It was 67 years in the making but Blue Mountains Rugby Union Club has secured its first ever Kentwell Cup.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
The Blueys claimed suburban rugby's top prize with a nail-biting 44-40 win over Hunters Hill on Saturday, September 2 at Concord Oval.
Angus McGrath opened the scoring after exposing the left edge and minutes later John Sauni was over and an early 15-0 lead was opened up. Speed machine Samisoni Toganivalu crossed the line for the third try of the day, resulting in 22-0 lead with Hunters Hill unable to stop the Blue Mountains forwards from creating large gaps in the defence.
Holding on to a 27-19 margin, Angus McGrath and Jake Butler-Fleming continued to push the Hunters Hill defence to the limits.
READ MORE:
The lead blew out to 44-19 after Luke Smart crossed the line twice and Aparama Vulavou also scored a try. It looked like the Kentwell Cup was heading west.
But with 15 minutes remaining Hunters Hill finished in characteristic strong fashion, scoring three tries in quick succession and closing the scoreline to 44-40. The hearts of the large and vocal Blue Mountains supporters were racing as Hunters Hill again attacked, but Blue Mountains stalwart forward Clancy Henderson continued push himself in the middle of the ground, slowing their attack.
As Hunters Hill attacked again, they were stopped on the left edge by Brad Kenny and Angus McGrath before the referee signalled the end of the game.
Winning the Kentwell Cup has been a longtime dream of Blue Mountains Rugby Club when they returned to division one after winning the Barraclough Cup. Led by premiership coaches Luke Williams and Ryan Casey, backed by then president George Ftynogiannis, the goal was to continue moving the club towards Kentwell Cup glory.
A strong club culture and leadership was laid in 2023 from coaches Luke Raams, Peter Richey and Brad Morgan, backed up by players Chris Nay, Peter Nay, John Sauni and Luke Smart along with president John Daniels.
Premiership players Damon Lee, Nick O'Gorman and Clancy Henderson have played all their rugby from juniors with the Blue Mountains Blue Tongues while Darcy Thompson played Colts with Blue Mountains.
After claiming the Kentwell Cup, the club looks forward to continuing the success of 2023 across all grades to show that rugby in the west is well and truly alive.
