Krieger-Sparked Second Half Sees Navy Past Queens
Krieger-Sparked Second Half Sees Navy Past Queens
Navy put up an impressive score on Queens Saturday, beating their former Rugby East rivals 50-14.
However, it’s worth noting that it was 12-7 at halftime.
Navy over the last couple of years has gained a reputation for being a second-half team, and this matchup didn’t dispel the image.
Roanin Krieger did well to help Navy win the territorial game, but it was a tough game for the Midshipmen, especially through 40.
Navy got their first try after they were awarded a free kick at the scrum. Three passes later AJ Young had the ball on the wing, raced 20 meters, and then offloaded back to Kade Williams, who launched himself over.
Queens responded shortly after when Navy were penalized for killing the ball in the ruck. Queens took the lineout and were expected to work a maul. Instead they ran a snappy little lineout play that put Roan Shawver through a massive gap. Hilton Olivier’s conversion put the Royals up 7-5.
The teams continued to probe and test each other. Queens had a break and numbers on the outside but lost the ball forward. Still Navy ended up getting out of further trouble defending a maul right on their goalline.
Navy got a chance and a maul and while they were stopped, they were stopped illegally, and eventually the Midshipmen were awarded a penalty try to make it 12-7.
Navy had more chances. A long-range kick at goal from Krieger drifted wide. They got down to the line but were penalized for essentially crawling to score. You could forgive the impatience, but they didn’t need to be that way.
The early moments of second half turned everything around.
Right off the restart, Queens received and kicked deep. Krieger caught it, took it upfield, and then stepped infield and cut in on an angled run that took the flyhalf right under the posts.
He converted as well. Another good kick catch led to the next try. On a high ball at midfield hooker Ian Bullock did very well to snag the ball while running backwards and he got the Mids going. The ball was passed quickly to the wing; quick ball and snappy passing allowed center Drew Baublitz to take it over.
Krieger converted again and suddenly it was 26-7.
The Royals fought back with a well-placed grubber kick that set up Gideon Wessels for a try, closing the gap to 26–14 after another Olivier conversion. But Navy kept the pressure up. Krieger added a second after a long period of Navy being inside the Queens 22. The flyhalf added a penalty, too, and then from a scrum in the middle of the field Krieger went left, curved around to the wing, and then fed reserve scrumhalf Sean Donohue who was coming in on a smart support line. He had work to do but Donohue got over, and Krieger, of course, converted.
And as the game came to a close Krieger set up Baublitz to score off a scrum-five.
And that was it. Navy controlled the second half, which is what they do.
"We have a lot to work on, but this is why we play at this level," said Queens Head Men's Rugby Coach Tyree Reed. "We want to challenge ourselves and continue to grow. We're only two weeks into the season and have only been together for three weeks. There's a lot to improve on, and Navy highlighted those mistakes. Still, there are positives we can build from. We'll regroup and be ready for our first conference match."
“We didn’t make any adjustments,” Navy Head Coach Gavin Hickie said of the second half surge. “We just tidied up a few areas we spoke about executing the basics.”
Their execution at set piece was very good and they didn’t lose any lineouts or scrums.
“Getting 100% set piece is something we always strive for so it was good to see,” said Hickie. “For the second week in a row, our backs have scored all our points which shows the platform our forwards are providing.”
Krieger ended up with 23 points on two tries, a penalty goal, and all five conversions in the second half.