The Tucson Magpies hosted Phoenix in the first game of the season. There were some familiar faces returning to the magpies but also several new faces that entered the fold. The game itself should have been a one sided affair with the magpies showing that the speed of their attack from the previous season is still prevalent in the pies game. Unfortunately another aspect that has carried over from previous years is the execution of the basics. Mistakes that proved costly at times during the game, with myself (Whitrow) throwing a slow ball to Hayden Kane putting him under extreme pressure that led to a charge down on the pies own line and giving phoenix a try. I also had a kick charged down and 2 missed penalties to touch that cost the pies both territory and possession.

The pies did however have many plus signs showing in their future. Tom Quinn grabbed 2 tries on dayboo (on debut) and Paul Ageh showed his pace hasn’t faltered over the summer. Nick Carlson showed continuing maturity to the rugby field and made several of his now trademark runs, capping his game with a try. The pies defense was solid throughout the game and they showed structured defense for long periods of the game, and I.P’s kicking continued to add pressure on the chasing phoenix team.

Another welcomed sight was the return of the deadly duo in the back row. Dief making strides through the summer and coming out of the blocks with a solid game, and the return of J.R after recovering from his knee surgery in the summer.

It was a victory for the pies, who led for the majority of the game and had the execution  of the basics been a little better a larger scoreline could well have followed.

Looking forward the rucks could do with a little tidying before the next game as could the pressure out of the blocks in defense, a little more structure to our overall game plan and we are looking at going one better than last year. Onwards and Upwards.

 

Whitrow