The Cobar Rugby Union Club’s Camels took to the field against Gulargambone at the Ailsa Fitzsimmons Memorial Oval on Saturday and, while beaten 63-12, they looked to have discovered their mojo.
This is a football team that has been built from absolute zero with no players, coaches or hope in 2025.
For their Round 3 Western Plains Rugby Union match against Gular on Saturday, all players were fiercely committed in defence and creative, energetic and, at times, brilliant in attack.
Coach Taufao Taufao (‘Big T’) is confident this group will develop into a competitive force and surprise a few of the highflyers before the end of the 2026 season.
For the first 20 minutes of the game, the Camels held their own against a fit, fast and well drilled Gular team which has been matching it with the better sides in the Western Plains Zone competition for the past five years.
However, Gular got away with some easy points just before halftime to lead 31-0 at the break.
Any mistakes by Cobar were punished by the Gular’s pace out wide.
Gular continued to accumulate points for 20 minutes into the second half and it appeared lack of fitness on Cobar’s part would allow Gular to run riot and amass a big score.
But the Camels dug in and it was they who dominated play and scored two of the final game tries.
The first was a well-executed team attack in which the Camels displayed all the fundamentals of a seasoned rugby union team as they took the ball up to Gular and outplayed that team by execution of superior rugby skills.
Centre Fidelis ‘Dallas’ Ah Sam finished off the team effort by scoring the try which Kody Martin converted.
Cobar kept Gular on the back foot which then allowed Dallas to show off a bit of his personal “razzle dazzle” when he took the ball, pinned his ears back and beat the Gular speedsters to the tryline.
A very impressive individual effort but no more impressive than the effort put in by his 22 teammates.
The conversion by Kody Martin was unsuccessful.
All the Cobar Camels merited performance points either for outstanding or improved efforts on the field against Gular.
However, one point each went to loose-head prop Jack Fazulla and second-rower Lachie Mitchell.
Fazulla had a blinder of a second half, especially in defence whilst Mitchell is starting to own the set plays, particularly the lineout.
Mitch Dunne at open-side flanker earned his two points with a strong all round 80-minute effort, whilst new centre Dallas Ah Sam showed his class and cut loose in the second half.
This Saturday, the Camels bus it to Walgett for Round 4 and it will be a test of how much they have learnt and improved, as well as the depth of their resolve to take on whoever lines up against them…and that includes the game, the boat race and the bus trip home.—contributed
