West Point move onto NRU Semi-Final
10 Nov 2009
by: CDT K. Palmer
Army First XV v. Brockport
Score: Army 75- Brockport 5
Try Scorers: Dom Latino, Ben Leatigaga (2), Trevor Mitchell, Cole Morrison, Gibson Sale, Justin Turner, Latu Vaha’i (2), Graham Warner, Mark Wilson
Conversions: Dom Latino (6 of 11), Kyle Palmer (1 of 3)
Penalty Kicks: Dom Latino (2 of 2)
Scoreline:
West Point started off with their normal pace. Firstie Gibson Sale caught the ball right on the 10 meter from the kick off and ran it down to about fifteen meters out of the try zone. West Point ran a few phases off the breakdown and moved it down to within the 5 meter. West Point was able to capitalize when scrumhalf Alex Farinelli moved the ball to Dom Latino who dove in for the try. The next try of the match was scored by Mark Wilson who chased after Ben Leatigaga who had a nice line break around the corner for about 60 meters. Wilson received the offload from Leatigaga and ran it in the rest of the way untouched. West Point kept Brockport on their heels and in their half for the majority of the match. During phase play within the opposition’s 22 meter, Farinelli moved the ball to flyhalf Dave Geib who moved it outside the defensive corner to Gibson Sale who ran it in for the easy try. The Black Knights dominated the set pieces over Brockport the entire match, and on one such occasion, a West Point scrum around the 5 meter, they proved it once again, through a good heads up play by Graham Warner, who scooped up a loose ball and fought his way in for the try.
Midway through the second half the Black Knights, were once again threatening on attack. Managing to work the ball through the hands, Hooker Cole Morrison put Flanker Graham Warner away in space. Warner was reeled in by the Brockport wing and Morrison worked hard to get into position to get a second touch on the ball, and managed to fight his way through a scrambling Brockport defense for the try. A few minutes later, in similar fashion, Prop Chris Frederick worked his way into the backline and was able to break the defense, with Brockport working to get back, Farinelli took advantage of some quick ball, moving it to Geib who put Center Justin Turner in space. With only a couple defenders to beat, Turner stepped his way in for the try. West Point’s wings Vaha’i and Leatigaga both picked up two tries on the day. Vaha’i’s first came from a well executed box kick, which took a favorable bounce for the Black Knights, and led to a 50m break away for the try. His second came from some great interplay from the backs, touching multiple sets of hands and finishing with a good inside offload to Vaha’i for the try. Ben Leatigaga scored both his tries from breaks around the corner. He received the ball as it was moved through the centers and once in his hands he used his speed and power to beat multiple defenders and finished nicely for a couple tries. The last try of the match was scored by reserve scrumhalf Trevor Mitchell, who subbed in for Farinelli. Mitchell took advantage of space next to the breakdown, for a snipe opportunity, and ran in a try from 40m out. Dom Latino was 8 of 13 on kicks for the day, adding 18 points from the foot.
Next match: West Point and the Anderson Rugby Complex will play host for the NRU semi-final and final this weekend. The Semi-final matches will start at 15:00, Saturday 14NOV2009 with Dartmouth taking on Syracuse. This will be followed by West Point v. Fordham at 18:00. Sunday the winners of Match 1 and Match 2 will play to determine the seeds for the National Tournament, kick off will be 15:00, Sunday 15NOV2009.