TAS First XV schoolboy rugby Players of the Week
Our TAS First XV schoolboy rugby round three Team of the Week includes a flashback to a Wallaby great, a bayside scrumhalf ace and a Logan City powerhouse. See the full side here.
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A slightly built fullback with long flowing locks from St Paul’s School was the first player we chose in our TAS Team of the Week from round 3 action.
Liam Payne evoked memories of St Paul’s greatest ever rugby back, the legendary Ben Tune, with two sensational, long distance solo tries - the second of which won the match for Saints over a gutsy WestMAC.
TAS ROUND 3 REPORT - ST PAUL’S AMAZING WIN
Tune is without peer, but if he had been sideline he would have roared as loud as anyone in approval of Payne’s deeds.
Year 11 student Payne, with his flash of brilliance, was sensational.
“He is very athletic and would be in the top 10 of people at the school. He is a very good soccer player, just very athletic,’’ said Head of Rugby Andrew Thomas.
“He played the first two games but just didn’t have a chance to express himself.’’
St Paul’s was much, much better last weekend, with their forwards spearheaded by prop Reinhard Fick and flanker Mitchell Merrett who tackled everything that moved.
Not far behind Payne was skipper Kasey Camilleri at No. 10 who was a great link and controller of play who also kicked goals.
“It was just a Hail Mary (pass from captain Kasey Camilleri to Payne) at the end that pulled it out of the fire but overall it was proudly a deserving win if you consider the body of work across the whole game.’’
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TAS RUGBY ROUND 2 TEAM OF THE WEEK
MEGA GALLERY - TAS RUGBY PICTURE GALLERY
St Paul’s opponents, WestMAC, were a photo finish behind and to be honest, a draw would have been a nice result.
WestMAC, featuring a big, mobile pack, a clever five-eight in skipper Thomas Mitchie and a blockbusting inside centre Jake Isarasena, recovered from a 20 points deficit to take the lead.
But their best were flanker Connor Purvey and outside back Sam Fothergill.
“Purvey was hard on the ball and he got us a couple of turnovers when we needed them,’’ said WestMAC coach Ben O’Connell.
He said fullback Fothergill, who makes our Team of the Week as a winger, played strongly. “He made some smart decisions with his kicking game, found space a lot of the time and was vocal at the back.’’
Coach O’Connell also lamented his team not starting well which is where his side lost the game. “But we have slowly started improving. There is a bit more belief among the guys.’’
RELATED LINKS
TAS RUGBY ROUND 1 REPORT, TEAM OF THE WEEK
TAS RUGBY PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS SEASON
Canterbury were big winners of CHAC, their efforts spearheaded by captain Jack Henry and hooker Tymothy Palupe, while Ashley Broadbent finished strongly on the wing.
Cannon Hill Anglican College No.8 Lachlan Timms earned a place in our top squad with a whole hearted effort for his side.
And at Ormiston, the Redbacks retained the Headmaster’s Cup against John Paul College, courtesy of scrumhalf ace Lucas Wood.
Wood, a key piece of the puzzle in last year’s premiership winning Ormiston team, had every trick in the book on Saturday, steering his side to a comprehensive 33-0 victory.
It wasn’t just his crisp, spiral passing from the ruck which looked a class above, but his entire game from making tackles to kicking conversions.
He is a small fellow who defends like he’s twice his size. Seriously, how often do you see a halfback tackle, and hold up a lock with at least 25 kgs on him to win a turnover?
Almost never but this year Wood has set the competition alight with efforts such as these.
In round 3, he slotted four-from-five off the tee, snuck his way through the defence for a try, and did everything between clearance kicking to calling plays.
It would have been scintillating and impressive to watch as both a spectator and a coach.
It wasn’t just the Wood Show, with Ormiston fullback Sam West showing plenty of flair.
He showcased speed, strength into contact and a step as he popped in and out of the backline.
On his inside was No.8 turned inside centre Daniel Body, whose imposing figure would have had defenders in two minds.
He was a great crash ball runner.
And in the forward pack, No.9 Angus Melville, No.4 Riley O’Brien and flanker Renier Welgemoed were outstanding, preventing JPC from finding any sort of rhythm or attacking flow.
Met with force on both ends of the ball, JPC found it hard to make any inroads.
But, fullback DJ Gray helped their cause once again, busting out of tackles and making a couple thumping cover tackles.
While Gray swept effortlessly from one sideline to the other, lock Nate Levitt was working hard with runs you’d see on tackles one, two and three in league.
And while earning any go-forward was difficult, you could hear the vocal encouragement from centre Jamie Critchley as he implored his teammates to stay physical.
So who made our Team of the Week?
Team of the Week
Fullback: Liam Payne (St Paul’s) and Sam West (Ormiston)
Wing: Sam Fothergill (WestMAC)
Outside centre: Jamie Critchley (JPC)
Inside centre: Daniel Body (Ormiston)
Wing: Ashley Broadbent (Canterbury)
Five-eight: Kasey Camilleri (St Paul’s)
Halfback: Lucas Wood (Ormiston)
No.8. Jake Henry (Canterbury)
Flanker: Connor Purvey (WestMAC)
Flanker: Mitchell Merrett (St Paul’s)
Second row: Riley O’Brien (Ormiston)
Second row: Nate Levitt (JPC)
Prop: Luca De Abreu (Ormiston)
Hooker: Tymothy Palupe (Canterbury)
Prop: Reinhard Fick (St Paul’s)
Reserves:
Lachlan Timms (CHAC), Kingbenjamin Swirling (JPC), Renier Welgemoed (Ormiston), and Angus Melville (Ormiston).
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