AIC First XV rugby round 5 reports, photos and scores
A premiership-defining round 7 bout between Padua and Marist Ashgrove looms but first, Ashgrove must get past Villanova. Read the latest from round 5 of AIC First XV rugby here.
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A round 7 heavyweight bout between Padua College and Marist College Ashgrove may just decide this year’s AIC First XV rugby premiership after Padua toppled St Laurence’s College on Saturday.
Padua won 22-12 and Ashgrove beat St Edmund’s College 61-5 in a Super Saturday special, meaning both schools are undefeated and on a collision course for an unofficial grand final.
That is if Villanova College don’t upset Ashgrove in round 6, on Andrew Slack Oval.
The plucky and skilful Villa boys won well, 40-7, over St Peters in round 5 and are primed to give Ashgrove a run for their money in a weeks time.
In Shorncliffe, St Patrick’s beat Iona College 15-5 to bring up their second win of the year.
But at Banyo, Padua overcame St Laurence’s without key backs Damon Humphrys (flyhalf) and Joel Whelan (fullback) to keep their unbeaten record in tact.
Traditional centre Nate Clark was installed at No. 10 for the second time in his life and did a wonderful job.
He played his first game in that position on Tuesday against St Peters.
Clark was his school’s Doubles Daley medallist after his outstanding running game created a ton of momentum for his side, on a day where the slippery conditions favoured St Laurence’s forward-dominated game.
Padua led 15-12 late into the match and even played without workhorse flanker Tom O’Regan for 10 minutes midway through the second half.
On the cusp of full time, O’Regan received a wonderful tip pass from always-impressive loosehead prop Jack Mercer and scored the dagger under the posts.
Harrison Vera’s conversion made it 22-12 and that was game.
Few were more influential than the sidestepping Clark, mobile Mercer, towering lock Will Ross and tireless flanker Jacob Grant.
At fullback, Jarah Chaseling was extra slippery when he got the ball.
Padua also got plenty from interchange energiser Locky Ikimata-Lavea, an athletic backrow specimen that came on and made an important impact when it mattered.
When Ikimata-Lavea entered the fray, the game was there for the taking. His clobbering defence, breakdown work and energy near the ruck ensured Laurie’s got nowhere near the tryline because that could have been costly.
SET PIECE PRECISION
Earlier, St Laurence’s issued a ripping response to Padua’s first try scored by rock-solid lock Preston Patterson.
In their first crack inside Padua’s red zone, crafty flyhalf Tom Ahern popped a nice ball out the back to winger Digby Cahill, who drew his man and found tryscorer Harry Taylor.
Before this, Cahill’s debut got off to a great start when he made a try-preventing cover tackle on a runaway opposition player.
Clark had created havoc down the right edge and his winger was well on his way before Cahill put an end to it with a huge dislodging tackle.
Cahill’s debut performance was better than sound. Himself and winger Kalen Atthow were the pick of the Laurie’s backs, alongside crash-running No. 12 Gio Koopu and Ahern.
TIMELY BRILLIANCE
Fast-footed Padua right wing Reuben Smith had a highlight to remember on the stroke of half time to create a fantastic try in a low-scoring affair.
The little winger with elite feet got the ball about 50m from the tryline, got on the outside of his opposite and dabbed forward a brilliant grubber which only just stayed in the field of play.
Swooping through was fullback Jarah Chaseling, the first in and best dressed in the right corner.
It was a fantastic try only made possible by Chaseling’s great chase and even better put down of a slippery ball while at full speed.
It gave Padua a handy 12-5 lead entering the second half.
TRUSTY LAURIE’S FORWARDS DELIVER
About 15 minutes into the second half, the door opened for St Laurence’s to move in and they did just that.
Trailing by seven points but with a one man overlap because of an O’Regan yellow card, the visitors turned to their trusty pick and drive forwards to equalise the scores at 12-all.
