THERE was an unfortunate end to the Hawkesbury Valley clash between its fourth grade team and its Legends team of retired player, as club president Troy Mifsud was taken to hospital with a broken leg.
Hawkesbury Valley hosted an inter-club match because their scheduled opponents King’s Old Boys could only field two teams.
Hawkesbury Valley plays in NSW Suburban Rugby Union’s division three competition. Second division club Parramatta sent a fifth grade team to play Hawkesbury, but Hawkesbury’s final team was set to go without a game until the Legends idea was floated.
And until just after half-time, it was working, with the old guard actually up 10-0, before Mifsud broke his leg and the match had to be abandoned.
Valley first grade coach Paul Clancy said he was thoroughly enjoying himself until the injury.
“It was really good fun. It was played in a fantastic spirit. It was great to pull the boots back on and I wasn't too sore Sunday morning which was a bonus,” he said.
Against King’s, first and second grade had 69-5 and 64-0 scorelines respectively.
King’s came into the match after spending some time in national media during the week for the wrong reasons.
The team drew the ire of some after video surfaced of them tackling sheep on a farm near Orange as a team building exercise in April.
The club is struggling for numbers. Most clubs in NSW Suburban Rugby’s third division field four teams, but Kings scratches together for two.
Valley coach Paul Clancy said he knew King’s was in a dire situation players wise, and said he sympathised with their numbers situation.
“We take our hats off to them. We've been there in the past as a club so we know what they're going through,” he said.
“To front up every week knowing they won't get away with a win, they put on a pretty good performance.”
Clancy said while the first grade team comfortably won, he said King’s had a number of players who backed up from second grade and were exhausted.
Clancy praised second rower Mick Dennis, who debuted for first grade and had a busy and dominant game for the club.
This week, Valley hosts Oatley at McQuade Park.
Ag College still on top
Hawkesbury Ag College’s first grade team remains undefeated atop the Clark Cup ladder after beating Oatley 52-20 at the weekend.
The second and fourth grade teams also bagged wins with scorelines of 22-0 and 20-5, while third grade went down 40-3.
Ag College sits in second place in the Cowboy Cup with 1313, trailing only second division team Waverley.
This week, Ag College will host Brothers at College Oval.
