Rugby: Cranbrook games

 From the Convenor of Rugby, John McCoy

1^st XV Match Report – Waverley College Vs Cranbrook

Waverley College faced up against the neighbouring Cranbrook School in Round 2 of the CAS Competition. The starting Cranbrook Hooker, Oscar Lim-Strachan, received a bad head knock prior to kick off which had, unfortunately, resulted in a concussion. This meant that the 1^st XV match would play uncontested scrums.

Finn O’Sullivan was the first to score for Waverley in greasy conditions. While the first try came quickly, and Waverley held a significant amount of possession early, the crowds were becoming frustrated as the ball handling was not particularly pretty to watch. That said, Lachlan Wallace showed great speed to score his first try and not long after this, Finn O’Sullivan was in for his second.

Cranbrook did give themselves opportunities with some nice work by fly half, Finnbar Stenmark, outside centre, Tom Lamens and fullback, Tim White. However, some excellent defensive efforts from Daniel Andrews out the back kept Cranbrook from scoring any points in the first half.

Strong runs from Will McCormick, Will Johnston, Joel Ellis and Harry Whiteman, put the Waves on the front foot and helped Captain Ben Donaldson over for the easiest of tries. A crunching tackle by Finn Wright forced a turnover, and soon after this some Luca “Sonny Bill” Moretti magic had Brooklyn Hardaker in for a try. On the stroke of halftime Finn O’Sullivan crossed for his third try on the right sideline. When Donaldson converted this try, the scoreboard went to 40-0.

The home side went to sleep early in the second half and Cranbrook was able to find a hole down the left side of the field to give the visitors some points. As a result of this, Waverley went back to basics and looked to going back to structures with the aim of outmuscling the opposition. This resulted in a try to Liam Cornish who scored from a well-executed driving maul. Remarkably, Donaldson’s conversion of this try hit directly on the top point of the left goalpost. Unfortunately, this was waved away.

A sensational Marco Bell pass from the ruck found Lachlan Wallace in space out wide. Wallace showed too much speed to go over for his second for the match. As the points continued to flow, Coaches Cornish and Coleman decided to rest some players ahead of a big week of representative rugby. This also provided members of the 2^nd XV some well-deserved match time in the Double V jersey.

Brooklyn Hardaker went in for his second try of the match and Lachlan Wallace was able to finish the game with three tries. As the fulltime whistle blew, the Queens Park scoreboard displayed 64-5 in favour of the Waves. A ‘Custard Pie’ was joyfully sung for the last time on QP1 for Term 2, following a most successful term of rugby for the Blue & Gold.

Around the grounds in other 1^st XV matches, Barker defeated St Aloysius and Trinity came so close to defeating the competition favourites, Knox, just falling short 31-26. The leaves the undefeated Barker, Knox and Waverley teams joint at the top of the table, with Trinity, Cranbrook and St Aloysius still to win a game.

The 1^st XV will now enjoy another extended break before three important and very competitive rounds of rugby next term. Waverley will face Barker College in Round 3 of CAS (22^nd July), followed by Trinity Grammar (29^th July) and Knox Grammar (5^th August).

 

Around the Grounds

The 2nd XV match got out to a cricket score, as Waverley defeated Cranbrook 74-0. This included five occasions where the ball was held up over the line, which showed how much possession the home side had. Liam Rayner, Hugh France, Jacob Tomasiello and Luca Martin were all able to get two tries each. The 3rds XV faced up against Knox Grammar and Mr Frost was very pleased to get the 41-5 victory. The 4th XV managed to defeat the Cranbrook 3^rd XV 24-14, with Oliver Mahoney making an outstanding run up field which had the crowds cheering!

A try to Patrick Roberts was not enough to get the 16As home against a very strong Cranbrook side. At halftime the scoreboard showed 21-7, and after the break only one try went the way of Cranbrook, which showed that the Waverley side continued to fight. Coen Finati, Anthony D’Ettore and the Daley brothers all made tremendous contributions in the 16Bs 19-8 victory. The 16Cs travelled to St Pius, College and managed to have a nice 42-0 win. Harvey Williams, Daniel Lambert, Saxon Cook had wonderful matches and Darcy Mullins kicked 6 from 6. The St Pius’ Convenor of Rugby wanted to also express thanks to those players who showed concern for the injured St Pius player during this match, which resulted in an early finish to the game. The 16Ds faced the Cranbrook 16Cs and went down in a very competitive match. Logan Ryan and Micheal Gatto played well, as did Stephen Davies who also refereed a number of games on Saturday after his own. Thanks for your great commitment Stephen!

