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54 maltatoday SUNDAY, 19 MARCH 2017 Sport RUGBY Stompers defence shuts down Overseas BRYAN CORLETT THIS Cisk Lager League game was exciting from start to finish as both teams threw everything into it, with first Stompers go- ing out to a lead of 19 to 0 by half time, using the wind and 15 man Rugby to put Overseas under a lot of pressure. A strong wind favoured Stomp- ers in the first half and many at- tacking plays by Overseas ended after a turnover or a dropped pass, with Stompers then thump- ing the ball back downfield frus- trating the men in blue. Richard Gum(15) kicked two early penalties and scored a try running the ball down the blind- side from broken play, added to a try by by Jeremy Debattista(20) who powered his way over in the corner to take the score away from Overseas, by mid- way through the first half at 16 points to 0. Two yellow cards to Mathew Camilleri(12) and Calvin Brif- fa(7) for repeated infringements, didn't stop the Stomper's mo- mentum and during that time Gum also kicked another penalty to make it 19 to 0. With Lionel da Silva then blowing for half time. There was a feeling that a 19 nil lead was not enough for Stomp- ers, as Overseas kicked off the second half with the strong wind at their backs. Overseas needed to score quickly, which they did within a few minutes, with Rhys Barry(10) weaving his way to the line after his forwards with Harvey(3), Stoker(1) and Clay- ton Cassar(8) leading the charge, giving him front foot ball. Dud- man(13) kicked the conversion to make it 19 to 5, giving Overseas a glimmer of hope. But with all the pressure that Overseas were putting on Stompers as they attacked, they just couldn't finish off the moves with dropped passes, wrong op- tions and poor passes going to ground. A break out try by Stompers from their own 22 with Gum finding space out wide drawing the Overseas fullback and pass- ing to Jeremy Debattista who ran 40 metres to score in the corner making the score 24 to 7 and forcing Overseas into catch up Rugby and breaking their hearts as it was against the run of play. George Corner(6) was charg- ing his way into the Stomper's defensive wall with some strong carries, Devant Hinds(11) used his power and pace out wide but those efforts came to nothing as mistakes and wrong options crept into the Overseas' game. Sarres although well marked all game, managed to shake off would be tacklers, running 50 metres to score with the Dud- man conversion the score inched closer at 24 to 14. Stompers playing against the wind kept the ball in hand and attacked from long range, put- ting a number of phases together with the talented Ryan McLis- ter(10) the playmaker. Dragan Cerketta (4) scored like a charg- ing bull close to the line, now taking the score out to 29 to 14. Sarres scored again, he has the deceptive ability to beat tacklers at will with an intelligent eye for a gap in the defence, it made the score now 29 to 21 with the con- version. Matt Camilleri(12) scored after a catch and drive from a lineout that moved infield and worked the ball into his hands scoring next to the posts now making the score 34 to 21. Jamie Murray(7) for Overseas was yellow carded for a slap down of a Stomper's pass. Time was running out for Over- seas as they attacked again, put- ting pressure on Stompers close to their line, Camilleri was yel- low carded, which then became a Red Card as it was his second yellow and he was sent off for the rest of the game. Overseas speeding up the game, were quick tapping any penalties, from Pascal Holland the ball went to the Oversea's Captain Harvey(3) who used his strength to power over, Dud- man kicked the conversion to make the final score 34 to 28 to Stompers. Overseas now need to win their next two games to force a playoff against Stompers in a Grand Final. Men of the Match: Stomp- ers: Ryan McLister. Overseas: George Corner. Other game Falcons 51, Kaval- lieri 26. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZARA AMEEN Swieqi sink Falcons Women's 7s Rugby FALCONS won the toss and de- cided to kick off with the blus- tery wind behind them and won their first scrum when Sairita Cassar knocked on. However, the put-in was not straight and from the free kick Overseas tried to run the ball out of dan- ger, but knocked on again on their own 22. At the next scrum, Kimberley Riolo was caught offside and from the resulting penalty Tess- abelle Sultana – Evans put in a powerful run up the left wing. With just a few metres to go to the line, she was hauled down by Riolo. The ball broke free, but Rodianne Bugeja was penal- ised for handling without com- ing through the gate and also received a yellow card, which seemed harsh as the try-scoring opportunity had been lost. From the penalty, Overseas launched a series of attacks on the Falcons line from short- range and Cassar was dragged down just metres short. Falcons strayed offside in the next attack from the scrum, and Charlotte Sultana - Evans cut through the defensive line to touch down under the posts. She converted her own try to put Overseas 7-0 ahead. Falcons launched their first attack when they won a scrum against the head and then won a penalty for a high tackle on Katka Vrbacka. They shifted the ball along the line to Bugeja, but the attack fizzled out when she was tackled near the touch- line and knocked on. The half- time whistle sounded, leaving Falcons regretting the fact that they had not made more use of the following wind. There was no doubt that Over- seas did not intend to make the same mistake in the second half when their kick-off went deep into enemy territory, leav- ing Falcons desperately trying to clear their line. They could not breach the tight Overseas defence and knocked on under pressure. The Overseas pack channelled the ball to Claire Casha, who shipped it right to Tessabelle Sultana-Evans. She dummied her defender beauti- fully, leaving a simple run-in to dot down between the sticks. Charlotte Sultana Evans con- verted to move the score to 14-0. Another wind-driven kick-off by Overseas spelled disaster for Falcons as they knocked on behind their own try line, and Overseas won a scrum 5 metres out. Casha found Tessabelle Sul- tana-Evans again, who doubled her try tally with another de- lightful show-and go, leaving her a clear path to the line. Over- seas were running riot now, and the Falcons defence was in dis- array. Casha and Cassar worked the ball wide to Tessabelle Sultana-Evans, who showed in- credible strength to stay on her feet and make 10 metres with Bugeja on her back. Eventually, she was grounded, but the ball was laid back to Maria Attard, who continued the attack down the right wing. She too was tack- led, but made the ball available for Casha, who fired a pinpoint pass to the fast-finishing Wendy Pace, who jinked through the despairing Falcons defence to score the final try, which was converted. The final score saw 31 unanswered points from an impressive Overseas outfit in a game Falcons will want to forget in a hurry. Star player – Tessabelle Sul- tana-Evans Other scores Swieqi Overseas 12, Kavallieri 17 Kavallieri 31, Falcons 0 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAKE GHIRLANDO