From the sidelines, Saturday’s clash between Forbes Platypi and Orange Emus looked a lot closer than the full time scoreboard indicated.
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Emus picked up a bonus point with their 26-0 win in cold, wet conditions at Forbes on Saturday, but Platypi captain Jack Hammond felt his side was better than that.
“Our physicality lifted quite a bit and our urgency around the breakdown did too – we knew we were going to have to against Orange Emus,” he said.
But the Emus had suffered two losses in a row – against Cowra and Bathurst - and came to Forbes with their own sense of urgency.
It was really a strong start and finish that saw the visitors break away for such a dominant win – 20 minutes either side of half time saw the two sides in a scoreless tussle.
After Forbes’ wolf-pack beat Orange Emus second grade 23-22 with a penalty on full-time, the first grade game started with each of the players walking onto the field with a special lady in their lives.
The moment showed the devotion of Forbes’ rugby union community, as sleeting rain and icy wind picked up just at that point of the afternoon.
Emus were up 14-0 halfway through the first half before the game tightened up, they then found a way through the Forbes defence towards the end of the game to continue scoring.
Emus kept Forbes away from the goal line for most of the game and Paul Ringland praised their defence in not letting Forbes build up phases on the push for the line.
Loss notwithstanding, the Forbes club went on to have an exceptional evening of fundraising and fun.
Marg Stirling shaved her head in a fundraiser for the local library of wigs and material head wear available to ladies who lose their hair during cancer treatment.
Full story and photos on that to come.
The Platypi have another at home game this coming weekend, against an in-form Cowra Eagles side, and they’ll be focussed at this week’s training sessions in preparation for that.
“Our scrum was quite strong,” Hammond said of last weekend’s game. “But our set piece, our line-outs, could be improved so we get our hands on the ball more.”