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Fullback Cameron Shepherd was the star of the show when ET Perth Spirit defeated Sydney’s Western Rams 21-13 in their opening game of the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship at Members Equity Stadium on Friday night.
Shepherd may not have been invited to join the Wallabies for the Rugby World Cup in France next month but the national team’s loss was Perth Spirit’s gain, the elusive fullback always dangerous with the ball in hand, scoring the opening try and kicking a conversion and three penalties.
Halfback Matt Henjak earned plaudits in a supporting role and the forward pack were far from extras as Perth Spirit heavily dominated territory and possession, number eight Richard Brown and hooker Tai McIsaac standing out.
The villain of the piece was the weather, the sodden turf bestowing soap-like properties on the ball and turning many sudden bursts of acceleration into ungainly skating mishaps.
It was one way traffic in the first half, Perth Spirit pinning the visitors in their half and mounting continuous raids on the Rams’ line. The slippery ball and first-game rustiness spoiled early efforts, many of the team not having played since the Super 14 competition finished in May, and a couple of simple tries went begging.
The game was noticeably faster under the experimental laws being trialled in the ARC, with the ball moved rapidly from rucks before opposition players could get their hands on it, and free kicks for most offences ensured a constant pace free of penalty stoppages.
Henjak was unlucky not to score from an opportunistic dart from the base of ruck after 19 minutes, but he was ruled held up over the line. But two minutes later the ball was passed out from a scrum, right wing Nick Cummins came into the line to draw an extra defender and the ball found Shepherd out wide for the try. Shepherd converted from the sideline and the Spirit forged ahead 7-0, when the score could have been much higher.
Spirit’s dominance of play deprived Rams stars flyhalf Kurtley Beale and wing Lachie Turner of opportunities, but there was the odd glimpse of class from the pair. But when the Rams managed a rare foray into Spirit territory after 33 minutes, the referee found a dangerous tackle and Rams wing Ben Martin goaled from an easy angle.
Perth Spirit returned to attack and three minutes before half time, centre Ryan Cross broke through and passed on to Cummins for a try in the corner. The sideline conversion missed but in the last play of the half, Shepherd landed a 35 metre penalty goal following a high tackle and the Spirit took a 15-3 lead into the break.
The first half promised a dramatic climax from the dominant Perth Spirit but it was never realised as the second spell degenerated into a disjointed series of fumbles, stoppages and player substitutions. The Rams took advantage by mounting sterner resistance and bustling the Spirit into losing their focus, but it was a disappointing finale for the 3643 spectators who had braved the elements at the mostly unprotected venue.
Shepherd added an easy penalty goal after nine minutes and three minutesnlater Martin replied with a penalty kick following a scrum offence to restore the margin at 18-6. Shepherd followed with another moderate chance after 18 minutes and Perth Spirit went ahead 21-6.
Perth Spirit’s domination was challenged by occasional Rams charges but neither side managed much continuity in the mixed, awkward exchanges and a continual stream of substitutions. It was not until four minutes from time that the visitors gained a penalty scrum in front of the posts and inside centre Chris Siale powered over for a consolation try. Martin added the extras from close range but missed with a long range penalty minutes later which could have made the closing stages interesting.
Coach John Mulvihill described the first half performance as “fantastic” and praised the Rams for their second half performance, while admitting the Spirit’s second half and error rate left much to be desired.
“With the new rules, it makes these guys job around the ruck a nightmare, and a lot of the mistakes came from that area of the game”, Mulvihill said.
“I think we can go better than that. If those balls did stick, it could have been 20 or 30 in the first half.”
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Here's my report to the Sunday Times. It ended up being attacked with a chainsaw back to an eight para side story, but that's all right, there were 27 pages of cross-country netball.
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Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
Originally Posted by rick boyd
) standards and can allow some injured players to play themselves back in while others are cut adrift.
