On a very cold windy day in Forsyth Park the Savannah Shamrocks came up short a second time against their rivals from Hilton Head.  This game was the final home league match of the season for the Shamrocks who were previously unbeaten on their home pitch.  From the opening whistle both teams played very aggressively and traded field position back and forth over the first 30 mintues, never able to progress within the oppositions’ 22m.  Finally, Hilton Head was able to capitlize on a penatly against the Shamrocks near the 22m line and Hilton Head was able to slot through the kick giving them a 3-0 lead in the 32nd minute.  With only 2 minutes remaining in the 1st half Hilton Head’s fullback was able to scoop up a loose ball near the touchline and streak down the field for the try (unconverted) making the score 8-0. 

Halftime Score: Savannah 0 – Hilton Head 8

As the second half started the men from Hilton Head, sensing blood in the water, were able to keep the 1st half’s level of aggression up while the Shamrocks simply were not able to meet the level of intensity for the full 80 minutes.  Several hard runs from Hilton Head set up their second try of the day in the 46th mintue (converted) making the score 15-0.  Hilton Head was able to keep the Shamrocks on their heels and quickly pressured the backline again in the 50th mintue and were rewarded with a score near the corner (unconverted) making the score 20-0.   The Shamrocks regrouped and began playing more inspired rugby as they slowed down the Hilton Head attack for the next 15 mintues; however, the poor field position allowed for Hilton Head to capitilize on two penalties by the Shamrocks in the 54th and 60th mintues making the score 23-0 and 26-0, respetively.  The Shamrocks were never able to recover from the deficit and in the 65th minute gave up a try under the post when the Hilton Head scrumhalf exposed a weakness at the ruck and took the ball weak untouched for the try (converted) making the score 33-0.  The 70th mintue saw Hilton Head’s final score of the day when they once again touched down near the corner (unconverted) making the score 38-0.  Savannah made desperate attempts to get on the score board during the final 10 mintues of the game and left a few opportunities on the board; however, they were unable to take advantage of Hilton Head in the final minutes and were left wondering how they had played so strong in the 1st half only to have it fall apart in the 2nd. 

Final Score: Savannah 0 – Hilton Head 38

Back of the Match: Tyler Wend

Forward of the Match: Matt Wasilewski

This entry was posted on Monday, March 4th, 2013 at 2:22 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.