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Playing the Field

Page 71

by Tamsyn Bester

I see it then.

The shift.

The flicker of fight that wasn’t there before.

It’s not about screaming or breaking shit. It’s about making them believe they can still win this.

And when we step back onto the field, I see it in their body language.

They believe.

The second half starts, and immediately, I know we’re different.

Utah comes out just as aggressive, just as sharp, but this time—we match them.

Better yet?

We beat them to the punch.

It starts with Carter. He takes control at the breakdown, marshaling the forwards to clean up possession quicker, barking orders with the kind of authority that reminds me why he wears the armband.

Then Callum makes a play.

Utah sends a deep kick into our half, thinking they’ll pin us back again, but Hale reads it perfectly, catching it cleanly and immediately attacking the space.

He steps around the first defender.

Breaks through the second.

Suddenly, we’re inside their twenty-two, and Utah’s scrambling to reset.

Our scrum-half, clearly feeling the pressure, finally challenges the defensive line. Instead of just shoveling the ball out, he snipes through the smallest of gaps, drawing in two defenders before offloading to our inside center.

Boom.

Breakthrough.

Carter’s already there, running a hard line, taking the final pass, and powering over the try line.

The ref blows the whistle.

12-5.

The momentum shifts.

Utah feels it. We feel it.

And we don’t stop there.

Ten minutes later, we score again.

This time, it’s our forwards who step up, hammering at the try line after a series of brutal carries. The ref raises his arm, signaling advantage for an offside call, but we don’t need it—our loosehead prop crashes over the whitewash, slamming the ball down with authority.

Toby converts.

12-12.

Game tied.