TAS First XV rugby players of the round; How the Logan derby blockbuster and grand final rematch unfolded

TAS First XV schoolboy rugby: Who were the top performers from an opening round that saw St Columban’s kickstart their premiership defence and Canterbury win a Logan Derby stunner? All you need to know here.

Max Newton,Sitaleki Tafa, Illanois Southon and James Iva were excellent for Canterbury College in round 1 of TAS First XV rugby.

Canterbury College fired a warning shot across the bow of premiership rivals with a compelling round 1 performance against John Paul College in a much anticipated Logan derby at Daisy Hill.

Canterbury ran away 39-12 winners in the opening round of TAS First XV rugby, with its forward pack driving the side into the ascendancy before the backs inflated the scoreline during the second half.

No.8 Max Newton, blindside flanker Illanois Southon, hooker James Iva and lock Sitaleki Tafa were outstanding.

Tafa and Newton were particularly impressive, with their power-running game chipping the willing but worn out JPC defence.

Canterbury war cry unfolds after the win.

JPC were in touch at halftime, trailing just 17-12, after an inspired performance by breakaway Leo Price and some brilliant touches by flyhalf Oliver Thompson.

The defence of fullback Elijah Baron also helped keep JPC in the match.

Canterbury started magnificently when Tafa started a 10-phase movement that finished with right winger Sebastian Keerie receiving a pass from outside centre Charlie Menzies to score.

Inside centre Ma’afu Takai, who was also a handful, benefited from a break by his fullback Khalis Southon who ran from 35m’s out.

That run provided field position for Takai who crashed over.

Then later on Canterbury replacement winger Tyrese Ngaru enjoyed scoring two late tries after twice earlier being denied by grand cover defence from JPC fullback Baron.

Scoring points runs in the Ngaru family. His sister Nikeisha has been scoring tries for fun in rugby league for Souths and rugby union for Sunnybank over the past 18 months.

At St Columban’s, there was another huge round 1 result when the home side won 39-12 over traditional rivals Ormiston College.

Canterbury College will host both St Columban’s (STC) and Ormiston later this season which will have premiership implications no doubt, but STC’s first-up win is sure to go a long way.

Such was the quality of the win, anticipation is already building ahead of St Columban’s clash with fellow opening round winners Canterbury College later this season.

St Columban’s wasted no time dusting off their off-season cobwebs to lead 10-0 quickly and then 15-5 at half time after captain and forward leader Lachlan North had his boys raring for battle.

“They were ravenous at home,” Ormiston coach Kris Peterman said.

“We didn’t handle that level of pressure.”

Peterman had plenty of confidence his boys could respond after trailing by 10 points at oranges but the home side made no mistake putting those hopes to bed with a dogged defensive display.

“They hustled and bustled us a bit in the second,” said Peterman.

Ormiston No.8 Angus Plastow, inside centre Denham Radford and halfback Tom Smith were particularly impressive but there was no escaping the pressurising defence of St Columban’s.

Their suffocating defence turned into offence as the likes of Charlie Ogden (fullback), Lachlan Curtis (flyhalf) and North (lock) led a second-half scoring blitz won 24-7 by the hosts.

It didn’t help that Ormiston were unable to take advantage of field position when it presented itself and STC fed off their mistakes to kickstart their premiership defence in style.

At WestMAC, the home side won 22-7 over Cannon Hill Anglican College.

“There were some good signs early on but we have plenty to work on,” said WestMAC director of rugby Ben O’Connell.

PLAYERS OF THE ROUND

Angus Plastow (Ormiston College)

Best on ground from Ormiston, No.8 Plastow scored both of his team’s tries.

He ran with purpose to inspire his side and did not take a backward step across his 70-minute effort.

Denham Radford (Ormiston College)

Tenacious in defence, the Year 10 young gun tackled everything in front of him and showed plenty of heart.

On the ball, he was calm and composed under pressure and seemingly always made the right decision in the face of rushing defence.

