The Maitland Blacks test drove a new backline combination with devastating success against Wanderers on Saturday.
When the Blacks lost five-eighth Matthew Jarrett to London club Hayward’s Heath on Wednesday and outside centre Sam Ralph sustained a broken hand against the Hamilton Hawks, coach Steve Scobie was charged with resurrecting a backline before the semi-finals in two weeks.
But he did not have to look too far, with junior Blacks and NSW Schoolboys five-eighth Jack Howard slipping into the number 10 jersey to steer the Blacks to a 62-36 win over a determined Wanderers side at Marcellin Park.
Howard darted through a gap early in the first half and was putting outside runners into space for almost the entire game.
“He kept his head for pretty much the whole game,” Scobie said.
“He has a great rugby head on him and he is very good at finding the holes.”
But Scobie admitted his new playmaker would have a tougher assignment next week, when the Blacks meet outgoing club Easts at Hexham Oval.
“He has great skills but next week will be the real test I think,” he said.
“Wanderers ran big Rob Ashton at him whenever he got the ball so he got a fair bit of defence in as well.”
Colts centre Mark Cunningham proved he was worth a first grade centre spot for the finals.
“He is a good strong lad and he has played Country representative and all that,” Scobie said.
“He is definitely a player for the future.”
The Blacks went to a 19-point lead by half-time before letting Wanderers back within seven points early in the second half.
“We really went to sleep a bit there and let them back into the game,” Scobie said.
The visitors went try for try with the Blacks in the second half as the scores mounted, but Wanderers finally buckled in the last 10 minutes as the Blacks ran in two tries just before full-time.
“Our defence was pretty weak at some stages, that’s pretty much all I can say about that performance,” Scobie said.
“Anyone who puts 62 points on Wanderers is doing well.”
The bonus-point win puts the Blacks in a tie for fourth spot with University.
The Singleton Bulls did not do any favours for the Blacks on Saturday as they handed University a bonus point win.
Another bonus point win to the Blacks against Easts next week could see them finish third, gifting them a one-loss buffer going into the first semi-final.
But thanks to the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union’s decision to oust Easts from the 2009 competition, Scobie said a bonus point might be hard to come by at Hexham.
“They are going to be really wound up and they will really want to win,” he said. “We have not played them down there yet, it’s not going to be easy.”
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff