TSS, Churchie and Nudgee all claimed hard fought victories to extend their unbeaten starts to the 2023 GPS season, while Toowoomba were far too good at maul time in a comfortable victory over Brisbane Grammar. 

Catch up on all the action from another intriguing round of first XV rugby. 

Churchie 22-6 BBC

A 40 metre driving maul try helped Churchie continue their unbeaten start to the GPS season following an impressive 22-6 victory over BBC at Miskin Oval

On Old Boys Day at BBC, Churchie opened the scoring in the 7th minute when centre Max Blanch leaped high to claim a loose ball following a charge down of a BBC clearing kick. 

Churchie edged further ahead with a penalty goal in the 17th minute before momentum swung to the home side. BBC dominated possession and territory for the remainder of the first half, but their execution wasn’t quite there. 

BBC attacked Churchie’s line for what seemed like an age, but Churchie repeatedly repelled their opponents, forcing BBC to eventually take the three points on the stroke of half time. 

The home side added a second penalty goal early in the second half to reduce the deficit to just two points before Churchie vice captain Frankie Goldsbrough cracked the game open with an outstanding run. 

Off a lineout just inside BBC territory, Goldsbrough ran a fantastic line to split the defence, then flicked a pass to prop Diamond Fifita who scored under the posts. 

Churchie then sealed victory late in the match with possibly the try of the season. At least for the rugby purists out there. 

From a lineout 40 metres from the try line, the Churchie forwards slowly marched a maul towards the line, eventually scoring an incredible try from a maul that was driven for more than 50 seconds. 

BBC attacked the Churchie line again in the final minutes, but once again the visitors defence held strong. 

Churchie now haven’t conceded a try in their last 140 minutes of rugby. 

Nudgee 29-3 Gregory Terrace

Nudgee scored four unanswered second half tries to beat Gregory Terrace 29-3 and claim their second victory at Ross Oval in as many weeks.  

Gregory Terrace were right up for the challenge in the first half and matched the (joint) defending premiers in the opening 35 minutes. 

The visitors were stopped just inches from the tryline late in the first half, but eventually kicked a penalty goal to take a 3-0 lead to the half time break. 

The second half was a very different story though. After a decent half time spray, Nudgee game out firing and broke the Gregory Terrace defence just minutes into the second half. 

From a scrum inside their own half, Nudgee centre Prestyn Laine-Sietu charged into Terrace territory but was brought down metres from the line. Two phases later though, Laine-Sietu’s centre partner Ryan Heaton crossed untouched near the corner post. 

Nudgee winger James Duggan than snagged an intercept to set up a try for prop Macarius Pereira against the run of play and suddenly the home side were leading 12-3. 

After holding up a Gregory Terrace maul over the line down one end, Nudgee then used a driving maul of their own to get on the front foot. 

Off the back of that, Macarius Pereira made a break and offloaded to Ryan Heaton who scored his second try of the afternoon. 

The home side then sealed the victory with an impressive counterattack try in the final minutes. From turnover ball, Nudgee moved the pill from one sideline to the other allowing winger Emmanuel Taviri to charge away and seal a 29-3 victory. 

Toowoomba Grammar 41-8 Brisbane Grammar

A dominant maul, in both attack and defence helped Toowoomba claim a comfortable 41-8 victory over Brisbane Grammar and hold on to top spot on the GPS ladder. 

Brisbane Grammar opened the scoring with a penalty goal but Toowoomba hit back soon after when fullback Richard Dean ran an insanely good in-n-out line to break the Grammar defence and score next to the posts. 

The Toowoomba forwards then took control of the match, scoring a try from a dominant driving maul, then stopping Grammar’s impressive maul on several occasions late in the first half. 

Leading 14-3 at the break, Toowoomba extended their lead when centre Harry Newnham used footwork to beat his defender, then strength to carry him and two others over the try line to score. 

Newnham’s forwards then crossed again from a driving maul, before Grammar responded with a maul try of their own. 

But Grammar has few answers for the Toowoomba forward pack, who scored two more maul tries, four in total, to lead their team to a third straight victory this season. 

TSS 22-18 Brisbane State High School

TSS snuck past Brisbane State High to claim a 22-18 victory and hand State High their third straight narrow defeat in as many weeks. 

State Hight started brilliantly, scoring through winger Nemani Lesimaikimatuku after just 80 seconds. 

But TSS hit back on the 10 minute mark with a try from a driving maul to claim a 7-5 lead. 

In a seesawing battle, State High kicked ahead with a penalty goal, before TSS responded to kick a three pointer of their own and take a 10-8 lead to the half time break. 

State High regained the lead minutes in to the second half following a brilliant run from centre Joshua Takai. 

Takai was tackled close to the TSS tryline but the State High forwards eventually barged over to give the home side a 15-10 lead. 

TSS then turned to their maul and scored a fantastic set piece try from a lineout 25 metres from the try line. The TSS forwards showed great patience to slowly edge their way towards the tryline before eventually scoring to put their side back in front. 

But Brisbane State refused to go away and kicked another penalty goal to claim an 18-17 lead. 

Things were looking promising for the home side, but with the match in the balance, a number for key TSS forwards stepped up. 

Inside the final 10 minutes, gun lock Fergus Gillan busted through the State High defence. After making metres, he passed off the ground to flanker Billy Wellard. Wellerd then passed to winger Charlie Coffee who scored in the corner in front of the TSS Students to seal an important 22-18 win. 

After losing their opening two matches by just one point, Saturday’s four point loss to TSS is a third straight heartbreak for a luckless BSHS outfit.