RUGBY: Super League 2001 kicks off in style

The 2001 Rugby Super League season has kicked off in fine style with Eastern Conference teams slugging it out in the mud and rain while Western Conference sides had almost perfect conditions for running rugby. The highlight of the opening round action was OMBAC’s big win over Aspen.

OMBAC came out firing on all cylinders to thump last year’s Western Conference champions the Gentlemen of Aspen 32-5. Signaling its intentions for 2001 right from the start, the San Diego side ran in five tries to one and dominated just about every phase of play. Try scorers for OMBAC were Johan Klaussen (2), Jason Harper, Paul Jennings and Malakai Delai. Alistair Steele kicked the extra points.

Aspen looked a mere shadow of the team that swept all before it last year en route to Super Match IV. Coincidentally, it was on the same ground last year where the Gents were put to rest by Life College in the Super League grand final.

In Seattle, Old Puget Sound Beach scored a narrow 10-9 win over the visiting Denver Barbarians. OPSB scored two tries through Jim Burgett and Kurt Pritchard against Denver’s three penalty goals. Beach’s locks Kelly McCallum and Se Lautogia had outstanding games, Lautogia in particular reeling off some big hits in defense.

Further down the coast in the Bay Area, Richard Leslie notched up his first victory as a Super League head coach with San Francisco Golden Gate beating the Dallas Harlequins 22-19. In a match played in extreme winds the homeside scored two tries to one. Dallas led 16-3 at the break, but couldn’t withstand a strong finishing San Francisco with the wind in its sails. The home team sealed the deal with a somewhat controversial drop goal by Grant Wells in the dying stages of the game.

San Francisco’s tries were scored by Craig Rofe and Joe Simpson, while Wells potted three penalties to add to his drop goal for a total of 12 points. For Dallas, flyhalf Matt Alexander kicked three penalties, a drop goal and a conversion for a personal haul of 14 points. John Hickey scored the Quins’ solitary try.

In the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia-Whitemarsh and New York Old Blue played out an 11-11 draw in Philadelphia. Both teams scored a try and two penalty goals apiece in a match the referees considered postponing because the conditions were so bad. A sloppy Memorial Field nullified any chance of open rugby, but it didn’t stop Philly’s rookie fullback Don Foy from scoring a break away try, or vice captain Vaughn Crowe from adding the extra points. Old Blue’s try scorer was second rower Josh Kaplin, while flyhalf Mark Dempsey kicked both penalties for the New York team.

The other matchup in the East saw Boston down the Potomac Athletic Club 23-17 in Washington DC. Boston led 10-3 at half-time and scored three tries to two. Conditions in the nation’s capitol were overcast and soupy following two days of constant rain. PAC’s tries were scored by Kenny Helu and Mark Nemec, with Neil Williams adding the extra points.

The opening round action wrapped up in Los Angeles with Belmont Shore hosting the newly amalgamated Old Blue-Griffins side from Oakland.

Under sunny skies and in warm temperatures the Oakland team ran in three first half tries to set up what turned out to be a hard fought 24-19 win, its first in Super League. It was a game of halves with Old Blue-Griffins dominating the first 40 minutes and Belmont Shore storming back in the second stanza.

Belmont opened the scoring in the 5th minute with a penalty goal to flyhalf Ruan Walters, but from there it was all the Bay Area boys. The Oakland side’s first try was scored in the 11th minute by second rower Jabe O’Neill who finished off a long movement by dotting down beside the posts. Just 2 minutes later inside center Wisea Kekau crossed the line again for Old Blue-Griffins after some creative lead up work. A 25th minute penalty to Walters closed the gap by 3, but the baysiders struck again in the 27th minute when big second rower Elizah Gonebura crashed over near the posts.

All three Old Blue-Griffins tries were converted by winger Tim Dymmel to make the half-time score 21-6 in the visitors’ favor.

The second half began with another successful Walters penalty goal and then in the 17th minute the home crowd came alive when number 8 Fili Lameta scored Belmont’s first try. Eight minutes later winger Paul Sochocky lit things up by outpacing his opposition with a kick and chase down the right flank to score in the corner. Walters was unsuccessful with both attempted conversions, but Belmont Shore was back in business at 19-21 down with 15 minutes to play.

However, Old Blue-Griffins had other ideas and when Dymmel slotted a penalty goal in the 33rd minute it was virtually all over. Belmont mounted repeated attacks in the dying stages of the match, but couldn’t convert, leaving the Oakland team with a 5-point victory.