Crunch Time for the RAMS as semi-final spots are up for grabs with LU needing a must win against Shirley to secure a place.

JULY 6 2019 OLD BOYS v LINCOLN UNIVERSITY At Lincoln: Old Boys 48 (Ollie Knopp 2, Luke Glen 2, Harry Peeters, Lupeti Fihaki, Connor Brown tries; Alex Harford 5 conv, pen) beat Lincoln University 12 (Sam Gilbert, Rameka Poihipi tries; Gilbert conv). HT: 12-0. Referee: James Munro (100th first division game). 

Loose passes can lose matches. Old Boys would say they gave the Rams a good old-fashioned hiding without needing any gifts and they’d be entitled to do so. But the fact remains that three of the visitors’ tries came from poor passes by home players. The third intercept try came almost at the end, when it was all over bar the shouting, but the first (at 9min) and third (52min) were crucial. The Rams were down by just 7-12 early in the second half, Sam Gilbert having crossed in fine fashion after Rameka Poihipi held his ground and the ball up nicely. They were still in the game towards the end of the third quarter when Poihipi, having shifted in to first-five, slipped the Old Boys defence with ease. Take out the first two gift tries to Old Boys and the score would have been 12-12 at that point. 

The Rams were seriously under strength going into this match. Lachie Jones was promoted from second division (he had a top display there the previous week) but he was the only hooker the side had with Nic Souchon (mutilated ear) and Callum Burrell (leg infection) out of action. When Jones came off 12min from the end it was down to uncontested scrums. Ben Crawford was the only front-row player on the bench and he was still feeling the effects of a shoulder injury sustained the previous week. Crawford came on for the last few minutes on Saturday. 

But look on the bright side. Cullen Grace and Fletcher Newell, both New Zealand under-20 players this year, will be back this week (against Shirley) as will loosehead prop Harrison Courtney. Souchon probably won’t get any satisfaction from it but the player who kicked him in the head the previous week has been banned for five weeks.

The Rams didn’t play too badly. Troy Hallett was prominent on the charge and young Matt Graham-Williams wasn’t far behind him in that regard. Nor was Jones. Josh Bokser was again great value in the lineouts and around the field and Poihipi, who was pulled back from a big break for a crossover while playing at second-five, again showed what he can achieve when moving in a place. Old Boys first-five Alex Harford was probably the side’s most influential player. He twice put in spot-on wipers kicks for his wings to score and kicked well at goal, often from difficult angles. 

The Rams are now third on the top-six table, three points behind Shirley and Old Boys and a bonus point ahead of Marist Albion. Shirley pose a distinct threat on Saturday.