By
Maj Mark Coyle
IT IS not often that a military sporting side will rise triumphant
within the civilian sporting arena, but on Saturday, September
14, the Puckapunyal Rugby Union Team, the Boars, achieved that
very thing.
The
Boars, competing in the Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) Country Division,
struggled within a typical military environment with a small number
of staff that could regularly turn up to training and games. The
rest of the players were provided by an ever-changing player list
that was sourced from the myriad of courses run at Puckapunyal.
Against
all this adversity, the Boars were able to rise through the competition
ladder and secure the minor premiership.
The
major semi-final proved to be a huge disappointment for the club.
Against old rivals Melton, the Boars failed to maintain continuity
and lost the game convincingly 35-0.
Relegated
to play the preliminary final against Bendigo, the team refocused
on the task at hand and displayed that enduring feature of Army
rugby – to never give up.
With
this, the Boars returned to regular season form with an outstanding
performance to clinch the game 17-5, setting the mood for the
grand final.
The
final game of the season would arguably also be the best.
With
an extremely strong wind, coupled with a hot, dry day, the game
became both a competition of skill and a war of attrition.
The
Boars, running with the wind in the first half, maintained a lead
of 12-3 at half-time. Opinions were voiced at the break that the
wind was worth more than nine points and that the team would need
to lift.
The
second half started badly for the Boars with a player being sin-binned
for 10 minutes. To their credit, each player lifted the intensity
and the Boars were able to keep Melton at bay for 25 minutes before
they were able to cross the line – raising the score to 12-10
in the Boars’ favour.
With
seven minutes to go, Melton converted a penalty goal and took
the lead 13-12.
The
Boars were once again asked to dig deep and to rise to the occasion.
With 90 seconds left, Puckapunyal had a try disallowed and as
the linesman said to the on-field referee, “Big call mate!”,
it would seem the team was about to snatch defeat from the jaws
of victory.
But
on the final bell, Melton committed an infringement around the
ruck and a penalty was awarded to the Boars.
A
lack of discipline saw the referee march Melton a further 10m
towards their own goal line, setting the conditions for a penalty
attempt.
And
as they say – the rest is history. The Boars took the premiership
trophy 15-13.
It
was double celebrations for me as team captain, receiving at the
official VRU awards night, Doug Ross Memorial Trophy as the Country
Division Player of the Year.
Sponsorship
for the club was provided by the Australian Defence Credit Union,
CRT Group and Rick Avery Automotive.
We
hope to repeat the feat next year.
