
16 Willie Poching 16 Matt Cockbain
17 Octavio Bartolucci 17 Sam Harris
The boot of Paul Green got things underway, the veteran halfback targetting inexperienced US international, Fred Backhaus with a low, hard drive. The winger proved equal, and the game got underway with the Suns showing more intensity than the Bulls. A messy start ensued, with neither side wanting to hold onto the ball. First points came off Ronan O’Gara’s boot, a high tackle from Brad Thorne giving the Suns an early 2-0 lead.
O’Gara was in the centre of the action from the kick-off, knocking on from dummy halt to give the Bulls the sniff they needed. Some no-frills forward play was employed by Brisbane, with Phil Waugh’s charge on Mark Tookey the most memorable of the exchange. Paul Green collected the spoils, stepping Matteo Giocometti to score a simple try. Captain Preston Campbell added the extras, and the minor premiers held a 6-2 lead.
Lebanese halfback, Kandy Tamer, made an error from the kick-off, losing the ball in a tough tackle from Tim Clark. This gave Suva their first real opportunity, and the side employed a ruck straight from a Rugby Union textbook to go over for their first. The ref called it back however, as it was revealed Clark had made the tiniest of knock ons in going to ground the ball.
In the 14th minute O’Gara continued the Union flavour to Suva’s attack, opting to go for goal from forty out. The Irishman hit the conversion sweetly, and the game was back to two points, 6-4 in favour of the Brisbane Bulls. Suva weren’t having a good day however, Italian Matteo Giocometti dropping the ball cold from the kick-off and then compounding his error by kicking the ball away. The resulting penalty gave Brisbane excellent field position, big Willie Talau menacing his way over Wes Davies to score his side’s second. Campbell again proved gifted with the boot, and the Bulls went up 12-4 after almost twenty minutes of play.
Suva’s nightmare with the video referee continued in the 20th, again denied, this time courtesy of an offside called against flying winger, Olivier Sarramea. The error was compounded when Mark Tookey caught Octavio Bartolucci high, with Brisbane piggy-backing their way downfield. Sloppy defence gave Brisbane the path to the line, Brad Thorne carrying Christian Cullen over to score his side’s third. The conversion was his sweetly, and the Bulls held a dominant 18-4 lead after only a quarter of the game.
The next twenty minutes showed a marked improvement from Suva and a lack of concentration from the Bulls- making for some sloppy but highly entertaining league. Preston Campbell remained Brisbane’s best, whilst it was the likes of Fred Backhaus and Caleb Ralph who performed for Suva- continually finding the defence of John Hopoate wanting.
HALFTIME: Brisbane 18 lead Suva 4
Suva came out the better side, their first three sets of six making easy metres and ending with brilliant kicks. Whether it was Giocometti’s short game or Clark’s towering bombs- the Suns seemed to have an answer for any defensive formation Brisbane threw at them. That said, the Bulls continually thwarted attempts to score a vital try.
Ironically, Suva’s vital try came not from kicking, but from a good old fashioned forward bash. Mark Tookey, who had been criticised earlier for his lack of discipline, hit a Cullen ball at speed to score under the posts. O’Gara’s conversion had it at 18-10 after 45 minutes of play. Once again it was a mistake from the kick-off that proved the undoing of the Suns. On the second tackle, after some punishing defence had caused Suva to lose ground, Tim Clark tried too hard and his pass to Davies was ruled forward. Luckily for the Suns, their forward pack stood up, repelling a potentially dangerous set of six.
Paul Green was on the thick of things again in the 51st minute, the underrated halfback playing his finest game of the season under new coach Josh Hussey. Green’s twenty metre dart set up the try, with a simple passing play ending with Adam Mogg’s first try of the night. Preston Campbell struck the difficult conversion sweetly, and the home side looked comfortable again at 24-10.
Twelve frantic minutes followed, with Brisbane flooding the field with fresh troops to defend their lead. Willie Poching returned to the forward pack, whilst talented junior Nathan Merrit slotted back into fullback. For Suva, Tim Horan received a much earned rest, with Todd Olliver getting his first run of the night.
Australian rep player of the year, Preston Campbell, came up with the match-sealing try in the 66th though. Some excellent forward play, the foundation layed by Phil Waugh, ended with a jack in the box pass finding Campbell. The elusive five eighth danced his way across the line, converting his own effort to make it 30-10 with just over ten minutes remaining.
Two minutes later, another forward run gave Brisbane their sixth try of the night, German Tomas Larsson hitting it up, spinning out of an attempted Lichtenstein tackle, and planting it right beneath the dot. Campbell again converted, and the scoreline was beginning to look embarassing at 36-10 with ten minutes remaining.
The final ten were exciting from both sides. With Brisbane finally able to let loose and toss the ball around, the Suns had to come up with some great defense. Cullen and Giocometti were Suva’s best defensively, continually dragging down bigger players and averting further embarassment. The fulltime siren went, and the Suns went back to Fiji 36-10 losers.
FULLTIME
Brisbane 36
Willie Talau
Preston Campbell
Tomas Larsson
Paul Green
Brad Thorne
Adam Mogg
Campbell 6/6
def.
Suva 10
Mark Tookey
O’Gara 3/3
PoM Points
Preston Campbell 3
Tomas Larsson 2
Paul Green 1
