TAS First XV rugby: Round 1 report
Who won round 1 of TAS First XV schoolboy rugby union today? Read our extensive coveage here.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Ormiston College pushed off their season with a 77-nil victory over West Moreton Anglican College at WestMAC.
An overwhelming forward performance laid foundations for a try-fest as Ormiston fullback Jamal Meena and fly half Hugo Hobbs both ran in three tries apiece.
But the sweeping backline movements were only possible because of Ormiston’s ball winning at the breakdown and for that the starting pack must take great credit.
Flanker Rener Welgemoed, hooker Ethan Hill and Angus Melville spearheaded a white out at the breakdown where Orimiston, stronger and well drilled, won their own ball quickly, but also pilfered WestMAC’s possession.
Halfback Lucas Wood was then able to release his backline which saw inside centre Laif Williams star.
RELATED LINKS
ULTIMATE GUIDE: CLUB RUGBY PLAYERS TO WATCH ACROSS 3 COMPS
When WestMAC were at their best early in the contest, Williams not only showed his team the way forward carrying the ball, but twice made crucial tackles when his opponents threatened.
Orimiston were ruthless. At 33-nil the call went across the ground “it’s still nil-all boys, let’s still go hard’’ and go hard they did.
Tall No. 8 Daniel Body and Melville were mighty in carrying possession, and on the fringes the backs ran amok as Orimiston played an up-tempo style of game using the width of the field.
But the match was played in good spirits.
Indeed when WestMAC’s fullback Hamish Hunt brought down Hobbs with a covering tackle, Hobbs offered his hand in congratulations.
Hunt was one of his team’s best, twice using his pace to save tries after Orimiston had kicked ahead, and made many last line tackles against rampaging opponents.
WestMAC prop Liam Theron also looked an excellent player in a beaten side.
Despite the scoreline, you can see WestMAC can improve dramatically if players secure their own ball and retain possession at the breakdown, phase after phase.
This will build pressure on their opponents while also denying the opposition more time in possession, therefore reducing the chances of a blow out.
Scores: Ormiston College 77 (H Hobbs 3, J Meena 3, A Melville, D Body, D Penniket, L Williams, R Brennan, J Johnston tries; L Williams 5 goals, D Penniket goal) def WestMAC 0.
At John Paul College, a dazzling display of doubles from three players saw JPC thump St. Johns 60-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The home side ran in 10 tries in their first win of the TAS schoolboy rugby First XV competition with Declan Avkideff, Mark Moran and DJ Grey all collecting two tries each in what was a magnificent display at home.
JPC No.8 Avkideff got his team on the board straight away with a powerful run off a quick tap, bumping off his defender and running 30m with his mullet gliding in the air behind him to lead 7-0 early.
TAS player to watch, fly half Mark Moran was next to draw blood, catching a highball and running 65m to score a brilliant try to make it 12-0.
Winger Jayden Ward was next to score for the home team, followed by halfback Mathew Moran who kicked a ball through to the in goal, regathered and scored, to extend the lead to 24-0.
JPC struck moments later when winger Riley Gill ran 40m before putting in a gorgeous grubber kick for his teammate Mark Moran who executed the best try of the day.
Gutsy St. Paul forwards Nicholas Groom, Oscar Miller, Cooper Howie and Lincoln Maufoe tried their best to hold off a rampaging JPC outfit with their rumbling attack and strong defence, however it was no match for scintillating centre Jamie Critchley who scored first in the second half to stretch the lead at 36.
Critchley was involved again, fending off defenders before offloading to prop Noah Coleman, who found DJ Grey darting through the line to score. Grey went in for his second moments later to make it 48-0.
Just when the spectators thought they’d seen it all, flanker Lachlan Russell scored a fantastic 70m solo try sprinting down the sideline and stepping inside to deceive his defender and edge his team past 50 points.
The game’s first tryscorer, Avkideff, topped off JPC’s try scoring bonanza when strolling over from the back of the ruck to settle the score at 60-0.
John Paul College Coach Joshua Kron said “I was happy with the continued effort keeping the
scoreboard ticking over. I was happy they could make corrections throughout the game and I think our connection in defence was solid but I would like to see more discipline from us moving forward.”
John Paul College 60 ( D Avkideff 2, Mark Moran 2, DJ Grey 2, J Ward, J Critchley, L Russell, Mathew Moran tries; Riley Anderson 3, Fin Laffey 2 cons) bt St.Pauls College 0.
St Columban’s: 56-0 over CHAC
Riley Brown, St Columban’s Rugby Coordinator: “We played well for 55 of the 70 minutes. It was good to put our systems and structures into place. Today set the platform to springboard into the rest of the season. It was good to see a few different boys in different positions, as we used our whole squad to try players out. The aim was to follow our patterns and structures and we did that well.”
Devlyn Nel, Ryan FitzGerald and Ryan Carroll spearheaded St Columban’s performance.
Mark Splinder, CHAC, sport: “The Cannon Hill Anglican boys fought valiantly and with true character never gave up. Their defence was their highlight although this wasn’t reflected the score board. Moving forward this week, we will work on attack structure and shape to create attacking opportunities out wide. At times, we were let down when we transitioned from attack to defence as Columbians took their opportunities in general play. We will also focus on defending that second man runner in general play.’’
John Dick, Toby Butler and Oliver Gough all played well.
Canterbury 27-15 over St Paul’s School
Andrew Thomas, St Paul’s School coach: “Very competitive first half with high skills from both sides in windy and rainy conditions at St. Pauls. Canterbury were able to take advantage of St Paul’s errors in the second half to run out 27-15 winners.” Best for Saints was Tanner Baker.
Canterbury College coach Sione Fukofuka said his best players were five-eight Nico Buckley, flanker Alex MutiMutu, fullback Liam Reynolds and No.8 John Henry.
Originally published as TAS First XV rugby: Round 1 report
‘Respect me now?’: Wilson-Dib bout descends into chaos
Liam Wilson is heading for a world title blockbuster but will need time to recover after settling the most bitter rivalry in Australian boxing on a night violence threatened to extend beyond the ring.
Swans get horror result on Gulden scan
The AFL has a full-blown crisis on its hands, with a crucial Swan learning his fate as a trio of superstars will miss the start of the season.
St Kilda’s injury woes deepen in Port loss
Young gun Jason Horne-Francis gave Port Adelaide fans a glimpse of his 2025 potential as St Kilda lost another player to injury.
South Australia wins Dean Jones Cup final with crushing victory
South Australia has converted their regular season dominance into silverware with a crushing victory over Victoria in the One Day Cup final.
Johns in hot water over baseball bat stunt
With the NRL on edge ahead of the Las Vegas double-header, Cooper Johns’ red carpet act has not gone down well.
NSWRL Junior Reps Rd 5: Contenders emerge at midway point of year
The temperatures were hot and the action was scorching as the NSWRL Junior Reps crossed the halfway point. See the contenders who emerged from the pack in our round five wrap.