Sensational finish

Shamrocks Josh Woodford during his powerhouse display in his side’s 27-25 win over Kiama in the Illawarra Rugby Union final. Woodford scored a double and won man of the match.

JOEL RITCHIE

GREAT game – shame there had to be a loser.

That was sentiment after Shamrocks and Kiama fought out a thrilling Illawarra Rugby Union grand final at WIN Stadium on Saturday.

The Shamrocks scored a nailbiting 27-25 win but had to wait until after the fulltime siren to make sure of their victory.

Kiama set up a rolling maul 25 yards out from Shamrocks’ line as fulltime sounded and drove forward, seeking a match-winning try.

They looked the goods as Shamrocks tried to collapse the maul, winning an advantage that should have led to a penalty and a chance to snatch victory via a penalty goal.

However, the advantage was ruled over as Kiama neared the line before Shamrocks stole the ball and kicked it out, preserving their lead.

The massive crowd was in silence as the Kiama side drove towards the line but exploded when Shamrocks put the ball out.

For the Kiama faithful, there was only silence after what had been a stirring fightback.

The black and whites trailed 22-13 at halftime before a brawl in the 49th minute saw Adam Weir and Shamrocks’ Daniel Porra receive yellow cards.

Shamrocks settled first after the disruption, with fly half Michael Tyrpenou’s bullet-like pass finding Peter Rawlings to score in the corner and extend the minor premiers’ lead to 27-13.

From there it was all Kiama, with Shamrocks’ scrum half Mark Tarasenko yellow carded in the 23rd minute of the second half for spoiling.

Moments later Kiama’s Adam Weir crossed untouched to trim the margin to 27-18.

With three minutes remaining Kiama’s Scott Duncan peeled off a rumbling driving maul to score out wide and trim the margin to 27-23.

Adam Weir made no mistake with the conversion, setting up a grandstand finish.

Shamrocks coach Brendan Schoupp said his side’s set pieces made the difference.

“Kiama played well – they were better in the back ends of each half,’ he said.

“The match could have gone either way – it was a great game.”

Skipper Mark Stone singled out engine room partner Josh Woodford, who scored twice and won player of the match, for his effort in the grand final.

“It’s been a long time coming for me – I’ve played in three before this and been beaten,” he said.

“It’s great to finish a season unbeaten but full credit to Kiama; they played for the full 80 minutes and beyond.”

The victory capped a great day for Shamrocks, who won the second grade title in a 15-14 thriller against Shoalhaven and the club championship after a dominant season.