Tom Smith (Ormiston College)

Smith showed tremendous courage under fire. His team was going backward and Smith, the Ormiston scrumhalf, still offered crisp service and was not afraid to get his hands in the ruck to retrieve ball wedged under bodies.

Charlie Ogden (St Columban’s)

Ogden’s move from No.10 to fullback, to allow for the injection of Lucas Curtis at flyhalf, turned out to be a masterstroke from St Columban’s head coach Mosiah Christian.

Ogden was at his best at the back on Saturday. He swung into attack nicely and in defence covered plenty of ground retrieving kicks.

Lucas Curtis (St Columban’s)

A composed head, Curtis was not overawed by the occasion and showed his class kicking STC out of trouble.

The Year 10 rookie organised the attack well at crucial times but his best asset was a mighty boot which more than once relieved pressure when Ormiston were closing in.

Lachlan North (St Columban’s)

Captain and No.8 North was massive.

North scored a 60m try, off a kick restart he ran about 70m through Ormiston’s line to create another try and was just a workhorse.

Talk about a captain’s knock.

Dom Filipo (St Columban’s)

On the wing, Filipo spread his wings to score four tries.

One was a pearler, created off a lineout play which saw the ball shift across the backline before reaching Filipo.

But Filipo wasn’t gifted his tries.

He had to work for them. He had the speed, footwork and awareness to turn space into points.

Hamish Hutchinson (St Columban’s)

Missed the 2024 season with a nasty knee injury but returned with a bang on Saturday to impact the match.

In his first full game back, Hutchinson was strong as an ox in the scrum and held his own as a fearless front-row combatant.

It was a wonderful return from the STC school captain, who had been out for more than 12 months rehabilitating his knee.

Joseph Schmalkuchpn (WestMAC)

The WestMAC second rower played the full game, scored twice, was powerful with his carries and was just a class above.

Strong over the ball, the former Australian rules football talent led the charge in the lineout as well where he stole plenty of the ball.

Has plenty of natural ability.

Charlie Pickering (WestMAC)

Pickering’s ball carrying, disruptive defence, and ability to get WestMAC over the advantage line was a godsend in a scrappy first hitout for his side.

He was punishing in defence and in attack maintained that aggression.

It comes as no surprise seeing the mobile prop excel. Over the past few seasons the forward utility has shifted across the back row and front row and has found a home at prop this season where he offers a mixed bag.

Sitaleki Tafa (Canterbury)

The power running game of the terrific Tafa proved too much for the JPC defence to consistently handle.

He also pinched two JPC line out throws and was the most influential player on the field.

Max Newton (Canterbury)

The Canterbury captain and No.8 was a wonderful workhorse whose ball carrying disrupted the JPC defence.

He was close to the best player on the field.

Leo Price (JPC)

Leo Price of Canterbury College was outstanding for his side.

Opener flanker Price was dynamic from the moment he collided with opposing captain Newton from the kick-off.

At times you had to check there were not two No.7s on the field for JPC.

Ma’afu Takai (Canterbury)

With his forwards advancing the ball, Takai was a huge running threat on the edge. He also linked nicely with his fellow centre Charles Menzies, but it was his trusting runs which were most dangerous.

James Iva and Illnois Southon (Canterbury)

A hooker and flanker, the pair’s power game through the middle in both halves were a big season for Canterbury’s domination on the scoreboard.

Oliver Thompson (JPC)

It was a difficult day for a five-eight opposing the rampant Canterbury pack, but Thompson did well with limited chances.

He also brilliantly created a try for centre Tom Cochrane for when he stepped, danced, stepped some more and danced some more before delivering a beautiful wide pass to Cochrane.

Elijah Baron (JPC)

Baron had limited chances with the ball, but in defence he was stoic in the last line of defence.

Rohan Mendis-Galpin was a grand performer from Canterbury College.

Marcel-Jaime Ford and LeBron Tusitala (Canterbury)

The Canterbury halves were the perfect link players between their marching forwards and inside centre Takai.