Rugby vs St. Aloysius'

Transcription

1 SPORT Rugby vs St. Aloysius' MIC When the attitude and match performances of lower grade teams correspond with our A-grade sides in terms of playing style in attack and defence, broad smiles are elicited from coaches and spectators alike. The infectiousness of the pleasure derived by the spectators is manifested in the displays of satisfaction form the players after their games, ironically regardless of the score. The technical nature of Rugby is often lost on players who either play the sport for the sake of fulfilling their co-curricular obligation, or for those who simply play sport with no desire to progress beyond the team in which they find themselves. However, by being exposed to passionate coaches and witnessing the example set by senior players, they begin to absorb the game by osmosis. The consequence of this exposure was displayed on Saturday on College Oval by the 4th and 3rd XVs. For boys who had last played the game in Year Six or Year 7, and returned to the sport in Year Twelve to play with their mates, they certainly performed at a level that generated compliments from both Trinity parents and senior coaches. Both teams played with purpose and passion. The matches were mirror images of one another. The attacking shape of the forward drives, sustaining control of the ball for extended phases, complemented by the effective backline defence, demonstrated the value to be derived by playing with mates and enjoying the physical challenges of the game. This area of heaven s game was captured in a moment in time when the slightest Trinity winger, playing only his third full game of Rugby, tackled an intimidating Aloysius flanker running at full speed down the score-board sideline in other words, Poetry in Motion. On behalf of the coaches and Trinity spectators, I would like to congratulate our seniors for providing a wonderful spectacle of Rugby for all to witness last Saturday. Andrea Folli MIC Rugby 1st XV Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 1 of 12

2 The First XV struggled against a combative and aggressive St. Aloysius team that prevented the Trinity players from getting a foothold in the game. Aloys controlled most areas of the game, playing a smart territorial game by keeping play in the Trinity half of the field. Despite their awareness of the Blue and Gold tactics, the Trinity Firsts essentially played a defensive game against a relentless and domineering Aloys forward pack. The Boys in Green valiantly tackled in the first half of the game, consistently making their one-on-one tackles, but the energy-sapping first thirty-five minutes impacted on the quality of their defence in the second half. The Aloysius forward pack maintained control of the ball through a combination of progressive pick-andgo drives, supplemented by dynamic carries and immediate clearing at the rucks. The Trinity forwards, for much of the game, attempted to stem the flow of frequent Aloysius attacks, but their efficacy was limited by the rapid ball recycling by the attacking side. The value of the game for the Trinity side lay in the trial nature of the contest. When St. Aloysius meet us again, we will have had another four games in terms of experience and match conditioning. Round One of the CAS commences this coming Saturday against Barker, and we wish all our teams the best of luck (supplemented by a dose of hard work and perseverance, of course) in their first round of the CAS Winter Season. Andrea Folli MIC Rugby 2nd XV Despite having the lion s share of possession along with an abundance of territory at College oval last Saturday, the Trinity 2nd XV were unable to put points on the board in the first half. Despite a half-time talk devoted to execution and finishing, the pattern continued in the second half, the only problem being that St. Aloysius turned the ball over off the back of a Trinity error and went 60 metres the other way to lead 5-0 on the scoreboard with 5 minutes to play. Fortunately through a patient build-up and a few hard earned penalties, captain courageous Ben LoRusso (12He) was able to cross for a try 30 second from the final whistle. The conversion was unsuccessful; final score Trinity 5 St. Aloysius 5. Upon reflection, one that got away! Andrew Payne 2nd XV 15A In what could have been a tiresome game at Trinity became a convincing performance with a solid powerful forward performance. Riley Large (10Hi) organised his team well with a whole-hearted effort. Jack Bermingham (10Mu) had his best game of the season and needs to build from here for future performances. Although experimentation with players and positions narrowed the deficit, Trinity were always in control of the game. Lachlan White U15A Coach Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 2 of 12

