Bangalow Rugby Club

For the forth consecutive year in a row Bangalow have taken out the Far North Coast Village Rugby Competition with a heart stopping 10 points to 8 win over Evans Head. Running with a substantial tail wind in the first half Bangalow capitalised early with a try to Nick Hornery after successive phase work left Evans struggling for numbers out wide. Despite the testing conditions Kerry Jennings converted the try with a well struck kick from the sideline. A strong performance by the Bangalow forward pack nullified the Evans home ground advantage with Neil Moran making strong yards up the middle and flanker Mick Hornery and Greg Cromwell punishing in defence. In the backline Richard Collin proved a handful by regularly running over the opposition with his trademark centre field runs whilst inside centre Nick Hornery played and supported well with some dynamic work at the breakdown. Defending a seven nil score line in the second half was always going to be difficult as Evans made their intentions known early kicking high and deep with wind. For the next 35 minutes Bangalow rarely saw the opposition half and were forced to dig deep in defence providing an exhilarating performance full of desire, desperation and courage. Strong set pieces robbed Evans of many attacking opportunities with Bangalow winning numerous second half tight heads and Jock Craigie consistently pilfering lineout ball. With less than five minutes to go Kerry Jennings capitalised on a rare bit of possession slotting a penalty goal to extend the lead to 10 – 3. A quick restart saw Evans camped back in the Bangalow twenty-two and with only seconds to go crossed the line for a five pointer out wide. Needing to convert the try to force extra time the Evans kicker pushed the ball across the face of goal giving Bangalow a dramatic and well deserved Premiership Victory.