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| Photo: Cody Schmelter |
It was as intense of a final as college rugby has seen but in the end their could only be one winner as St. Mary's held on to beat Life for the second year in a row for the DI-A title. MVP Dylan Audsley was at the center of the match for St. Mary's as he scored 20 of the Gaels 30 points. Despite missing out on the title Life also played well in what was a back and forth match from start to finish that featured some of America's best young players.
Riding the home crowd Life were the first to score as Blane McIlroy slotted a penalty just three minutes in. St. Mary's had the chance to equalize a few minutes later but Audsley's kick was off the mark. It was surprising that there weren't more penalties in the match early on as each team put in a number of big hits on their opposites.
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The first try of the match came nearly a quarter of the way through. Solid work from the St. Mary's forwards put the Gaels close to the line. When the ball was cycled out it went to the hands of Kingsley McGowan who passed to Audsley for the try. The Gaels would add to that just a moment later when Audsley connected on another penalty to make it 10-3.
Life finally were able to put their first serious bit of pressure on St. Mary's but the Gaels defense came up big, especially when Dino Waldren earned a turnover at the breakdown. Still, Life kept coming and they finally earned their first try when a pass out to Mark Gribben allowed him to power over the St. Mary's defense for the try. With 30 minutes gone the score was level at 10-10.
However, any momentum Life could take away from that try was sapped out when Marcus Walsh was shown a yellow card for repeated infringement on the whole Life team. Audsley once again made no mistake to put the score at 13-10. Penalties were a major problem for Life, especially in the first half, and is probably the reason why they weren't able to overturn the result. It became an even bigger problem when captain Jake Anderson was also sent do the bin at the end of the half. Fortunately for Life, St. Mary's weren't able to capitalize.
Life were also fortunate not to have a third player sent to the bin when Glen Maricelli put in a late hit on Audsley near the beginning for the second half. Still, using the field position gained from the infraction St. Mary's were able to use their powerful scrum and push Life back allowing Kevin O'Conner to pick up the ball and lunge for a try. Audsley's conversion made it 20-10 with 35 minutes to go.
Not wanting the Gaels to run away with the match Life fought back and had a number of chances to move down the field only to see the final pass go astray. Things picked up even more when they returned to full strength. Eventually they turned that momentum into a try when Maricelli dotted down on the back of a strong maul. That brought the score to within three.
Life continued to keep a long spell of possession but when they chipped the ball ahead and weren't able to recover St. Mary's was able to make them pay. Once they recovered the chip the ball found it's way into the hands of Audsley who offloaded to McGown to restore the ten point advantage.
The Running Eagles refused to go away, however. A kick ahead from Zander Van Schalkwyck was recovered by prop Xander Daniels in the try zone for the score. That made it 27-23 with 15 minutes left. Audsley would change that with ten minutes to go as he slotted another penalty.
A scary moment in the match came when two players from Life clashed heads going for the loose ball. The collision knocked Tyrus Baytops out of the match but Life didn't let that rattle them and for the next ten minutes they camped out in the 22 of St. Mary's searching for a try. Several times they came within inches of the line only to have something, such as referee interference, prevent them from scoring.
The match came down to a final scrum. Life were able to keep the ball and push for the line. However, St. Mary's were able to turn the ball over and eventually clear to win the match. The Life players hinted at a possible knock-on on St. Mary's in the try zone on the final clearance but the TMO was inconclusive.
Audsley was one of the players to truly standout. Aside from his early miss his kicking was spot on and it gave the Gaels a real advantage. Even more, his ability to get space in the open field really opened things up. McIlroy had a strong match for Life but wasn't able to impose himself toward the end like Audsley did. Other players to standout for the Gaels include McGowan and Waldren. Jake Anderson stood out for Life.
St. Mary's
Tries: Audsley, O'Conner, McGowan
Conversions: Audsley (3)
Penalties: Audsley (3)
Life
Tries: Gibben, Maricelli, Daniels
Conversions: McIlroy (3)
Penalties: McIlroy