Nine of the best moments from the 2022 AIC First XV schoolboy rugby season
We reveal nine of the best moments of the recent AIC First XV schoolboy rugby season.
Local sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The 2022 AIC First XV schoolboy rugby season was one to remember.
St Laurence’s College went back-to-back, St Edmund’s College proved everyone wrong with a stirring run to the “grand final’’ while St Peters Lutheran College silently achieved, coming third in what was a very strong campaign.
Let’s look back on a historic season with some of the best highlights across the board.
Top 9 moments of the season:
St Laurence’s College go back-to-back:
St Laurence’s College has been crowned the best First XV rugby school across the whole AIC competition with their unbeaten side edging their name in history once more.
Their 18-13 win over Eddies’ on Saturday afternoon made it two outright premierships in a row.
Head Coach Welmar Du Plessis seems to be brewing something very special. A team. A unit that works together and for the last two years, no team has been able to defeat them.
They truly are the new kings of AIC rugby.
Although Eddies’ gave them a real run for their money, the boys in black and gold stuck it out for the crest on their jersey, and took the trophy once more.
The last time they went back to back was when they won six in seven years from 1987-1993.
St Edmund’s College break the drought:
2014 was the last time Eddies’ beat Ashgrove.
It does not happen very often, but Eddies’ found a way this year to get it done and break an eight year drought.
It was a scrappy game, where neither team got it going, however the boys from Ipswich triumphed 8-5 to kickstart the momentum that led to a grand final against Lauries’.
This season has seen such a remarkable turnaround from a program starved of success. Since their premiership winning season in 2014, Eddies’ have not been able to rise to the likes of Ashgrove, Padua, and Lauries’.
This is just the start of a program on the rise.
St Peter’s Lutheran College stun Ash at home:
St Peters biggest achievement of their successful 2022 season came in round 6.
It was Marist College Ashgrove’s Rosalee round and their Year 12’s last ever home game.
St Peters didn’t show the Ashgrove First XV any mercy, running away 25-10 winners to leave the boys in blue and purple with a bitter taste in their mouth.
Not only was this a six-year-drought-breaker, but it was their biggest ever deficit against Ashgrove.
St Peters assistant coach Sam Wheeler said: “ It is something the boys in Grade 7 who probably got thrashed will look at and it will give them hope that one day they can do it against a school like Ashgrove.”
It was a massive day for St Peters rugby.
Eddies’ resurgence:
From last place to six points from first place. The St Edmund’s College First XV rugby team has had a turnaround that no one saw coming.
The significance of this season to their rugby program cannot be overstated.
The way they took it to Lauries’ has instilled belief within the young Eddies’ rugby players that they can continue to build on this new chapter for St Edmund’s College rugby.
Everyone had their part to play in this underdog story that almost saw them break an eight-year-drought on Saturday afternoon when they fell short 18-13 at the hands of a superb Lauries’ outfit.
Coach Andrew Kirk, halfback Tafito Falaniko Ah-Ki, Zane Kaatz, Logan Costello, Tyler Cuthbert-Hough, Regan Payne and captains Daniel Mavunda and Larry Siala as well as the whole First XV squad have begun a new era for Eddies’ rugby. An era where they cannot be discounted.
Marist College Ashgrove birth new star:
Year 10 winger Tom Howard got his first taste of First XV rugby this year and he made the number 14 jersey his own.
Howard was a real positive to take from Marist College Ashgrove’s underwhelming 2022 campaign.
Howard has a fine line of rugby genetics in his family, with father Pat Howard a Wallaby, grandfather Jake Howard a Wallaby and Jake’s father in law Cyril Towers a true Wallaby great.
Howard is one of those players where when he gets the ball, almost every time he manages to give Ashgrove supporters a reason to get on their feet and applaud.
Villanova College triumph in heroic one-point-thriller:
Villanova College welcomed new coach Eddie Harris in miraculous fashion with a cracking 26-25 round 1 victory at Iona College.
Jackson Moloney, Joey Wilson and Larry Clark had their prints on this fantastic finish.
Wilson started the game with a 85m intercept try. Moloney scored the silencer in the dying moments to regain the lead at 26-25, and Clark the Year 10 put his body on the line to make a trysaver on the hooter.
It was the perfect way for Villanova to start their 2022 campaign, and a heartbreaking defeat for the Iona First XV who struggled to build any momentum following this agony.
The boot of Kadin Pritchard:
It was the St Peters First XV’s usual suspect in Kadin Pritchard who delivered magic in round 2 when single-handedly taking down Villanova College on Andrew Slack Oval.
Following Villas’ one point win and St Peters one point loss in the round prior, Pritchard was on a mission.
Joey Wilson gave Pritchard a real run for his money but Pritchard put on an absolute kicking masterclass to pull away 26-19 winners.
He left every spectator with their jaws on the ground when slotting two penalty goals from over 40m out as well as conversions from the sideline.
It was truly beautiful to watch the decision making of a young captain with so much passion for his school’s crest.
Lauries’ opening round thumping over rivals:
Every year you expect Marist College Ashgrove to be there or thereabouts, fighting for that trophy.
However, like they did the year prior, Lauries’ made sure to come out on top in a colossal round 1 match-up.
This time in front of the Ashgrove Swarm on McMahon oval, the mighty Lauries’ First XV led by Welmar du Plesis made a 34-15 statement to all eight AIC teams.
The boys in black and gold announcing that this may well be another year where they are the best team in the competition and if you want to take the premiership off them, good luck.
Mitch Rogers - and that chip and chase
Was there a better piece of individual brilliance that what Padua centre Mitch Rogers produced against Iona College.
Having earlier in the season sparked Rogers’ recovery from halftime deficit to defeat St Peters in round 1, Rogers produced a double chip and chase try to help Padua share the points during a 29-all draw against Iona.
Now watch for Rogers to be one of the best players when the AIC rugby league season starts in term 3.
AIC First XIII rugby league Team of the Season after Iona triumph
Who has made the AIC First XIII rugby league Team of the Season following Iona’s premiership confirmation? All is revealed here, along with the best of the best who just missed selection.
BJRU grand finals: Players of the Day includes next-gen Nudgee weapon
BJRU grand finals: See who the Players of the Day were after five stunning Div 1 and 2 deciders between Easts, Logan Saints, Caboolture, Wynnum, Souths, Brothers, and Riverside. The list includes an exciting outside back from Nudgee that set Bottomley Park alight on Sunday.