Throughout the tail end of the season for Kentwell Cup teams, games are becoming increasingly more intense, all powerhouses fighting for their position in finals.
Mosman and Knox Old Boys were both coming off losses from the round prior, and placed 4th and 5th respectively, made for a hard-running, nail-biting game fought out at Lofberg oval in West Pymble.
An arduous game for both teams seemed an understatement, as the stakes meant both sides aggression were met with at least even return.
Mosman forces were able to force mistakes from the Knox outfit early on, pushing into their half straight away off dropped balls and a dominant scrum.
They then used their field position to mount a seemingly endless attack, held up over the line multiple times until; finally, hooker Dan Farrell was able to smash over under the posts.
The Old Boys looked determined to return the favour off the restart, but miscalculated kicking to such a solidly structured, attacking team that thereafter starved them of possession for another long period.
Finally retrieving possession, a clearance and lucky penalty for scrum infringements allowed the Old Boys a shot at goal. Missing the penalty but gaining possession from a dud 22 dropout, Knox then ground away at the Mosman defence yet again, from inside their own 22.
Cohesive forward ruck-work led to an opportunity, taken by hooker and captain Gabriel Lloyd, diving over to get his team in the game.
This flourish from the captain seemed to bring his team together, as the game took a considerable role-reversal, the Knox boys beginning to form attack after attack and were now somewhat starving Mosman of possession.
At one stage Old Boy fly-half, Ryan Matthews looked in the clear as he found a gaping hole in the Mosman defence. However, his massive cut-out pass to the left wing was intercepted by opposing winger Harry Sullivan who ran the whole field to get his team up 12 – 5 at half time.
The second half was characterised by gruelling, intense, forwards rugby, but was not very interesting from the sideline.
Both sides had had their moments in the first half, Mosman seeming to dominate the scrum and phase play, even starving Knox of possession for a few long periods.
A slow start to the second half ensued, the first proper break in play occurring 5 minutes in with a scrum on half way. Another role-reversal took place as the Old Boys absolutely monstered the scrum, allowing for a penalty at goal from centre field.
William Foster, the Knox winger, prove his worth at this stage by slotting the penalty attempt and getting the scores up to 12 – 8.
Yet again, off the restart intensity seemed to immediately switch to Mosman, using their massive second rowers James Keith and Tom Grant, hooker Dan Farrell and big blindside flanker Matt Roberts to cause more mayhem to the Knox phase play.
This remained so for about 10 minutes of anxious rugby, both teams holding on by mere threads.
The dying minutes of the game allowed for Knox to return the intensity, causing confusion to the Mosman side by switching their attack between dense, flooded rucks, and scattered back plays.
Wave after wave hit the Mosman defensive line and they looked strong enough to hold until a sneaky blind run saw winger William Foster dive over in the corner.
The final score was 12 – 13 in favour of KNOBS and a crucial round for the Kentwell Cup, both 4th and 5th place looking to form some very convincing competition.
