St. Louis Bombers Rugby Football Club

The St. Louis Bombers ran in 7 tries to down Super League rivals Chicago Lions 39-29 on the road. The Lions roared out to an early 14-0 lead, but the Bombers found their rythm and played superb attacking rugby for the final 60 minutes.

The Lions got early tries from flyhalf Jeremy Nash and # 8 Matt Degoetes, both from sustained pressure deep in St. Louis territory. But the Bombers quickly woke up and responded with tries from hooker Josh Witten and #8 Josh Rainey to pull to 14-10. Degoetes notched his second try of the day 26 minutes into the match, but St. Louis answered with a try from flanker Zach Giljum on a chargedown. Bomber wing Alan Kloss finished off a counter attack from fullback Jim Morrison that covered 70 meters to give St. Louis a 22-19 halftime lead.

Lion's wing Gonzalo Barenes finished off a series of phases to put his side back on top 24-22. Chicago center Vinnie Strapoli scored from an intercept to push the Lions further ahead 29-22 with 20 minutes to play. But it would be all Bombers the rest of the way. Bomber flanker Zach Giljum notched his second try of the match from a lineout drive to narrow the deficit to 29-27. Giljum got his hat-trick a few minutes later from good support as young 18 year-old Bomber center Nick Godfrey put a dent in the Lions backline defense. Bomber wing Tim Stolarski gathered in a well judged kick from flyhalf Justin Mastoianni to seal the victory late in the match, bringing the final to 39-29 Bombers.

The Bombers also received strong performances from prop Tim Basler, flanker Kyle Manley and center TJ Ebner. Centers Ebner and Godfrey were exceptional in defense and distributed the ball efficiently to the outside backs.

The Bomber Whites completed the afternoon sweep with a convincing 22-12 victory. Fullback Kevin Tucker carved his way through the Lion's defense to score the only try of the first half, as both sides were tackling aggressively. Lock Sean "Kingpin" Gunnell notched his first-ever try early in the second half to push his team up 15-0. The Lions answered with a try from young halfback Bergman, but flanker Jim Hoffman responded with a try to give his team a 22-7 lead. The Lions put in a late try, but the Bomber Whites took home a solid 22-12 win.

Lock Jason Isaacson, playing his first-ever rugby match, was impressive in the lineouts, the tackle, and with ball in hand. Hooker Ben Virtue, prop Vinnie Wroughton, flanker JP Shen and halfback Scott Wozniak also put in strong performances. Centers Joe Mertz and Oscar Iglesias were very solid on the day, as were replacement center Doug Ashton and fullback Kevin Tucker.