THE Batemans Bay Boars will host the South Coast Zone’s rugby union grand final after holding rivals Milton Platypi scoreless in the second half on Saturday.
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The Boars scored two tries to Milton’s one and hung on to beat the Platypi 12-10 in the major semi-final at Captain Oldrey Park.
The Boars sustained early pressure and then controlled territory and built a 7-3 lead with five-eighth James Thomas converting his own five-pointer.
Minutes before half-time Milton found space and exploited the broken play.
After a few phases the club’s only try of the match was scored under the posts and Milton led 10-7 at the break.
The Boars were trailing at half-time but coach Matthew Ryan urged his team to play the same way in the second half as he was confident opportunities to score would come about.
“We weren’t worried by the points they put on us, it was unfortunate they scored off broken play,” Ryan said.
The second half was a midfield battle and both teams’ ill-discipline contributed to the game’s style.
Milton had two penalty kicks mid-way through the second half but to the Bay’s relief the referees’ flags remained down as the balls sailed to the right.
The Boars lost Andrew Fleming about 20 minutes from full-time and Ryan said he believed the injury forced the rest of the group to “stick in there”.
The Bay forced a turnover outside Milton’s 22-metre line and took advantage of a scarce moment possession close to the try-line.
The Boars passed it right, through the hands, and winger Will Thomas finished off the play, sprinting and diving for the line, close to the corner.
James Thomas missed the conversion but the Bay had its first lead since the first half.
With minutes to go, Milton turned the ball over on the following kick-off and the Bay received a penalty, out of kicking range.
The Bay kept the ball in play and took a tap.
Milton regained possession and had two phases but a turnover ended any chance of snatching victory as the referee blew his full-time whistle.
Ryan said the Boars had knocked off small goals throughout the year to improve and was pleased his side was in the grand final but acknowledged the job was not done.
“We can’t afford to take our foot off the accelerator at this time of the year,” he said.
The Boars will face either Broulee or Milton in the grand final in front of their home crowd on September 13 at Hanging Rock
“The home ground support is awesome and it’s a great benefit for the club and a great opportunity to showcase the facilities,” Ryan said.
