GPS sting Sunshine Coast with one-point win

A late captain's try and steady kicking in the dying minutes saw GPS recover from a nine-point deficit against the Sunshine Coast to steal a 15-14 victory and continue their charge up the Strategic Airlines Queensland Premier Rugby ladder at Stockland Park.

The Gallopers proved their position at the top-end of the Premier Rugby table in round five by churning up a one-point win in the 77th minute despite seeming answerless after the Sunshine Coast's 9-0 first-half effort.

The loss marks the third on the trot for the struggling 2010 finalists who, despite a 14-point haul from flyhalf Shane Drahm, fell just short of the eighty minutes after letting unforced errors creep in.

"We controlled the game for most of the eighty minutes and we certainly deserved the win, but a few little mistakes and unforced errors off the ball and they got away with it," Stingrays coach Toutai Kefu said.

Backing up after a win over the star-studded Sunnybank outfit, GPS relied on their confidence to find the extra point after a mistake-riddled performance and coach Matt Pini said they were lucky to scrape through with the points.

"They made a lot of mistakes but the guys just hung in there and kept trying and got away with a win," Pini said.

"We did play some good rugby in stages, but simple errors and turned-over balls just made it difficult, but the boys are very happy to get away with it. Although it wasn't a great game, the better team probably lost."

Errors plagued GPS from the outset as passes found the turf and kicks failed to clear the sideline before they gifted Drahm his first penalty kick in the 11th minute.

A tactical drop kick from Drahm just two minutes later from over 50 metres out secured a 6-0 lead and had momentum firmly in the Stingrays corner before another Jeeps error extended the lead to nine.

It was a case of missed opportunities for the Gallopers as a Pat Smith penalty kick drifted to the left two minutes out from the break while solid Sunshine Coast defence backed up impressive kicking from Drahm to ensure the 9-0 lead at half-time.

"Sunshine coast showed us how to play in the first half. They kicked to the corners and they played down there. They turned around 9-0 and it could've been probably more," Pini said.

"I just said to them just do what they did; play to the corners and just keep pressure on and be patient."

Jeeps took to the challenge in the second with flanker Mogi Wei taking off down the left wing, fending Stingrays as he went, to run in the first try of the day in the first minute of the half.

While GPS had all the possession early, they lacked support at the ruck and it was Sunshine Coast who got the next points against the tide of play when good ball movement put Drahm over for a 14-5 lead.

But, as the Stingrays started to cramp, GPS put the pressure on at the Sunshine Coast goal-line before captain Jono Ellis finally broke through the defence in the 67th minute and Smith's first successful kick saw Jeeps within two of the lead.

While both teams were feeling the pinch, a Stingrays error in the maul just three minutes before the whistle gifted Smith the penalty that put GPS in front and sealed the 15-14 score-line for the away outfit.

Despite the loss, Kefu was happy with the improvement of Sunshine Coast, who were struggling with injuries to a number of key players, and he was confident that wins for his team are not far away.

"We haven't had our best team on the park yet. Unfortunately, we've just had some horrid injuries but we're still competing and we're still fighting and that's the main thing," Kefu said.

"The attitude at training and around the club's fantastic, so we will win some games."

GPS, who face top-ranked Easts next week, will have played the top five teams in the competition in a row, and despite coming away with four wins Pini said they will have to perform better going forward.

"Today was just taking some poor options and poor ball control. But they're things that can be fixed pretty easily so it's not all bad news, but you'd like to think that we could've played a little bit better," he said.

"We're close to putting something together that's going to be really good. We'll just keep working hard at training and it's coming, we just have to learn from our mistakes and improve."

Sunshine Coast will head to St Lucia next week to contest the re-match of last year's final against University.

GPS 15 (M Wei, J Ellis tries; P Smith con, pen) def Sunshine Coast 14 (S Drahm try, 2 pen, drop goal)

Match report by Amy Price