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maltatoday SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY 2017 Sport 50 RUGBY PHOTOGRAPHY BY IAN AQUILINA Overseas triumph over Falcons in a Mediterranean Bank Cup game Swieqi Overseas: ...........36 Falcons: .........................7 BRYAN CORLETT A shower of rain scattered the crowd prior to the kickoff and a flock of seagulls circling overhead was a possible omen for the Falcons. Referee Lionel Da Silva started proceedings and the game got off to a flying start, as both teams tried to play positive Rugby. Falcons attacked the Overseas line with some pick and goes, but the Overseas defence was resolute. Overseas raised the speed of the game and worked the ball towards Devante Hinds (11) on the wing, who used his pace to score his first try from an overlap. Then from the kickoff, he took on the Falcons out wide and tip toed down the touchline from halfway, angling his run back inside to score under the posts, with the Mahouche (14) conversion, 15 minutes into the game, Overseas were up by 12 to 0. Falcons were going for short li- neouts to negate the Overseas strength in the forwards and were trying to use the wind, kicking for the corners to keep the pressure on. Andre Galea (12) had a strong run up the middle, bashing his way through the Overseas defence, then from a ruck, with the Overseas' backline in tatters, Julian Galea (9) stepped his way to score. Overseas 12, Falcons 5. Two tight heads from Overseas got them out of trouble, as the Falcons went on the attack, with a Hinds run off an offload from his flyhalf, Corcoran taking play again downfield. Corner (5) who had moved into the second row after Clayton Cassar was injured in the warm up, then to Number 8 was having a blinder, but was well supported by Jamie Mur- ray (8) and Luke Galea (7). Harvey (3) too was strong in at- tack and defence and the strength of the front row with Jon Debono (1) and Bordeaux (2) was giving Over- seas plenty of front foot ball. Falcons' defence was thwarting many an attacking move, and that really stood out when they split an Overseas lineout drive on the five metre mark with their strength and guile, which signalled half time, with the score at 12 to 7 for Over- seas. Playing with the wind at their backs Overseas were kicking long, putting pressure on Falcons from close quarters and from a Murray (8) and Debono (1) bust up the mid- dle, Borg (12) headed to score but he was hit with a head high tackle. The Referee had no choice but to award a penalty try under the posts, converted by Mahouche, taking the score to 17 to 7. Falcons lifted their game in a do or die effort to get back into the game, but poor options, dropped balls and an Overseas team that put them under constant pressure, did not allow them to finish any prom- ising phases of play. Murray (8) again crashed it up the middle, he offloaded to Matt Stoker (17) who had come on as Prop to stoke the fires in the front row, Cor- ner (5) then carried the ball to the line to score. Overseas 22, Falcons 7. Mahouche had a fine run from his 22 after tapping from a mark, he took it upfield 40 metres, Stoker picked the ball up from the ruck and bashed, went to ground, then got hold of the ball again and his forwards pushed him over to score, Mahouche swung a beautiful con- version in from the right touchline, judging the wind to perfection. Overseas 31, Falcons 7. Then came the try of the game, Mahouche (14) swept downfield from near his line, Kawara (11) dumped him in a fine tackle, as the last man in defence, the ball then went left to Hinds (11) who straight- ened the attack and offloaded to Corner (5) on his shoulder for him to score, to end this flowing game of Rugby with a final score of Overseas 36, Falcons 7. Men of Match: Overseas: Corner (5) and Hinds (11). Falcons: Daniel De- lia (6) Second game: Sliema Stompers 41, Kavallieri 26. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZARA AMEEN Ladies 7s League: Kavallieri overpower Overseas PHIL GIBBS ON another blustery Marsa day, Kaval- lieri won the toss and decided to play into the wind in the first half. They im- mediately put the pressure on the Over- seas defence, and a series of scrums from knock-ons ensued, with Overseas trying to run their way out of their own half, but lacking the firepower to do so. Even- tually, Kavallieri won possession from their own scrum and some neat interplay between Nerissa Van Zonneveld and Justine Zammit put Maria Spiteri clear on the right wing and she zipped over to open the scoring. The conversion was missed. From the restart, Overseas again try to run the ball out, but despite an initial break over the halfway line, they carried the ball into touch. Kavallieri took a quick throw and Spiteri found speedster Jacqueline Richards on the right wing. She put in a trademark power run and evaded a div- ing tackle before running in the try un- der the posts. Against the tricky wind, the conversion was again missed, and the half ended with Kavallieri 10 ahead. Overseas, missing two of their key ball carriers, were pinned in their own half throughout and did not threaten their opponents' tryline once. Overseas soon got on the scoreboard in the second half after a surging run down the right by Wendy Pace, who kicked ahead but was hauled down illegally by Richards. From the penalty, the ball was initially lost, but Kavallieri chose the wrong option and tried to kick to safety, and Pace gratefully caught the ball before cleverly slipping it to Claire Casha, who finished it clinically. Charlotte Sultana Evens kicked the conversion, and Overseas moved to within 5 points. Hope was short-lived, however, when they fluffed the kick-off and the quick-thinking Amanda Cassar took a tap freekick, sidestepping the only defender and finishing the try under the posts. They doubled their second half score shortly afterwards when Overseas, again bravely trying to run the ball out of their own 22, passed forward, and Kaval- lieri's Spiteri scored from the scrum. The third Kavallieri try came from a mistake, when an Overseas pass went behind the receiver, Cassar pounced on the loose ball, dribbled the ball over the line and dropped on it to sew up the win. Overseas scored a late consolation try when a beautiful break and slick pass from Emma Grech found Vanessa At- tard, who set up Claire Casha to score her second, and leave the final score at Kavallieri 25 Overseas 12 Star player - Amanda Cassar Other results Falcons 15 (Riolo, Sultana, Casparis) Overseas 5 (C Sultana Evans) Kavallieri 5 (Cassar) Falcons 34 (Caspar- is 2, Riolo 3, Sladden)