The 2012 Landmark 10s held at Country Club Oval on Saturday culminated with a heart-stopping decider in the senior division, with Southern Inland Rugby Union powerhouses Waratahs taking the title in a golden point thriller against Wagga City.

Tahs were the only team to go through the preliminary rounds

undefeated, with their closest contest being a 17-0 win over the Coota Tricolours, however with less than a minute remaining in the final they were trailing City 17-12.

A penalty in the dying seconds gave Waratahs the opportunity to attack and they levelled the scores with a try out wide.

They then had the chance to win

the game, however the drop goal

conversion attempt sailed wide

forcing the match into extra time.

After four minutes, and having had the better of possession, Tahs spun the ball wide to the right and scored in the corner to bring the curtain down on what was a very successful day for the host club.

The Tricolours finished with one win and two losses, their victory being an emphatic 40-0 result against Tumut in the final preliminary round, while their 12-7 loss to Young in round two came in golden point.

Cootamundra coach Kristian Bodycott was more than pleased with his team’s performance.

“We had a truckload of players turn up throughout the day which was great, as long as they continue that commitment for the rest of the

pre-season,” Bodycott said.

“Our first game against Tahs was a bit rusty as it was out first real chance to get our hands on the ball for the

season and they (Tahs) are always well drilled regardless of what format the game is.

“We held them to three tries, all of which came off our mistakes and they didn’t dominate us as much as the score might reflect.

“We had a close one against Young which we lost in extra time and it was our ill discipline that cost us as much as anything as a few penalties crept into our game.”

In a precursor to how the Tricolours may play this season, Bodycott opted for a change of tactics against Tumut and it paid off in spades with a

dominant 40 point win.

“We decided not to contest at the break down but concentrate on getting our defensive line set,” Bodycott

said.

“This took our infringements away and made us a far more disciplined side. It worked well and, while 10s is a vastly different game, it may be

something we implement this year.”

Among those to impress for the Tricolours were Alex Hardie and Bob Scott, while new Welsh recruit Ryan was ‘fairly solid’.

“We tried Ryan at halfback and

fullback and he looked very strong,” Bodycott said.

“Tom Campbell also got a run and went well.”

Bodycott believes, based on the results from Saturday, this year’s

competition could be one of the most even in years.

“Obviously 10s is not a true

indication of how the season will pan out, however a number of sides, including us, looked strong,” he said.

“Potentially it could be a very close competition with a number of teams vying for the top six spots.

“Our focus now is to maintain the enthusiasm shown on the weekend and build momentum heading into the

season.”

The Tricolours next hit out will be at the SIRU knockout in Wagga in two weeks where they are guaranteed at least three games.

RESULTS

Seniors

Round 1

Waratahs 17 d Coota 0, Young 29 d Temora 5, Wagga City 34 d Tumut 12

Round 2

Grenfell 17 d Temora 12, Young 12 d Coota 7, Waratahs 33 d Tumut 10

Round 3

Wagga City 17 d Grenfell 10,Temora 54 d Tumut 0, Waratahs 35 d Young 17

Round 4

Coota 40 d Tumut 0, Temora 7 d Wagga City 0, Young 31 d Grenfell 1

FINAL

Waratahs 22 d Wagga City 17

Under 17s

Round 1

Waratahs 29 d Coota 0, Young 17 d City 5, Griffith 20 d Grenfell 19

Round 2

Wagga City 15 d Coota 12, Young 22 d Grenfell 0, Waratahs 17 d Griffith 0

Round 3

Young 15 d Coota 12, Griffith 20 d Wagga City 14

Waratahs 19 d Grenfell 0

FINAL

Waratahs 17 d Young 5