St. Louis Bombers Rugby Football Club

The St. Louis Bombers moved into Super League playoff contention with a hard-fought 28-25 road victory over the Kansas City Blues. The victory and bonus points put St. Louis in fourth place in the RSL West Conference.

Kansas City opened the scoring with a Matt Alexander penalty kick from 30 meters out 4 minutes into the match. St. Louis quickly responded as fullback Conail Boyd raced deep into Blues territory and halfback Bryan Lay darted in from the ensuing ruck to put the Bombers up 7-3 with Rene Monette's conversion.

The St. Louis forwards were beginning to flex their muscle and started to get the upperhand on their opponents. Constant pressure near the Blues line resulted in a penalty try for St. Louis from a push-over scrum. Monette converted to put St. Louis up 14-3.

However, the Blues were not about to go away, working their way deep into Bomber territory and getting rewarded with wing Gary Tapusoa pounding across the line for a try. Alexander's conversion and an additional penalty kick just before halftime made the score 14-13 in favor of St. Louis at the break.

Kansas City opened the second half scoring with a long range counter attack as Tapusoa notched his second try of the day from a nice assist from lock Chris Lawler. Alexander's conversion pushed KC in front 20-14 five minutes into the period.

The Bombers forwards were wearing down their opposites and St. Louis began feasting upon possession. Monette slipped through the tiring KC defense to go 30 meters untouched for a try. His conversion regained the lead for St. Louis 21-20. More sustained Bomber pressure allowed flanker Shaun Tegethoff to carve his way through to score under the posts. The converted try pushed St. Louis ahead 28-20 with ten minutes to go.

The Blues threw caution to the wind and decided to take the minimal amount of ball they were winning and run from anywhere. Their gamble paid off as fullback John Vula finished off a 90 meter movement from turnover ball to score in the corner. Alexander's conversion attempt sailed wide right and St. Louis clung to a narrow 28-25 lead with five minutes to play.

The Bombers wisely kept the ball in their forwards and hugged the right touchline in the dying minutes. The Blues could do nothing but defend as St. Louis closed out a hard-earned 28-25 victory. Referee Simon Page whistled full time on another classic battle between the Interstate 70 rivals. St. Louis secured the maximum bonus points with the victory and four tries. KC claimed a bonus point with the narrow loss.