After more than 15 phases of pile-driving heaves from Laurie’s forwards Brad Smith, Vin Rix, Tom Gainer, Nick Nadenic and more, hulking loosehead Luka Smith was not to be denied when he muscled over.
Caelan Mackay nailed a great conversion about 20m in from the left touchline but quickly Padua moved in front again, 15-12, when that man Clark cooked up a superb bit of play.
The Padua flyhalf ran 25m, shedding two tackles before being brought to ground. Soon after, Padua were awarded a penalty and Vera banged it over the black dot, killing valuable sin-bin minutes as boundless flanker O’Regan watched on.
When O’Regan returned to the field, alongside an amped-up Ikimata-Lavea, he scored to put Padua well out of reach.
BIG GUNS AIM UP
The result would have been different had Padua played without young giant Will Ross.
The inspiring captain put in a performance his team needed in such challenging conditions.
He was a lineout disrupter but also elite pick-and-drive defender who has to get lower than most to put a shoulder in.
“His physicality in defence when we needed him, particularly in the last 10 minutes, was huge. He came into his own,” praised Padua coach Andrew Clyne.
“He was physically dominant.”
At flyhalf, Clark also aimed up after Clyne took a gamble not playing Humphrys in such a big game. Humphrys would say he was ready to play after recovering from a grade one MCL (knee) injury.
“He did so good, we are so happy with him,” Clyne said of Clark.
“He put his hand up for the challenge, he’d never played No. 10 before and has done it two games in a row.”
At Curlew Park in Shorncliffe, St Patrick’s College scored a wire-to-wire, 15-5 victory over a banged up Iona College outfit in atrocious conditions.
With rain bucketing down, the home side got out to a 15-nil lead and never looked back as No. 8 and Doubles Daley awardee Abe Huxtable and his troops took care of their Wynnum rivals.
Huxtable was a handful, and alongside him Jenkins and Tom Scanlan were excellent in the flanks.
Young hooker Mitch Wallis continued his strong form as well with a solid performance.
Iona, plagued with injury and sickness, never gave up and scored late in the game to give themselves a comeback chance as the rain intensified and clock dwindled.
At the forefront of that effort were second rowers Liam Whale and Cam Medley.
You just had to be there to see how good this pair was.
With more than 10 of the school’s First XV players from the start of the season out injured or sick, Whale and Medley moved in to produced a rollicking performance.
It wasn’t workhorse Whale’s first big outing this year. He was exceptional against Villanova in round 4 and has been outstanding across the season.
Doubles Daley medallist Medley wasn’t bad either.
Iona were without some key men like Keanu Bothma (halfback), Max Bolton (fullback), front row bash brothers Bailey and Kalix Swifte and captain Diesel Hauff also was injured during the game.
With so many key men missing, Whale and Medley were four players in two, so busy were they.
But it was St Patrick’s day in Shorncliffe, where steady fullback Ryan Smallhorne, productive midfielder Harry Blake and tryscoring flyhalf Onosa’i Cvetko-Lueger were all rock solid.
The match was won in the forwards and that was where Jenkins and Huxtable had their way, creating points with their work on both sides of the ball.
On Mayer Oval at St Peters, Villanova continued to show why they can be premiership contenders in 2026 and even cause an upset next Saturday against Ashgrove with an impressive 40-14 win over the Saints.
Villanova led 33-0 at the main break and were in great control, leading to coach Mannie Navarro calling on his bench and Second XV players to finish the job.
Doubles Daley centre Hudson Bishop, the Villanova No. 13, continued his great comeback season in green and gold.
Bishop went crash and bang to stop any and every player in their tracks on a sodden surface in Indooroopilly.
Against Iona last week, he did the same to ensure only seven points were conceded.
Impossible to get past, Bishop put on a clinic with his technique and low-chopping tackles which would bring a smile to defensive coaches around the world.
After a superb 10As campaign in 2023, Bishop was kept on ice in 2024 rehabilitating a bad back injury. Earlier this season, he was dealt another bad hand when hyper extending his elbow which stopped him from playing in the Cyril Connell Cup rugby league competition for Easts.
