British Police vs Cairns Police

by Admin 11/19/2008 7:49:00 AM

British Police vs Cairns Police

The final stage of the tour brought the British Police side to play a Cairns Police representative side at North Queensland Marlins ground. The weather in Cairns was unbelievably humid, even with a late kick off to avoid the midday heat. It was a solid start by the British side. With some early pressure on the Cairns try line, forcing them to drop out from under the posts for a repeat set. But poor passing let down the British as a loose pass was scooped up by rapid winger Aran Port who raced away to the line. An early injury to Andy Woodhouse was a blow to the British side as a recurring problem to his wrist ruled him out of the game. The Cairns Police added to their lead as Ben Rhodes received an off load close to the line and drove Daniel Adams over the line to score: 12-0. Daniel Adams was keen to make amends with some aggressive defence along with Darrell Rotherham. But at the end of the first quarter the score was still: 12-0. The British side showed early promise as Christopher Cowling collected a clever chip by Adam Newton. Cowling stepped his opposite winger but was stopped in his tracks with a strong tackle from fullback Trevor Cook. The British side had a period of sustained pressure and eventually converted the pressure to points as Rasheed Alawiye made a powering break and offloaded to Stuart Meeks who crashed his way through the remaining Carins defence for the first try. 12-6. The pressure form both side continued as the light faded in the first half. Good movement and promise shown by each side but neither crossing the try line.

The second half started well for both sides. Good defence and tough tackles dominating the quarter. Cian Jacobs making some powerful drives, showing why he featured in the Australian Police side. The most promising move for the British started with a nice break by Jamie Brentley using the full width of the pitch as he skipped out of tackles. He interlinked nicely with Philip Green and Richard Whitehouse, but the Cairns defence was up to the challenge, as they scrambled and dragged down the British attack. Dan Kennedy made a surging run to reclaim some ground for the Cairns side. Colin Haigh and Alan Clark made some strong bursting drives for the British. The British broke through with a break out wide by Jamie Brentley but the opportunity was squandered through a basic handling error. The British went into the drinks break on a high: a grubber kick was slipped through, which just trickled into touch before it could be re-gathered. The final quarter was littered with errors as the British tiredness began to show and basic handling errors crept in. A mistake in the middle of the park, as the British side tried to force the game, allowed Ben Ravter to race through for a try. 18-6. The British side rallied, but frequently lost good field position and scoring opportunities to basic handling errors.Tour captain Steven Brown continued to show commitment and drive as he led the team onwards. He crossed the line after an individual piece of brilliance to bring the scores to. 18-12. But ti is was too little too late as on the kick off the final hooter sounded the end of the match.

The end of the match signaled the end of a successful tour of Australia for the British Police side. Although it was disappointing not to be bringing home the World Cup, strong foundations have been laid by the players and coaching staff, which can only improve the British Police Rugby League for future competitions. The players have also had invaluable experiences and made new friendships that will stay with them forever.

British Police
1 Richard Whitehouse, 2 Christopher Sheffield, 3 Philip Green, 4 Andrew Eastham, 5 Christopher Cowling, 6 Daniel Atherton, 7 Adam Newton, 8 Rasheed Alawiye, 9 Kieron Maddocks, 10 Mark Elvidge, 11 Colin Haigh, 12 Andrew Woodhead, 13 Daniel Adams, 14 Steven Brown, 15 Stuart Meeks, 16 Alan Clark, 17 Adam Fogarty, 18 Jamie Brentley, 19 Darrell Rotherham.

Cairns Police
1 Trevor Cook, 2 John Discombe, 3 Steve Tillit, 4 Dan Kennedy, 5 Aran Port, 6 Ben Ravter, 7 Wayne Connors, 8 Anthont Moynithan, 9 Scott Holt, 10 Cian Jacobs, 11 Stuart Jones, 12 Paul Van Den Bos, 13 Ben Prose, 14 Ant Ellis, 15 Adam Abraham, 16 Mick Jessup, 17 Matt Male, 18 David Raymond, 19 Josh McCain, 20 Adam Reedy, 21 Ben Drury, 22 Ben Richards, 23 Michael Fuduric..

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