Blues blow double chance

THE Blues lost any hope of earning a second chance in the Meldrum Cup semifinals when they lost to Canterbury 19-11 at Lyne Park on Saturday.

Maccabi may now finish as high as third or as low as fifth, but only the top two teams earn a second chance in the six-team finals series.

It was a tough day for Maccabi after prop David Moses was injured during the warm-up, with no replacement prop available.

Under competition rules the team without a replacement prop is not allowed to contest the scrums and is forced to take the field with 14 players.

“We did have enough players but they are the rules and it took its toll on the team,” president David Greenstein said.

He said the team was also depleted because 16 guys were unavailable, 10 of them run-on players. “A lot of players are coming back from injury and travel commitments this week, so we should be back to full strength for the finals.”

Despite this obvious dis-advantage, Maccabi played well during the opening exchanges and Dean Friedlander kicked Maccabi into the lead with two penalties midway through the first half.

Halfback Steve Cohen aggravated an ankle injury and was forced to leave the field late in the half before Canterbury scored an unconverted try to close the gap to one point.

Yoni Sonnabend gave Maccabi a six-point lead when he crossed in the second half, and Maccabi looked destined for an unlikely win, but then Canterbury scored two tries in the last 20 minutes to win, 19-11.

Key players Jon Jon Levy, Justin Weiss, Marcus Schweitzer and Dan Munitz are all set to return when Maccabi play Oakhill on Saturday.

The Blues must then win two consecutive elimination finals matches to reach the grand final.

Maccabi will play Oakhill at Oakhill College on Old Northern Road in Castle Hill at 3.15pm on Saturday.

JOSHUA LEVI