An Historic Day at Queens Park!
The final weekend of Rugby for Term 2 saw a number of Waverley College teams successful with 14 wins from 20 matches played. It was a highly entertaining day of Rugby and a number of Cranbrook players, coaches and parents expressed their thanks for the good spirits in which all matches were played.
We particularly thank the Cranbrook community for their support of our Indigenous Round. It was wonderful to witness history with the 1st XV players running around for the first time in the specially-designed Indigenous “Double V” jerseys. We thank Mr Billy Reynolds, Aboriginal artist and Yuin man, for his artwork “Coastal Connections” which was featured on the jerseys.
Rugby Indigenous Round
Match Report – 13Ds
Waverley College vs St Augustine’s by Student Journalist Lucas Coe
Both teams looked ready and fired up! Waverley kicked off deep into St Augustine’s half, with a good chase early. However, Waverley gave away an early penalty for coming in from the side. St Augustine’s took the kick to touch and gained 20 metres from it, placing them into Waverley’s half. St Augustines’s halfback saw some space wide and passed a cut out ball straight out to the winger to score. St Augustine’s led by five, missing the conversion.
Waverley kicked off again, with another good chase. St Augustine’s gave away a penalty for not releasing the ball. Waverley took possession close to the Augustine’s line. Waverley threw a good line out and a forward took a great hit up. St Augustine’s got penalised for being offside and Waverley chose to take the tap. Waverley had a forward ready to take a hit up but I was on the blindside with the winger. Before our halfback tapped it, I told him that there was a gap on the blindside. The Halfback tapped it, dummied it one way, then passed it to me. I dummied to the winger and then got the ball over the try line. Try to Waverley to even things up, and sadly we also missed the conversion. Both teams went into half time at five all.
Not long into the second half, St Augustine’s had a scrum 60 metres away from the try line, giving it to one of their fast centres as he made a break. Fortunately, Waverley’s fullback made a great cover tackle to stop their momentum.
Waverley then gained about 25 metres when St Augustine’s got penalised for being off their feet. Waverley decided to take the penalty kick for the chance to be up by three, however, the attempt was unsuccessful.
At one point, St Augustine’s knocked the ball on in the ruck and Waverley gained possession off the scrum. The St Augustine’s halfback was offside. He had been doing this multiple times during the game, so he was given a yellow card from the ref. The score was still even with only a few minutes to go.
Waverley took the tap and spread the ball out to the wing. One of our forwards did a pick and drive to score right on the bell! A great Waverley moment to win at the last second. The students were very happy and should be proud of the win. Final Score 12-5.
Queens Park BBQ and Canteen – Thank You!
We would like to sincerely thank all those wonderful parents and friends in our community who gave up their time to assist on the BBQ and Canteen across Term 2. We are so lucky to have such generous support in our community, who always make guests to Queens Park feel welcome. To steal some words from Virginia Woolf, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” I certainly do not think we would love our Rugby as much without the wonderful hospitality we are fortunate to enjoy each and every week at Queens Park. Thank you!
State Championships
This weekend a number of students will be involved in the NSW Junior Rugby State Championships representing a variety of clubs across Sydney. Always an exciting weekend, a number of age groups will be travelling to venues all over NSW including Orange, Dubbo, Camden, Concord and Narrabeen. We wish all players involved the best for a successful weekend and look forward to hearing your results when you return. Safe travels!
Upcoming Schedule – End of Term 2 and Holidays
Please note we will not be holding any training sessions in the final week of Term 2, following a big term of Rugby. The coming weeks will certainly provide all players the chance to have a rest and recover from any injuries ahead of the important final rounds of CAS Rugby in Term 3.
In the holidays, we will be holding training sessions for players in As and Bs teams (13s, 14s, 15s and 16s) in the final week of the holidays leading into the St Augustine’s matches (details below). These training sessions (for all age groups) will be taking place on Tuesday 6 July and Thursday 8 July from 8:30am to 11am at Queens Park. Our 1st XV and 2nd XV will have their own scheduled trainings over the holidays under the direction on their coaching staff.
Holiday Fixture – Waverley College Vs St Augustine’s – Saturday 10 July, 2021
On Saturday 10 July, all “A” teams will be having a match against St Augustine’s at Queens Park. This is extremely important match up as it should help blow out the holiday cobwebs and ensure players regain some match fitness ahead of CAS Round 3 against Barker College (17 July). It will be good to see how teams have progressed this season having played St Augustine’s early in Term 2.
The schedule for the day is as follows (all matches will be played on QP1):
- 13As – 9am
- 14As – 10am
- 15As – 11am
- 16As – 12pm
- 2nd XV – 1pm
- 1st XV – 2:15 pm
If players are unable to make these matches due to being away on family holidays, we ask students to contact their team coaches as well as Mr McCoy on jmccoy@waverley.nsw.edu.au so we can ensure teams have enough numbers.
I would like to wish all those students involved in the State Championships this weekend.
Waverley to Win!
Mr John McCoy
Convenor of Rugby
E: jmccoy@waverley.nsw.edu.au
