BOND BREAK DROUGHT TO BOOST MORALE
BOND Pirates coach Lincoln Matehaere hopes the side’s first win of the Gold Coast District Rugby Union first grade season inspires them to further success.
The Pirates beat the Gold Coast Eagles 24-15 at Pizzey Park on Saturday to record their maiden win of the season while forcing their opponents to continue their horror winless run.
Matehaere said it was a belief-injecting win.
“It’s a good morale booster for our boys to finally get something out of our season,” Matehaere said.
“It’s a huge result for us. You have to win in the first four or so games, otherwise you put in all that effort over the pre-season and it sets you back.
“It will provide the boys with a huge lift. Hopefully this week it will encourage them to continue on with it.
“We had to change our game plan slightly because of the wet weather but it was a good result for us.
“It was a hard-fought game. All credit to our opposition, they made us work for every point.”
Bond led 17-3 at halftime and despite the Eagles trying to mount a second half charge, they couldn’t close the gap enough.
Matehaere said the defensive efforts of his team laid the foundation for the win but conceded their was still room to improve going forward.
“Our defence was the highlight of our game,” Matehaere said.
“We didn’t capitalise on our structures, our scrums and lineouts so that is something we need to work on but our defence has been the positive at this stage.”