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Travelling is always a difficult day on tour and this was no different. After a few battered and bruised bodies it was decided that we would put out only one team against Brisbane State High another GPS school – 3rd in Queensland State ( B team) and only one team against Southport School - 4th best in Queensland (A team). This game was always seen as our more important game and a major test. We knew this was not ideal but the best that could be done. More on the games later.
As for our stay – it was not really Brisbane – but in fact on the Gold Coast and was a wonderful 6 days. We stayed at a specialist sporting camp and we all used the various facilities – gym, pool, pitches, track and beach volleyball courts (without a doubt the favourite!). Whilst here we visited the Steve Irwin – Australia Zoo and also spent the day at Surfer’s Paradise and whilst all the riots were occurring at home we were very much relaxing. No doubt that these activities as well as a team evening brought us even more closer as a group. |
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MATCH 3 Vesus St Joesph's College
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A team match:
We arrived at the ground early, and the pitch was very impressive, with stands capable of seating many hundreds of people and a wide pitch perfect for running rugby. From the kick-off we knew the game would be a huge challenge, as they were very fit and started at high intensity. After we cleared the ball during the first play, they took the following lineout quickly and immediately counter-attacked; this would be their attacking style for the whole game. After a competitive first few minutes they were the first to score, but we immediately responded with a great move started by Henry and Felix, and scored by Peter Sinderberry. Though this boosted the team, Joey’s organisation allowed them to respond with two more tries leaving the half-time score at 17-5.
Early in the second half, they scored again and this could have got the boys’ heads down, but they came back firing and a good break by Peter Sinderberry, followed by a great offload from Harry Elrington which put Toby Savill in for a try under the posts, which was converted by Pete. Later on in the game our busy tour schedule began to show as we fatigued, and their fitness showed and they scored twice more to give a final score of 36-12. Sinderberry was a deserving man of the match for his good lines all game and a high tackle count. A mention should also go to Sam Kettle who played well at the breakdown and had a high workrate, and Luke Chitty hit hard all game long. Many thanks should go to St Josephs College who hosted very well.
B team match:
After spending time waiting for the kick off – we had plenty of time to think about what laid ahead of us. After a disappointing result against Victorian we wanted to get a good result and also a strong performance. After a perfect start and an early 7-0 lead, the skilful and powerful Joey’s team began to dominate and took a 31-7 lead into the second half. After the break we won the second half 14-0 and showed that our patterns of play worked and we left in much better spirit than we expected at half time. Excellent performances from Luke Boyd, George Colgan and Adam Barker lead them to later represent the A team in the final test match against Southport. Unfortunately both the A’s and B’s had many injuries during the matches and this lead to our cancelling of one match against Brisbane State High School.
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MATCH 2 versus Colloroy RFC
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After such a physical first game for both teams and several boys taking knocks, the decision was made, in the interest of boys being fresh for the Joeys game two days after, that only one team would be put out against Colloroy RFC. In the early evening we took the bus out into the suburbs for the game and the team got warmed up; for many of the boys it was the first time that they had played under floodlights.
Captain Ben Roberts led the team well in the first few minutes with some strong carries, and Toby Savill made some effective darting runs from scrum half. Colloroy were the first to get points on the board with a penalty, but Cranleigh hit back straight away with a well worked team try scored by Ben Roberts. Ben then scored a second try in the first half, which was overall fairly even. At half time we were up by 10 points.
In the second half Andy Houston made lots of changes to give our 25 man squad plenty of game time each and Jonah Ghinn and Luke Boyd once again put in excellent performances. Three further tries gave us a 5-2 try count victory and the tour was now up and running.
James Thompson
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After a short flight we arrived on Monday morning and explored Sydney for the rest of the day. Early on Tuesday morning we took a train to Bondi Beach. The weather was great and we all went in the sea before eating lunch there. Then in the evening we played Colloroy and beat them comfortably. On Wednesday morning we all climbed to the top of the Sydney harbour bridge – even Luke Chitty overcame his vertigo and made it up. The views over the harbour and the opera house were amazing from hundreds of feet above the sea. After lunch we took a cruise tour of the harbour in the sunshine, then we briefly returned to the hotel before walking to the harbour front where we had our dinner.
Our dinner was at Steerson’s Steakhouse, an absolutely amazing restaurant set in a beautiful part of Sydney harbour. There, we all had one kilogram steaks after starters of prawns, squid and chorizo. Most of the group finished the steaks, but the prize for the most meat consumed must go to Harry Elrington, who finished two whole steaks, with Hugo Mcallister also performing admirably. Many thanks must go to Ben Frost who organised the meal; it was an incredibly generous gesture.
By James Thompson
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MATCH 1 Versus Victorian Schools 1st & 2nd XV
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What was lined up as our warm up game and potentially an easy first victory by our tour company turned out to be a test match in insanity and pace for both the A & B teams. Victoria has traditionally been the home of AFL and not Rugby Union, but this – as we found out – is changing. The Victorian 1st team had just come back from the National State Championships finishing in 4th place beating along the way Queensland and ACT. The 2nd team were winners of the 2nd tier National State Championship this year.
After a kick about on the pitch and a vigorous warm up and pre-match talk from ARH – the B team kicked off and played some good rugby in the 1st half and were only 19-0 down at half time. Will Mounsey and Luke Boyd in particular showed some real guts and determination in the pack and the captain Jonah Ghinn was leading the troops well. In the second half their size and power began to dominate and we eventually lost 48-0. Without doubt many of the players have not and will not play against players of this size again! We later found out that all of the Victorian 2nd team are 1st team school or club rugby players!
The A team match begun and finished very differently. With 11 players making their debut at this level, the intensity shown from the outset was outstanding. After taking a 5 point lead through Dave Forster after a well worked line out move. After a stop start first half due to referee intervention we went into the break only 7-5 down. The second half started poorly for Cranleigh conceding two sloppy tries (both converted). However the boy’s heads did not drop and with some superb back play from the Captain Henry Taylor we pulled back to 19-15 with only 5 minutes to go. Unfortunately a few missed passes and poor kicks led to two further Victorian tries and at the final whistle the score was 31-15. Special mentions must go to Felix Irwin-Brown, Sam Kettle and Luke Chitty for their performances. In very similar circumstances to the B team game their 1st XV was enormous - to say the least - with their number 8 packing down at a reported 140 kg (23 stones).
Afterwards we were treated to a great spread and huge thanks must go to the VRU as well as Endeavour Hills Rugby Club for hosting us. |
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