Huskies take the Apple Cup

On a sunny afternoon the Huskies travelled with two sides and came away with their first wins of the season.The “A” side went to work early on with notable territory and possession and immediately pressured the WSU defense with multiple entries into the opposition 22. Successive penalty offenses by WSU favored the Huskies in the early exchanges.

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To WSU’s credit they weathered early pressure and managed to keep the Seattle side out of the try zone until the 20-minute mark when an intelligent cross field kick from flyhalf Jack Efrusy was collected by right wing Angus Hui. The ensuing defensive effort saw the Huskies take a line out 10 meters from the WSU line and a well worked maul saw back row Gabriel Paloma cross the white wash for the opening score. The conversion attempt went just wide of the right post for a 5-0 lead.

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The Huskies then settled into a wave of phases executing their new play style but somehow fell short of crossing for subsequent scores. On the 35-minute mark, a well worked set of phase play resulted in another forward dominated advance from a set piece scrum and the following ruck saw number 8 and Captain Thomas Williams cross the line for the second score of the day, Efrusy converted for a 12-0 lead to the Huskies at half time. The second half started much the same as the first but a momentary lapse in concentration allowed WSU exploit the Husky defense after a midfield kick saw the Husky back three having to retreat to retrieve the ball resulting in a goal line drop out. Successive pressure rom WSU allowed them to cross out wide.

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After consulting with the assistant referee for a possible in touch prior to grounding, the referee awarded the try. The conversion attempt was missed. Score was now 12-5. The Huskies immediately went to work from the restart and wave after wave of pressure was rewarded when an excellent break through the middle of a ruck saw lock Harrison Ochieng stretch his legs and canter in from 25 meters to score under the posts, the conversion was good and the Huskies were now up 19-5. After several substitutions by the coaching staff and some loose play leading to successive penalties WSU managed to cross one more time on the last play of the game to make the final Apple Cup score 19-12. Best on the day were Williams & Cavatoni up front and Efrusy and O’Brien in the backfield.

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The “B” side game was an excellent free flowing spectacle with the Huskies victorious in an open running game with some excellent handling and support. Final score 47-5. Best on the day for B side were Hoagland & Larsen in the forwards, and Geissler & Mann in the backs.