Gibraltar Bowl Contd....
HE The Governor (Centre) with Chad Thomson GRFU General Secretary (right) and Capt Dean Castrey ADC to HE (Left)
The Hon Steven Linares
Minister for Sport
It was very much as case of ‘Three P’s’ for the Gibraltar National side.... patience, perseverance and persistence to better the constant threat of the Royal Marines in front of a packed crowd at Victoria Stadium. A solitary try from Gibraltar’s Mike Milward eventually proved the difference but the forwards five-pointer doesn’t tell the tale of a fascinating 80 minutes of rugby between two evenly matched sides.
Milward’s second-half try, the sole try of the game, came after a long period of pressure from the hosts and saw pressure ease on Gibraltar after the visitors had taken a somewhat surprise second-half lead.
The hosts went in at the break 3-0 up thanks to the boot of Gib fly-half Jack Milton, with his converted penalty in the fifteenth minute proving the only points scored from either side in the opening half.
The Marines sprang into action early in the second-half with two penalties from the ever-lively Griffiths Jones and tempers threatened to boil over with Richard Caddywould becoming the second Marines sent to the sin bin.
Caddywould’s yellow fifteen minutes from time handed the initiative to Gibraltar, with the hosts punishing accordingly, and Milward crossing the whitewash two minutes later. The game was put beyond doubt by Teddy Sacarello, who extended the lead to five points with a penalty five minutes from time to put valuable breathing space between the two sides. Both he and his opposite number both added a further three points before the end but it was the hosts who prevailed from a contest that should serve as an excellent prep for next month’s upcoming friendly in Montenegro.
Finally the main event, Gibraltar Select XV v Royal Marines XV
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