The ARC standings got flipped around Saturday after three very intriguing results.
Key among them, perhaps, was Belmont Abbey's 27-19 defeat of Walsh. Goff Rugby Report ended the day with egg on our face because we made a prediction that Belmont Abbey would lose this game.
We were wrong.
Walsh Downed on the Road
Walsh ran out to a 5-0 lead after Christian Gatica's try. Louis Fahey answered for the Crusaders but when Jonty Kimber went over and Elliott McKinney converted, Walsh led 12-7. Harrison Tuilsila slotted a penalty to inch Belmont Abbey closer, but it wasn't until just before halftime that Jean Tason's try and Tu'ilsila's converted put Belmont Abbey ahead 17-12.
The Crusaders did well to close this one out, with a try from Ka'Ron Young (and Tu'ilsila's conversion) making it 24-12. Their defense held strong and while Gatica did manage to get his second try, Abbey held on and added one more Tu'ilsila's penalty goal to close it out.
Walsh was hoping to vault past the loser of Wheeling vs St. Bonaventure, and perhaps be in 2nd in the ARC at the end of the day. Instead they barely hang on to 3rd. Wheeling, meanwhile, had thoughts of moving up but are now in 4th, ruing a tie with Queens and a 26-24 loss to Walsh.
St. Bonaventure Sets the Tone
First off, St. Bonaventure defeated Wheeling 50-25. This game was nowhere near a runaway until the final 20 minutes. In fact,Wheeling led well into the second half.
The game began with St. Bonaventure securing a snappy 50-22, winning the lineout, and finally seeing Nick Nattress go over for the first try. Wheeling answered, with a well-taken half-break from flyhalf Takudzwa Musingwini, who then lofted a pass wide to fullback Panashe Mugorogooi to score in the corner.
Musingwini, besides being deadly in open field, has been lights out as a kicker this year and slotted the touchline conversion. The transfer from Iowa Central CC added two penalty goals for a 13-7 Wheeling lead. But Bonnies responded, working their way down to the tryline and bashing the forwards over.
That made it 14-13 for St. Bonaventure but Wheeling retook the lead with a well-taken movement wide.
There then seemed to be a crucial period in which St. Bonaventure threatened to score and were held-up in-goal twice. They failed to get anything from it all, and when a wide but wild pass was scooped up by Mugorogooi and taken to the house, to make it 25-14, SBU was in serious trouble.
But Mugorogooi looked a little hobbled as he finished his run, and things certainly changed in the second half. St. Bonaventure was nastier in contact and smarter with the ball. They didn't try to play Wheeling's style and instead forced the Cardinals to defend phase after phase.
It worked. Wheeling started ti commit penalties. Bonaventure took the lineout, and when everyone was expecting a high throw and a maul, the Bonnies forwards instead unleashed a shorter, low throw for Tanya Takaendisa to snag and go right through. That was a surprise for Wheeling, and now Bonnies had them guessing.
The next penalty was also a lineout and this time a more conventional throw and maul. But Wheeling had to worry about the other tactic now. The maul charged over, and hooker Reynard Boshoff was there for the try. Conversion good St. Bonaventure had the lead at 26-25.
Amazingly, they would not give up that lead, and in fact would take the game bby the scruff of the neck. Wheeling was being worn down and a long series of phases produced a try, then a nice loop move to score on the wing, then an interception. When it was all done, St. Bonaventure were #1 in the ARC.
Bonnies Head Coach Danny Neighbour confirmed that there was a strong message about not forcing the game at halftime. That message, Neighbour said, was clear to the players before he said a word.
"The message was, be patient, trust the system and what we're doing," Neighbour said. "That try at the end of the first half was just a moment when guys were trying to force stuff and we didn't need to. We also needed to be more disciplined and not give up so many penalties. Mentally they made the switch and it was good to see the execution in the second half."
Reagan Malloy came in for the injured Manu Taula in the centers and did well combining nicely with Eddie Nelson in the midfield to help frustrate the Wheeling attack.
