THE Armidale School's First XV has elevated to equal second place on the AAGPS Third Grade rugby competition after a 24-10 win over Sydney Boys' High School First XV on Saturday.
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In a match where a three week holiday break showed in the fitness of both teams it was the hosts who put the first points on the board, with a try to Tom Hamilton converted by Will Swales giving TAS the upper hand 7-5 at half time.
Early in the second half a couple of missed tackles allowed the visitors to up the ante and briefly take to the lead before William Ellis crossed the line and another successful Swales conversion elevated the scoreboard to 14-10.
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TAS failed to slot a penalty kick but shortly after Liam Smith was pushed across the line taking it to 19-10, with Lachlan Oates wrapping it up for the hosts with another try on the bell.
"High were a very tough opposition and were very hard on the ball, we struggled to clean them out but to our boys' credit TAS played a lot more direct which meant we could get a bit more front-foot ball," co-coach AJ Whalley said.
"As the game wore on there was clearly some fatigue on both sides particularly from High. We just played a bit tighter in the second half which probably made it harder for them to get their hands on the ball giving us a bit more momentum to be able to move forward."
After a loss and four wins TAS now sits equal second with St Ignatius College Riverview on the table and will face equal third-placed The Scots College (Third XV) this coming Saturday in front of an expected large crowd at Armidale for TAS Reunion Weekend.
Also getting up for TAS against High were the Second XV (21-11), Third XV (12-10), 16As (65-0), 15s (77-15), 13As and 13Bs, while the High 14As took the points (52-14). As a result TAS retained the Hannon and Harris Cup for a range of fixtures which included basketball, tennis and football.