Savannah returned home to the friendly confines of Forsyth Park to take on Gwinnett Griffins in their week 3 matchup on February 21. Surprisingly great weather greeted both teams after ice and snow and been dumped on north Georgia causing some issues with travel for the visiting team. Savannah had taken bonus point wins in their first two contests of the season against Old White and Augusta and was looking to keep the momentum rolling and Gwinnett came into the matchup having lost both their first two games. Right from the opening whistle the Shamrocks were determined to impose their will on their opponents. After a Griffins winger had been taken into touch, the Rocks line out was won cleanly and passed on to hooker, CJ Regnet who blasted through the defensive line and offloaded to his support for an early 3rd minute try by flyhalf, Matthew Midgett, conversion missed. (Savannah 5 – Gwinnett 0). After the restart, Savannah pinned the Griffins deep in their own territory for several minutes but were unable to capitalize until an excellent line out move was mauled over the try line with 8-man, Derick Howard, able to score in the corner in the 9th minute, conversion missed. (Savannah 10 – Gwinnett 0). Another solid restart from the Shamrocks saw them immediately put pressure on the Griffins. However, sloppy ball handling by the Rocks limited their opportunities. Finally, in the 15th minute, Chad Cooley had a strong run that broke a couple of tackles and he was able to offload to Howard in support for his second try of the day, this time in the opposite corner, conversion missed. (Savannah 15 – Gwinnett 0). Gwinnett was able to mount their own attack following the restart and had their first possession of the ball in Savannah territory. Strong tackling by the Rocks produced a turnover ball that spun out the backs. Once the ball reached the Rocks’ speedy fullback, Elijah Fluker, it was off to the races as he sprinted up the field for a try in the 20th minute, conversion missed. (Savannah 20 – Gwinnett 0). Off of the next restart, Savannah was able to open the flood gates and several strong forward crashes produced quick ball which was once again spun wide and found the hands of Fluker who punished the defense with another run away try in the 23rd minute, conversion by Midgett. (Savannah 27 – Gwinnett 0). With the forwards playing unselfish rugby and rucking in pairs, the ball was able to swing through the hands quickly and miss pass was placed out for the streaking wing, Jayson Diekman, for a try in the 25th minute, conversion missed. (Savannah 32 – Gwinnett 0). Savannah continued to dominate the territorial game throughout the first half. Forward play remained aggressive which continually allowed for quick ball to the Rock’s back line. In the 31st minute, Cooley, was able to finish of a run of his own for a try under the post, conversion by Midgett. (Savannah 39 – Gwinnett 0). In the 37th minute of the match, Savannah’s leading try scorer on the season, Timothy Grande, got into the act by finishing off another back line move, conversion by Midgett. (Savannah 46 – Gwinnett).
Halftime Score: Savannah 46 – Gwinnett 0
The second half saw more of the same from Savannah as they were able to keep the intensity high and their tackles low. In the 43rd minute, flanker, Ben Kochli, was rewarded with a try after several forwards and pushed the ball up field with strong runs, conversion by Fluker. (Savannah 53 – Gwinnett 0). Despite both teams ball handling errors during the game, the Shamrocks remained strong in the scrums, even though there felt like an excessive number of them. The Rocks were rewarded eventually with a stolen scrum at midfield. Hard, fast rucking produced a ball from prop, Boston Lucas, to the weak side wing, Grande, who was able to burst onto the ball for his second try of the game, conversion missed. (Savannah 58 – Gwinnett 0). With the focus of the second half by the Shamrocks to go to a forward-heavy game plan, it was no surprise when the pack was rewarded with a third try by flanker, Howard, in the 58th minute, conversion by Howard. (Savannah 65 – Gwinnett 0). Gwinnett refused to give up or go away in the match and continued their hard tackling ways throughout. Although, the Shamrocks were able to maintain possession for long stretches of play it became evident that it would not be easy going near the break downs. After seven to eight phases of forward play the ball was spun to the backs were a nice looping move was pulled off sending Midgett through for his second try of the game, conversion missed. (Savannah 70 – Gwinnett 0). In the 69th minute of the match, the “Try Vulture,” Gavin Rourke, decided that he had distributed enough for his teammates and took a smart quick tap penalty through two defenders and was able to trundle his way over the try line for his own score, conversion missed. (Savannah 75 – Gwinnett 0). A quick restart by the Griffins almost caught the Rocks by surprise…almost. Elijah Fluker was up to the task and quickly darted through the defense to score his third try of the game in the 72nd minute, conversion by Diekman. (Savannah 82 – Gwinnett 0). The remainder of the game was played somewhat sloppily by both teams that were more than happy for the final whistle to blow sending them both on to the social. Savannah was able to secure a bonus point victory for the third consecutive week to secure their spot on top of the league standings. Gwinnett Griffins fell to 0-3 on the season.
Final Score: Savannah 82 – Gwinnett 0
Per newly enacted GRU Rules this game was a forfeit by Gwinnett and will go down as a 40-0 victory for Savannah.
Forward of the Match: CJ Regnet
Back of the Match: Elijah Fluker
Scores from around the league: High Country (3-0) 34 – NARC (1-2) 12; Athens (2-1) 54 – GRITS (0-3) 5; Old White (2-1) 17 – Augusta (1-2) 14; Hilton Head (1-1) vs. Macon (1-1) rescheduled