Now fit as a fiddle, Bishop is making a brilliant midfield impact for the competition’s big improvers.
“He’s making up for lost time,” said coach Navarro.
It said plenty about Bishop’s love for his team that earlier this year when injured, he went on a school rugby tour to Japan and despite not playing once, he still had a great attitude and helped the team where he could.
“He toured with us to Japan and didn’t play with us once,” said Navarro.
“That’s the sort of humility he had.” On Saturday, Bishop had no thought of self preservation, running hard and hitting even harder.
On Bishop’s outside, No. 13 Max Rakitovszky was also brave and scored a try before being granted an early mark.
At fullback, two-try jinking gem Darcy Kerr was up to his usual tricks.
On one occasion, he bumped off a few defenders before dotting down a 60m solo special.
Flyhalf Lachie Francis and goalkicking scrumhalf Alex Borger were also brilliant for the visitors, with Francis’ performance especially good in such wet conditions.
Villanova’s forwards displayed plenty of heart and skill. Leading the way was captain Matt Linnell, a sporting all-rounder who in the winter calls the lineouts and in the spring plays as a quarterback for the Bayside Ravens.
Earlier this year Linnell played First XVIII Australian rules football for Villa and was just recently selected in the Australian Under-18 Gridiron team.
“They (the forward pack) just know how to run together,” said Navarro.
“He (Matt) had a perfect No. 4’s game in the wet weather.”
Navarro is referencing his decisions around the lineout and effective carries.
Tighthead prop Sam Binney was effective in his work, bringing down the big St Peters forwards.
“His ball carries and defence against bigger forwards was just brutal,” Navarro said in praise.
“He just knew how to stop bigger blokes and chopped low all day long.”
The hosts’ scrum performance was a big positive in a losing effort.
Loosehead Paul Deeb, hooker Nomis Fidow, a Cairns product, and tighthead Shaye Batty were brilliant in that aspect.
On McMahon Oval in Ashgrove, the blue and gold produced a stunning first half performance before finishing strong to win 61-5 over a stunned St Edmund’s.
With old Collegians from the 1995, 2005 and 2015 classes watching on proudly from the newly renovated Cyprian Pavilion, the Ashgrove side conjured up 40 first-half points in an outstanding display.
loosehead prop Archie Searle scored two of his three tries in that thumping first 35 minutes where past and present members of the hive had plenty to cheer about.
With Ashgrove running towards the old boys, situated in the Pavilian that overlooks the main oval, they put an early deposit on victory and played some of their best footy all season.
It comes at a great time given a testing fortnight to come against a promising crop of Villanova boys and reigning premiers Padua.
After elite backrowers James Johnston, Seb Gardiner and Elliot Aldridge had engineered a rollicking first half showing and midfielder Sean Green his best outing of the season, Ashgrove’s First XV belted out the Sub tuum praesidium hymn, a prayer dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“It was incredible. Something so special which those boys will remember forever,” Ashgrove coach Richard Graham said with a smile.
Green’s performance in the midfield also put a smile on Graham’s face because the wrecking-ball boarder of Papua New Guinean heritage found the perfect balance in his game.
“His ability to put the defensive line under pressure through his physicality, carries and footwork was great. When he needed to, he distributed the ball well,” Graham said of Doubles Daley medallist Green, an inside centre.
“The balance of his game was excellent today.”
Graham was most pleased with how his side kept things simple, physical and were patient in attack.
“We talked about simplicity and patience and I thought we were excellent in that area.”
Leading the charge for St Edmund’s College was Doubles Daley awardee Seb Kracht and his buddy Nate Pearce.
Both were great, but Kracht was a head turner with his work around the park.
He has been a revelation this season and was full of beans late in the game when St Edmund’s continued to make it a fight with their competitive spirit.
Originally published as AIC First XV rugby round 5 reports, photos and scores
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