Mudchooks Introduced To Super 14 Ref
[ April 19, 2008 ]

Last Saturday saw the Mudchooks offer an intense rugby spectacular to the Bungendore sponsors and supporters who turned out, with a magnificent bonus point win over the Jindabyne Bushpigs, in their first home game of the season.

The match was directed by ACT Head Referee and IRB accredited official, Brett Bowden who selected this country rugby derby over a Canberra first grade appointment. This followed one of his best refereeing performances the week before in the Super 14 match between the Waratahs and Force in Perth.

An unpredictably strong easterly wind caused a fair bit of havoc in the first half, with mid field kicks being forced over the sideline on the full and no field advantage being gained. The wind forced the Chooks to adopt a tight structured play, which eventually saw loose forward Sandy Beggs in for his first try of the season.

The powerful forward pack motion gave the Mudchook backs enhanced confidence to throw the ball around and take on what seemed to be a weakened Jindabyne side. Peter Payten saw his opportunities, dummied and scored under the post.

Lanky full back, Dan Beer, must have been wearing his lucky jocks. Dan was not happy with just a hat-trick as he ran in four tries on the day, contributing to the final 42-12 score-line and was rewarded with three player's player points. Points were also given to the audacious back rowers Jason Broderick and John Turner for their valiant efforts.

Next week sees the first competition bye, over the Anzac Day weekend, but the Chooks will be back at home on Saturday 3 May 2008 to take on Uni-Norths from Canberra. Uni-Norths have had a strong start to the season with a huge 62-0 win over Harden in the first round, followed by a close loss to last year's Grand Finalists, Taralga. So it's likely to be another great show for the Bungendore supporters.

We look forward to your support at Bungendore (Mick Sherd) Oval on 3 May at 2.30pm.