The Austin Blacks, backed by a bit of wind in the second half, pulled away from a tenacious Dallas RFC team to win 51-21 and move to 5-0 in Texas league play.
Playing at Austin's Burr Field follwing a period of heavy rain, both teams had to deal with wet conditions and a stiff breeze. Austin got the better of things early, scoring three tries as they capitalized on some Dallas arrors, and leading 19-0.
But Dallas righted the ship for a time, scoring two tries, one on a quick tap from Chris Hopkins, and one on a big run from fullback Kelly Kolberg, before halftime to make it 19-14.
Austin had some stars of their own, especially, once again, powerful center Levi Kereti, as well as flyhalf Pecesili Rinakama, who toched Dallas for four tries on the day.
The Blacks scored a try and added a Zak Triplett penalty goal to lead 29-14. Then Kolberg was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle - Dallas argued the tackled player had actually tried to hurdle the Dallas fullback (which you're not allowed to do) and that's why he went cartwheeling into the ground. the call stood and during the period Kolberg was on the sidelines, Austin scored three tries.
"I don't think it made that much of a difference," said Austin Head Coach Lachlan Ferguson. "They didn't lose a front row player or anything like that."
"The sin bin was tough," said Jeff Kolberg, Dallas RFC president. "But in fairness to Austin, they are a very good team, really well coached, tackle extremely well, and that flyhalf of theirs ate our lunch."
"I was very pleased with the patience and composure we showed," added Ferguson. "They're really starting to develop into an intelligent team."
Austin's 2nds beat Dallas's 2nds 51-5. This on a day when the Blacks had 17 players reported injured and 11 unavailable for selection. Ferguson left all 15 A-side starters on the pitch for the entire game.
"This gave a lot of guys opportunities and the whole club stepped up," Ferguson said. "Dallas reds never laid down, and it was a very tiring game with the wet ground sapping your strength."
John Jefferies scored a late one for Dallas (Paul Boyd slotted all three conversions), while locks Will Martin and Alex Sarroff added tries for Austin's effort.
The Blacks improve to 5-0, while Dallas drops to 3-2.
Meanwhile, thje Dallas Harlequins improved to 4-1 with a 67-0 shellacking of Fort Worth.
Center Spencer Cameron had an outstanding day for the 'Quins, whose only blemish is a loss to Austin.
HARC v. Austin Huns was postponed.