OBU: 22 MSP: 28
A late charge wasn’t enough for the Old Boys-University Premiers as they went down to Marist Saint Pats in the Hardham Cup final.
Down 28-22 with time ticking close to if not over 80-minutes, OBU clawed their way towards the MSP line.
However, after four scrums and multiple barrages from the OBU attack – going close to the chalk on several occasions – they knocked on and referee Colin Te Pohe called fulltime on the 2019 season.
Earlier, Dale Sabbagh got the try-scoring underway when he picked off an MSP pass and went under the posts to score an intercept try, which put the goats up 7-3.
The score remained the same for the next 15 minutes before MSP winger Willie Schutz scored to put his side up by one.
Only moments later, however, Jack Green regained the advantage for OBU after Ty Poe found himself in open space down the left-hand side and passed back inside to Green with one man to beat. That put the score at 14-8 to OBU, where it would remain until halftime.
MSP came out strong from the halftime break, scoring two tries and a penalty to put them up 14-25 with 20-minutes to play.
OBU wasn’t done, however, and with 10-minutes to play try Jack Green scored in the corner, his second of the match, and all of a sudden it was back to a one try deficit.
Both sides then traded penalties and with about five-minutes to go the score was 22-28, and that is how it would remain.