Brisbane City have moved into second spot on the National Rugby Championship (NRC) ladder with a 24-19 win over NSW Country at Norths Rugby Club.
The City side led17-0 at half-time and by 19-points with just five minutes to play, before a late flurry from the Eagles reduced the lead to just five-points.
Fullback Nick Chapman starred, scoring a double in his starting debut, while Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Sefa Naivalu also crossed for the home side as Adam Korczyk became City’s most capped player.
Head coach Jim McKay said: “We had a lot to play for today so we had to front up and mostly we did that.
“Being ahead at half-time set the game up for us.
“We held the ball really well, built pressure and kept them out of the game.
“Second half we dominated field possession but couldn’t convert that into pressure, and it was a little disappointing we couldn’t get the bonus point and allowed them to get one.
“Special mention to our Norths boys, Nick Chapman, Jordan Luke, Dane Zander and Sefa Naivalu who all played great in front of their home fans and to Adam Korczyk who became the most capped Brisbane City player today.
“This weekend is another good opportunity for us to showcase what we can do and it should be a really good game against Queensland Country,” McKay said.
After a number of attacking opportunities in the NSW Country half, City opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Paenga-Amosa crossed for his third try of the season. Lucas converted to give the side a 7-0 lead.
Tom Staniforth was soon shown a yellow-card to reduce the Eagles to 14-men and City quickly made the most of their advantage, with a centimetre-perfect Lucas cut-out ball sending Chapman across the line in the right-hand corner.
Another City try followed minutes later after a build-up of phases and a series of slick backline passes gave Naivalu the space he needed to bust the line and score in the 30th minute.
NSW Country pressed the City line in the final minutes of the first-half but were unable to break the hosts defence, as City went to the break with a 17-0 lead.
The Eagles hit back to post the first points of the second-half, with Mark Nawaqanitawase’s try bringing the score to 17-5 in the 58th minute.
Both sides traded attacking chances and errors before Chapman sealed the win in the 73rd minute with his second try of the day on his home ground. After a NSW Country error deep in City’s half, Ryan Smith broke through the defence and streaked to the halfway line before Chapman dashed 40-metres down the left touchline to score. Lucas converted to put the score out to 24-5.
The visitors crossed for two tries in the final minutes of play through Joey Walton and Jack Grant, but it was merely consolation as City held on for a 24-15 win.
Brisbane City will travel to Gladstone next round to face Bond University Queensland Country for the Andy Purcell Cup.
