Cottesloe continued their winning streak with a reasonably comfortable victory over Perth Bayswater by a score of 43 points 29. It was Baysie who started brightest, scoring two quick tries in succession to blow the score out to 12-0, but there was no panic beneath the posts amongst the players. Once Bayswater’s Force players were dealt with, Cottesloe began to dominate the exchanges with superior organisation, set-piece and tactical kicking. Simi Verata scored the first try as he used his long levers to evade the despairing Bayswater tackling and Charl converted. A couple of penalties followed for Cottesloe and they quickly snatched the lead. Ali Haining continued his fantastic form from the previous week, by scoring a try after a powerful run through the midfield that left a handful of Baysie defenders floundering in his wake. Bayswater at this point were really being put to the question and the half time whistle was met with relief from their faithful supporters.

The second half didn’t really improve much for them though as relentless forward pressure from Tobias Hoskins and Zane Hunga forced penalties from the opposition and Charl sent them sailing over the bar. Baysie did answer with a try against the run of play from former Cottesloe player Nathan Hunt but it proved only a momentary blip. Cottesloe went straight back down the field and waves of sustained pressure from the Cottesloe forward pack lead to Sasha Holloway smashing his way over the line for a powerful score and Charl easily converted. Baysie to their credit were able to come up with another score on the left when some clever and at times intricate passing lead to a try, but Cottesloe once more just went straight back down and scored their fourth and final try through James Blackburn on the left wing. Good play and deft handling from Simi and Sean “Morne” Martin opened the way for the velociraptor-like winger to dot down. A couple of more penalties from the boot of Charl ensured that Cottesloe’s boot never left the neck of Bayswater and although they managed another try towards the end, the men in black and white were thoroughly done.

Despite being shorn of several leaders in the forward pack such as Kieran Stringer and Kaisa Reidy, numbers one to eight played with a unity and discipline that Bayswater simply couldn’t match. Simi was an absolute menace all day as his pace and insane range of skills tormented the Baysie defence. In the backs, Peter Grant showed his class and exuded calm throughout and Ali Haining was explosive in his midfield berth. Man of the match for me though was Charl Nieuwenhuis whose metronomic kicking and flat passing forced error after error from the Baysie side. Cottesloe have now fully secured their place in the Premiership Div. 1 competition but they will be still searching for a positive result against Wanneroo this weekend at the nest.