This match saw the two table leaders clash for the ruling position in the Cisk Lager Championship, and the interest in this game was obvious from the 200-strong crowd that had gathered to watch the match.

The contest opened well with both sides playing hard and neither side gaining a major advantage, although early play was focused in the Stompers’ half of the pitch. But opportunity came in the form of a bad ball bounce from a failed Overseas pass, and Stompers’ P. Satariano scored the opening try, with M. Attard converting.

This opening try seemed to rattle Overseas and struggled to find their feet for the rest of the first half.

Stompers’ capitalised on this with B. Nicolic scored two successive tries on the wings, one of which was converted by M. Attard.

The Overseas fought back and a scrum on Stompers’ goal line seemed sure to result in a try, but instead it was cleared by excellent defensive play.

A yellow card for Stompers’ P. Satariano did not slow their play and they combined good solid defensive moves with aggressive drives to reach half-time with Overseas still to score.

M. Attard opened the second half scoring for Stompers with a quick try, which he also converted.

Overseas continued to search for openings but failed to find their rhythm as Stompers’ M. Mirabelli scored another try and increased his team’s strong lead. M. Attard was denied the conversion by an excellent running block from B. Stuart of Overseas.

Stompers then turned their lead in to a rout as M. Attard scored another try, also converting it. Even though Stompers’ coach M. Mirabelli got yellow carded as the game drew to a close, it did not stop their D. Mascena scoring the Stompers’ final try.

Referee – Mr. Steven Busuttil

Kavallieri Blue Label 89

Hibs Sharks Eurosport 0

The Sharks are the youngest team in the league, with the average age of their players being just 21, and their inexperience showed on the pitch as the Kavallieri forwards ran amok.

K. Hopkins scored the opening try for Kavallieri, followed by tries from C. Vassallo, J. Dienemann and L. Jonsson all of which were converted by K. Hopkins.

The slaughter continued as tries from R. Vella, M. Bonavia and C. Vasallo increased Kavallieri’s lead, as they consistently found holes in the Sharks’ defence.

Sharks’ J. Crawford scored a penalty to finally put points on the scoreboard, but Kavallieri answered with a try by J. Dienemann to keep a very healthy lead by half-time.

The second half saw more of the same, with Kavallieri making punishing runs through the Sharks defence, and Sharks’ tackling seemed to be missing its usual power and aggression.

Kavallieri continued their scoring with J. Dienemann and M. Bonavia scoring tries. Bonavia’s was converted by K. Hopkins. C. Vassallo then scored two tries for Kavallieri and converted one of them. R. Vella and O. Caruana continued Kavallieri’s scoring streak, both scoring tries, and both were converted by K. Hopkins. M. Bonavia capped off Kavallieri’s victory with a final try before the full-time whistle.

Referee – Mr. Philip Gibbs