Year 12 students mentoring younger players
From the Convenor of Rugby, John McCoy
1st XV Match Report – Waverley College Vs Shore
The Waverley College 1st XV had a big point to prove against another strong GPS opponent in the Sydney Church of England Grammar School. This followed a disappointing loss to The King’s School, where discipline and execution had let the team down. Shore were also hungry for a victory, following their loss to Barker College in an even match up the week prior.
Finn Wright was the first to cross for Waverley, soon after the kick off, on the back of a very strong and disciplined defensive effort in the opening minutes. The commitment to improve following a determined effort at training through the week was paying dividends early on, as the team focused on maintaining a ‘Blue Head’.
Turnovers were a little concern for Waverley. Shore were very quick at the breakdown and made the home side pay for any lapses in concentration. However, the Waves were also able to jump on any errors made by the visitors. Daniel Andrews capitalised on loose ball as he charged away to go over in the right corner.
Shore had a big opportunity to hit back off a kick return, but Hardaker and Donaldson were there to save the day with some nice covering tackles. Waverley also had a big opportunity to score, but the Shore goal line defensive effort matched that of the Double V.
Eventually, Shore were able to crack the Blue & Gold line through the efforts of their best on ground, Blake Rixon. Waverley hit back soon after as the ball moved through several pairs of hands to find Cornish who managed to break the line and offload to Moretti, who offloaded to Hardaker to score. Unlike the trial against King’s, Waverley were starting to put their stamp on this game. At halftime, the score was 19-7.
Again, it was Finn Wright who made an early impact from the kick off and had Waverley moving forward. Joel Ellis was first to score in the second half, after selling a ‘dummy’ to the Shore fullback. Minutes later it was the hardworking Finn O’Sullivan who crashed over, and then Hardaker was in for his second following a good line break from Wright. It was raining tries.
Waverley were putting on a real show as all members of the team contributed in some way, each with a focus prescribed by Coaches Cornish and Coleman. Wright again used his strength to get his double for the match, as did the Luca Moretti who took the score past the half century.
Max Towns went in for his second try for the season from two matches, and when Donaldson went in near the sticks the total was 66-7. Donaldson, himself, racking up 21 individual points for the match with a try and 8 successful conversion attempts. The full time whistle blew and Waverley’s season was back on track.
Waverley head to Hunters Hill to take on the powerful St Joseph’s College. St Joseph’s come off a successful win against Scots College, and are sure to provide a wonderful test for the Double V. All support at Hunters Hill is sure to be appreciated!
Around the Grounds
The 2nd XV had an impressive 49-21 victory against Shore. Tom Andrianakos, Joshua Weinstein, Tim Eyles, Luca Martin and Hugh ‘Honey Badger’ France all managed the cross the chalk. Tadgh Murphy scored a nice try in his first game back from a long time out with injury. Liam Rayner was unbelievable with the boot slotting 7 from 7! The 3rd XV just went down 15-10 in a very competitive affair. The 4th XV showed signs of improvement from the match against King’s. The 5th XV met another strong opposition and, despite scoring a try, went down 54-7.
The work of the 16As scrum really put them well on top in their match against Shore. The strength of the scrum actually resulted in a try to Al Jensen. Max Johnson scored a nice try out wide to seal the win for a team that appears very determined and committed. With 10 minutes to go, Joseph Moroney was able to put his team in front after kicking a goal from the sideline, but the 16Bs were just unable to hold off a strong finish by Shore. Max Weale was the only tryscorer in the 16Cs narrow 7-0 win. After keeping the score tied at the break, the 16Ds were unable to hold off the Shore attack. Saxon Cook was once again a standout.
The 15As came agonisingly close to tasting victory. After being in front at halftime 12-0, Shore came back to win 24-19. A win is not far away for a team which has been putting in plenty of hard work at training. Despite two key injuries in the first half and a try to Shore against the run of play early in the second half, the 15Bs showed a lot of character and determination to finish the game much more strongly than Shore and register their first win. Chris Mills had strong input. The 15Cs enjoyed a nice 33-17 victory as did the 15Ds who were impressive 40-22 victors.
The 14As managed to get a win on the board in a thriller at Northbridge. Unfortunately, Reeve Smith suffered nasty arm injury and was forced off the field. Our prayers are with Reeve to make a speedy recovery. The 14Bs could not find a way to score in their 34-0 loss. The 14Cs tried their hardest but could not get the chocolates and the 14Ds competed hard in a modified three-way trial match against Shore and Knox.
Mr O’Donnell and Mr Bell’s 13As team again were all class falling one-point short of the half century. Dane Towns was the man of the match. The 13Bs just lost 19-14 in a close affair. The 13Cs were able to just get up winning 19-17, with Ayden Diffin the standout. Eoin Morrisey played well but could not get his 13Ds across the line. The 13Es tried their best. Unfortunately, Sasha Moustacas was forced off with an injured wrist. We wish him all the best with the recovery. The 13Fs had a very successful morning winning 70-5!
GPS Trial Round Vs St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill
This weekend should be an enjoyable weekend for all schoolboy rugby lovers as Waverley College take on St Joseph’s College at Hunters Hill for the first time in over a decade. St Joseph’s have a proud history in rugby producing many Wallaby greats including Matt Burke and Kurtley Beale. St Joseph’s are a strong rugby school and should be a great challenge for all Waverley teams.
13s, 15s, 16s and Opens will be playing at St Joseph’s with the 14s playing at Queens Park. I encourage all students and families to make their way out to Hunters Hill at 3:15pm on Saturday, for what should be an entertaining 1st XV game of rugby on the famous ‘SJC 1’ ground.
Lost Property
This week I have moved a large amount of lost property from Queens Park up to the Wellbeing Centre (Waverley College Senior Campus). I encourage students who may have lost items at Queens Park to take time to have a look through the lost property bin. Found items include school shirts, trousers, shoes, ties, headgear, mouthguards and shoulder pads. Any items which are found and are labelled will be returned to its owner – so please ensure all gear is clearly marked!
Extras Training
As teams are now just about set, coaches will be looking to focus on specific skills. We will be offering Goalkicking as well as General Play Kicking coaching each Monday afternoon from 4:30pm-5:30pm. This will take place on QP1 (Western Goalposts).
Each Wednesday at lunchtime, we will be offering coaching sessions to halfbacks, fly halfs as well as hookers to support them with passing and lineout throwing. This will be taking place at the Lower Recreation area.
Mentoring Program
As the Year 12 exam period is now over, all Year 12 rugby players have the opportunity of gaining some experience in mentoring and coaching our junior rugby players and teams. Not only does this create a tighter bond between the student body, but it also allows senior student to gain valuable experience for future employment.
This year the 15As are currently being coached by Lachlan Drew-Morris (Class of 2016) who has built a positive culture in this side, from his experience in the Mentoring Program last year.
Thanks to 1st XV players Joel Ellis, Finn Wright, Finn O’Sullivan and Will Johnston who have already started assisting 13s, 14s and 15s coaches at training. Any interested students are asked to contact Mr McCoy (jmccoy@waverley.nsw.edu.au)
I wish all teams the best of luck against St Joseph’s College!
WAVERLEY TO WIN!