3 14A After learning of the news that they were to play on the hallowed turf of TGS 1, the 14A side were especially keen to put in a good performance against St Aloys. The day started well with all 15 players turning up on time for the warm-up. The boys were focussed and ready, come kick-off time. Trinity dominated the possession in the early stages of the match, and were rewarded with tries to Turoa Williams (9WH) and Tyson Jackson (8Fo). Some of the boys got a bit of white line fever and a few chances were missed, but it was good to see Lachlan Dock (8Ta) score his first try for the season towards the end of the first half. Leading 26-0 at half time, the side highlighted the fact that they needed to spread the ball through the hands in the second half and to the team s credit they played with more structure and flair. Juno Yim (8Ho) was destructive with ball in hand and he crossed for 2 tries. Daniel Morris (8St) made a welcome return from injury to provide some aggression and determination, and he was ably supported by fellow flanker Jacob Stark (8Fo) who seemed to make a break every time he touched the ball. Another fantastic win for the 14A side. Ian Moran U14A Coach 13B Jasper Fforde once wrote that organised sport builds character, and that the concept of character was invented to justify the existence of organised sport. As much as I appreciate the humour of the statement, there s no denying that character-a-plenty was in fact being built on Number Three Oval last week! It s tough to turn out against an opposition that is bigger, faster, stronger and more skilled than you are, but this is something that rugby teaches us: there s always someone better than you. On this occasion there were 15 people better than us! We looked down and out after the first half, which saw Scots run in 7 unanswered tries. The second half began much like the first; however, a late concerted effort to retain possession, and to have ball retention as our main goal, saw Trinity with an attacking opportunity in the opposition s 22. Scots then gave away a penalty and captain William Blanchfield (8 Ho) was able to capitalise and barge through what seemed like, up until this point, impenetrable defence, scoring out on the left wing. Tomorrow will see the boys face up in the first official CAS round for 2017 and it will be their character as a team that determines whether or not they succeed this season. Phillip Roser U13B Coach 13C With hard work at training and improvements in structure and organisation on the field, the 13Cs have been playing some high quality rugby. On the weekend they were up against a strong St Aloysius' Bs team. While Trinity were in front and the dominant team for most of the game, unfortunately St Aloysius scored two quick tries in the last five minutes to claim victory Jonathan Fouad (8WJ) was dominant in both attack and defence, with the big men Elias Sidiropoulos (7Yo) and Mercurius Yousif (8Sc) making some thundering runs down the field. Jack Barter (7St) has been going from strength to strength, moving up from the Ds and Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 3 of 12

4 scoring a strong try this week. A little more discipline in defence is required to turn dominant performances into victories. Sarah Tallis U13C Coach Results vs St. Aloysius' 1sts L7/38 2nds D5/5 3rds L14/19 4ths L19/25 16A L5/8 16B D19/19 16C No Game 15A W36/14 15B L0/31 15C L14/43 14A W52/5 14B L0/69 14C L12/20 14D L5/53 13A W26/12 13B L5/72 13C L15/17 13D L0/60 Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 4 of 12

5 Ky Willoughby (9WH) 15A driving through the tackle with an eye on the try line. Ben Newall (9Yo) 15B takes the ball to the line, challenging Kings defence. Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 5 of 12

6 Zak Balzan (9Ta) 15B running at space left by a defender s missed tackle. Spiro Christopoulos (9Ar) 15B valiantly attacks his opponents with straight running. Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 6 of 12

7 Reilly Large (10Hi) 15A prepares to draw, set the defence, and pass to an awaiting attacker. Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 7 of 12

8 James Browning (9Du) 15A finishing off a rapid counter-attack to score. Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 8 of 12

9 Pierce Foley (9Fo) 15A takes the ball into contact, drawing in the defence. 14A Try time! Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 9 of 12

10 Lachlan Sinclair (11St) 3rd XV - fearlessly takes on the Aloysius forwards with a determined run. Tyson Jackson (8Fo) 14A drives over to score the try! Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 10 of 12

11 Carl Wingti (12Sc) and Thomas Newall (11Yo) 3rd XV contain an Aloysius player. Haydon Johnson (11Ke) 3rd XV attacking a defensive gap with an eye to offloading to a supporting player. Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 11 of 12

12 Matthew Teixeira (12Sc) 2nd XV breaking through a tackle in a close game. Copyright Trinity Grammar School All Rights Reserved. 12 of 12