By Brad Taylor, Cannonballs President
The Cannonballs took on Coffs Harbour Snappers on Saturday 14th May for our Annual Old Balls and Sponsors Day. The day celebrates the contribution of our players of the past and also that of the local businesses who dig deep to help the Cannonballs run around each year on the rugby park. Brad Taylor the President of the Cannonballs was pleased with how many people attended Ian Walton Rugby Park at Crescent Head.
“It was a fantastic day with plenty of sponsors turning up. We also had a lot of vintage jersey-wearing past players displaying their pride in the rugby club. They were also very vocal throughout the day, supporting our teams as they battled it out on the field”.
The Cannonballs were the only outdoor sport being played in the Macleay with other rugby games on the Mid North Coast postponed due to the wet weather. “I’d like to thank all those players, coaches, and volunteers who helped refurbish our field 1 which took a beating first round and saw all grades play on field 1 on a rain-soaked day. Old Balls and Sponsors Day saw sunshine and a breeze which kept the playing surface in reasonable condition and all games went ahead which was a fantastic outcome for the club”
The day got off to a good start with the U14s playing an equally matched side with a conversion the end difference on the scoreboard. Snappers victorious 17-15. Under 16s came up against an undermanned side and were made to play a man down and in uncontested scrums. This took away some of the team’s strike power and the team went down 15-0 by the final whistle.
The under 18s got the first win for the Cannonballs with a clinical display of attacking rugby and staunch defense taking the game 50-0. The senior women’s also continued to show they are a force to be reckoned with after dominating the opposing team 60-5. Reserve grade also tasted victory over the snappers with a tough match 17-7. First grade saw the cannons firing on all cylinders for the first 20 minutes of the game, however, a few back-to-back penalties saw the snapper’s big forward pack push over for 3 of their 4 tries from scrums close to the cannonballs line. To their credit, the young cannonballs’ side didn’t give in and came back to be within 5 points of the lead when the final minutes ran down. The Club would like to thank volunteers, teams, coaches, sponsors, and old balls who attended on the day. It was a great day for rugby.
