A second half-raid by the Armidale Blues saw them land their second win on-the-trot when they took on the Barbarians at Alcatraz on Saturday.
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Holding a 12-5 advantage at half-time, the Blues opened up their attack to surge home in the second session.
The Blues piled on 29 points in the second session to finish as 41-18 winners.
Blues’ co-coach Luke Stephen called for his side to match the Barbarians’ physically, as well as remain composed under pressure, and Saturday’s game saw them step up.
“We were able to use our structure to put people in the right positions to make plays and they did,” he said.
“Baa Baas, to their credit, finished really well and scored some late tries to really give us something to work on in the big game with Albies after the Country Championships.”
Their defence was one area in particular Stephen was impressed with.
“Jackson Dunn holding up Keith Ellis - when he would be giving away 50 kilograms to him - on the stroke of half-time set the scene for that game,” he said.
In the round’s other clash, Tamworth Magpies nearly snatched a draw from Robb College. Magpies’ substitute hooker Lachie Ennis landed a hat-trick in the game – twice in the last five minutes – to put his side in contention.
His third try came in the final seconds and made it 20-18 with the kick to come.
Playing against his former club, Harry Morrow unfortunately couldn’t add the extras, the conversion hitting the pads at the bottom of the left post, as Robb held on for their first win of the season.
They had led 20-8 with just over 10 minutes remaining, Robb skipper Andy Leathem admitting to some nervous moments as the Magpies stormed home.
“Thank god we came away with it because it would have been pretty disappointing,” he said.
Both sides were guilty of dropped balls and squandering opportunities, particularly in the first half. Five minutes into the second half, Robb’s advantage was cut back to two.
From there it was a real arm-wrestle as both sides produced some flashes of brilliance and some scrappy moments.