OMBAC
RUGBYhttp://www.ombacrugby.com
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ARCHIVED NEWS |
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OMBAC Remains
Unbeaten In Super League (Defeats Belmont Shore For Third Time This Season) |
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1 April 2001 - San Diego, CA - The OMBAC rugby team remained on top of the Super League Western Conference table after turning back Belmont Shore 20-9 at the Little Q today. A large Sunday crowd was on hand to watch OMBAC defeat Belmont for the third time this season. The win improves OMBAC’s Super League record to 3-0 and 13 points while Belmont drops to 1-2 and six points. OMBAC was aided by a stiff breeze at their backs for the first 40-minutes of action and as expected, most of the play took place on Belmont’s side of midfield. Flyhalf Alistair Steele opened OMBAC’s account with a penalty kick five minutes in. The pressure continued as the visitors barely had a sniff of the ball for the first 12 minutes of the match. Another Steele penalty, a short range try by skipper Conrad Hodgson and the Steele conversion put OMBAC up 13-nil after twenty minutes and it looked like a comfortable win was in store. OMBAC continued to have the possession and territorial advantage but couldn’t turn it into points. Steele missed on a further three penalty chances while careless passing and some bewildering calls by the referee kept OMBAC from adding to their total. Meanwhile, Shore had picked up their game and were rewarded for their efforts with a penalty kick by flyhalf Ruan Walters who’s success made it 13-3 as the teams changed ends. With the breeze at Belmont’s backs worth a minimum of ten points, OMBAC knew this match was far from over. An early assault on the OMBAC line resulted in another Walters’ penalty and Belmont continued to make inroads into OMBAC’s half. But more times then not, play ended with a penalty and OMBAC was able to clear. After being on the defensive for much of the first twenty minutes of the half, OMBAC was finally able to break through the Shore defense to stretch their lead. Blair Cashmore made the initial break, beating his opposite and then fed his center partner Jason Harper who broke through one Shore tackle and raced the remaining 40-meters to glory. Steele couldn’t miss from straight on and the lead was 14. Belmont Shore continued to press the issue and put up another three but strong defense and some ill discipline provided OMBAC the winning edge the rest of the way through. Final score: OMBAC 20 – Belmont Shore 9. "It’s too bad the crowd on hand didn’t get to see much of a match," said OMBAC head coach Bing Dawson. "As usual when OMBAC and Belmont get together, it was a hard fought match but the referee had too much influence on it. All I ask is for consistency and too many times we were getting blown up for hitting a ruck the identical way we hit it two phases earlier." In other Super League results, the Gentlemen of Aspen turned up the heat with a 72-0 spanking of Old Blues Griffins; San Francisco Golden Gate won in Denver 33-20; the Dallas Harlequins won on the road at Old Puget Sound Beach 24-7; Washington won for the first time, nipping Philadelphia-Whitemarsh 12-10; Life squeaked by the Chicago Lions 20-17; Boston won big in Kansas City 30-12; and Old Blue defeated PAC 25-21. OMBAC hosts Old Puget Sound Beach on Saturday, April 7 with a rare 2:15 p.m. start and will be at home the following Saturday, April 14, entertaining San Francisco Golden Gate in Super League action. Both matches are at the Little Q. In Southern California play on Saturday, OMBAC defeated the Unicorns 15-12 in Huntington Beach as scrumhalf Mark Easbey scored at the death to pull out the win and make OMBAC the Southern California #1 seed heading into the playoffs. After a first round bye, OMBAC will face the winner of the Back Bay vs Unicorns match in a second round tussle set for Saturday, April 21 at the Little Q. OMBAC’s IIs crushed the Unicorns IIs 60-10 in the day’s other match. OMBAC Lineup -15-Johan Claasen |