St. Louis Bombers Rugby Football Club

The St. Louis Bombers recorded their first Rugby Super League victory with a dramatic 23-20 victory over heavily favored San Francisco Golden Gate. A large crowd of more than 500 fans were treated to a fast, hard-hitting, entertaining battle that went down to the wire on a perfect Spring evening at the beautiful Sportport Complex in St. Louis.

SFGG started strong, looking to move the ball wide at every chance. St. Louis answered with solid tackling and gave the impression early that they were not going away anytime soon. A nifty Grant Wells skip pass put SFGG wing Brian Barnard into the corner for a try to open the scoring 24 minutes into the match. Wells' difficult conversion put SFGG in front 7-0.

Ten minutes later, SFGG wing Toshi Polamo finished off a nice overload to expand the lead to 14-0 with Wells' conversion. SFGG repeatedly stretched the St. Louis defense by shipping the ball wide. But the Bombers were making their tackles and began arriving at the rucks a step ahead of Golden Gate. St. Louis flyhalf Rene Monette's penalty kick brought the score to 14-3 SFGG at the break.

SFGG came out of the blocks strong to start the second half, and were rewarded with a Wells penalty kick to increase the score to 17-3. The turning point in the match came next when SFGG was pounding the ball deep inside St. Louis territory. Bomber fullback Conail Boyd gambled and launched himself into the passing lane. The gamble paid off 90 meters later as Boyd intercepted and then outraced SFGG's Polamo to score. Monette's conversion closed the score to 17-10 SFGG.

Wells and Monette exchanged penalty goals to keep SFGG's lead at seven points 20-13, with ten minutes to play. Bomber prop Scott Lay then launched another of his patented runs, giving SFGG a physical explanation as to why he is nicknamed the "Bowling Ball". St. Louis center Brian Meyer capitalized from the quickly recycled ball at the tackle to score. Monette's conversion leveled the score at 20-20 with eight minutes remaining.

St. Louis, smelling a chance at their first ever RSL victory, dominated play for the next five minutes. Monette's penalty kick put St. Louis up 23-20 with three minutes to play. However, SFGG made St. Louis sweat as they camped out deep inside Bomber territory. But St. Louis repelled every attack, and were jubilant when referee Pat McNally sounded full time.

White Side Downs Kansas City

The Bomber White side defeated I-70 rivals Kansas City RFC 21-18 to claim a playoff spot in the WRFU D-1 final four. Fullback Zach Giljum contributed 11 points with a try and two penalty kicks to lead the way for the Whites. Flanker Jim Hoffmann scored the first points of the day with a good support try. Center Eric Hinson nabbed his team's second try with hard, straight running.

Hoffmann, Josh Rainey and Garrett Lambert formed a loose forward trio that worked well together and made a huge impact on the match. Halfback and captain Scotty Giljum was tremendous at the back of rucks with good service and decision making. Bomber rookie flyhalf Justin Mastrioanni showed improved match management. The engine room produced quality ball on the day, led by Gio Lafata, Bill Williams, Corey Gunnell and Lucas Murillo.

Backs Adam Gottemoeller, Julius Mingala and Jim Crutchfield played smart and hard, particularly on defense.

The Sportport Complex was packed with one of the largest crowds in recent history. The Bombers wish to thank the numerous local clubs who ventured out to watch the Super League action and cheer for the home team.

Spotted in the crowd were Bomber legends: Cliff Schlereth, Vic Miller, John Kyle, Tom Scott, Bob Jones, Marc Daurelle, Jim Boggeman, Scott Weddell, Sterling Hayden, John Tarpoff Sr., Terry Swap, Rock Naunheim, Lennie Gall, Harley Meyer, Jonathan Grace, Tom Butler and many more.

The Bombers wish to thank sponsors 7up Red Jak & DejaBlue, Colombos Cafe and Fastsigns for their support.