Kavallieri 74

Alligators 10

Kavallieri “penguinised” a depleted Alligators squad who were missing several key players. It seemed as if Kavallieri coach Richard Beerman had learned from the brilliant performance of the Penguins last week and inspired his team to play hard running 15-man rugby.

They were obviously strengthened by two experienced newcomers, centres Irishman Chris Allen and Australian David Rodgers, who brought rhythm, timing and cohesion to the backs.

Alligators were unable to control the game with their heavy pack and, without regular half backs, were unable to prevent Kavallieri launching a wide variety of attacks from all angles.

Furthermore, there was no real combination in the backs where much good ball was wasted. Hard driving from the Kavallieri forwards kept the Alligators on their heels, although at half time the score was only 24-10.

The scoring was opened by two fine tries by Chris Allen, who converted seven during the match. Daniel Grima scored five tries by backing up multiple handling attacks as Kavallieri benefited from the strong wind in the second half.

Stompers 34

Overseas 34

As Overseas had already beaten Stompers by ten points earlier, Stompers needed to win this by ten clear points to qualify for the final against Kavallieri and they started really well with the strong wind behind them and Overseas only having 14 men.

The penetrative running of injured Malcolm Attard was missed but Satariano was his elusive self, Mirabelli was a powerful general and Fountain made several incisive breaks to score two good tries. The Stompers forwards stood up well and at half time they led by 24-5.

However, the changeover saw a change in fortunes as Overseas coach Grant Williams took the pitch to make up the numbers and they gradually wore down the Stompers lead.

Fountain and Satariano left the field with nagging injuries and were sorely missed. Nevertheless Stompers did not give in but suffered the heartbreaking experience of having two tries scored against them from their own attacks.

Greg Van Reeven scored three tries, one of which was from a dropped scoring pass by Stompers which he pounced on and ran the length of the pitch.

The draw means that the Barclays Cup final will be between Overseas and Kavallieri.