After a tough season, the 15A had a very well deserved 43-10 victory against Cranbrook. This was a great achievement for a team who has put in so much hard work. Congratulations to Coach Lachlan Drew-Morris who, despite some tough results this season, has not stopped getting the boys up for each battle. The 15Bs travelled to St Joseph’s in the early hours of Saturday morning. Pleasingly, the boys continued to compete right to the final whistle. Thanks to Sam Jagoe-Fisher who played at Joeys and raced back to referee at Queens Park in the afternoon – where Sam was ‘field tested’ and gained his Level 1 Refereeing Certificate! Great work Sam! Finn McClean and Michael Momcilovic were the stars in the 15Cs 62-7 win against the Cranbrook 15Bs.

The 14A also enjoyed a rather large 69 to 5 win. Joel Caltagirone-Pantano ran strongly through the middle scoring two tries. Matt Chapman got himself in great position to run off the number 10. Ethan King and Jack Hickey played well and were crucial in maintaining the team structure. The 14Bs had a bye and the 14Cs had a loss, 43-5, against the Cranbrook 14Bs. The 14Ds had a good contest against the Cranbrook 14Cs, but just went down 22-20.

The 13A had another dominant 72-0 victory and James Hoggett reported his side had their best game for the season. Daniel McSweeney was the pick of the players as the 13Bs defeated Barker College 50-10. The 13Cs also were able to get over the half century, winning 52-0 against St Patrick’s College, Strathfield. The 13Ds tried hard against the Cranbrook 13Bs, and can definitely hold their heads high, despite going down. The 13Es played out a draw with the Cranbrook 13Cs. This included good performances from Jesse Harper, Oscar Malone and James Jones. The 13Fs started the day at QP on a fantastic note, with a solid win against St Patrick’s. Thanks to all those boys who assisted in both the 13Es and 13Fs match.

We also had another match played on the senior fields of Queens Park. The Prep 1sts team from the Waverley College Junior School played on QP1 between the 16As match and the 4^th XV fixtures. The boys did a tremendous job winning 38-17 against St Augustine’s College, Brookvale. This included three tries to Ryan Harper. Well done to Coach Greg Harris and the mighty Prep 1^st XV: Lachlan Grant (Capt), William Waugh, Archie McInally, Carter Steyn, Sam Fingleton, Charlie Beck, Tom Johnson, Kane Doull, Joshua King, Mitchell Gavin, Darcy Standfield (Capt), Jesse Lucantonio, Xavier Savala, Lucas Young, Nate Phipps, Jesse Garratt, Ryan Harper, Keyann Abrahams, Billy Lyons.

 

CAS Selections

On the back of a very season for our 1^st XV team, we had a large number of players selected in the CAS Representative teams. Congratulations to the following students:

CAS 1^st XV:

• Finn Wright
• Will Johnston
• Luca Moretti
• Liam Cornish
• Marco Bell
• Ben Donaldson
• Brooklyn Hardaker

 

CAS 2^nd XV:

• Will McCormick
• Harry Whiteman
• Joel Ellis
• Lachlan Wallace
• Phoenix Baldwin

 

CAS U/16:

• Conor Molloy

 

Congratulations must also go to Mr Scott Coleman who was selected as CAS 1^st XV Coach, as well as Kyle Newbury and Stephen O’Donnell who were selected to coach the CAS U/16s team.

Thanks must go to Mr Scott Coleman (1^st XV Coach), Mr Paul Cornish (1^st XV Coach), Mr Kyle Newbury (2^nd XV Coach), Mr John Boyd (2^nd XV Coach), Mr James Horrocks (16As Coach) and Mr Shaun Foley (16As Coach), who all played a big part in setting our boys up for a successful season. To have such a big number in the opens is a true reflection of the great work of these gentleman.

 

Term 3

School resumes for Term 3 on Tuesday 18^th July, and this will include training for our 16s and Opens teams. Training for our 13s, 14s and 15s will resume on Wednesday 19^th July. Our first game back for Term 3 (CAS Round 3) will be played against Barker College. Our 13s, 16s and Opens will be playing at Hornsby while our 14s and 15s will be returning to play at Queens Park!

Players, particularly in A and B teams, are encouraged to check their student emails as well as the Waverley Rugby Team App over the holiday period, for announcements from coaches regarding training times as well as potential holiday fixtures (which may include some internal fixtures to prepare teams for the round against Barker College).

I wish all players, coaches and parents for a safe and restful holiday break. I look forward to seeing you in Term 3 for some more exciting rugby!

 

WAVERLEY TO WIN!