AIC First XV rugby: How reconciliation round unfolded
AIC First XV rugby: How did round reconciliation unfold? Find out here with the best players and pictures from three midweek blockbusters.
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AIC First XV rugby’ Reconciliation round continued on Wednesday afternoon with two midweek clashes unfolding.
St Patrick’s hosted Ashgrove, with Ashgrove running away 56-5 victors, while At St Edmund’s, St Laurence’s warmed its engines for a round six bout against arch rivals Ashgrove with a hard fought 33-0 win.
THE GAMES
ST PATRICK’S V ASHGROVE
Marist College Ashgrove’s First XV may have won 56-5 against St Patrick’s, but it was the players’ victory between the ears which most impressed coach Richard Graham.
Make no bones about it. Curlew Park, St Patrick’s patch, was ambush territory.
St Patrick’s players stood on the headland, rifles fixed, crouching silently ready to ambush the visitors from leafy Ashgrove.
Ashgrove’s players, coming off an 85 point effort just four days earlier, travelling an hour to the seaside and confronting a St Pat’s First XV spurred on by a small but vocal supporter group, could have been flat.
But the players were not.
Ashgrove’s Firsts were able to rise above a spirited St Patrick’s defence, the home side holding the visitors to 5-14 leading to halftime, to win well.
Ashgrove’s effort was led by its front row of strong man Reuben Downes, Daley Medal winning hooker Joshua Heinrich, and try scoring prop Connor Gane, along with replacement No. 8 Adam Burnell and lock Christian Kurylewski.
Ashgrove fullback Tom Howard also added some nice touches and through the mid field Tom Millard and Xavier Howard benefited from Ashgrove’s weight of possession.
St Patrick’s light weight No. 8 Cohen Taylor was deservedly his teams Doubles Daley Medal winner, while Riley Horn, Matt Condon and Jhye Leis manned the pumps in defence and tried hard with the ball.
Marist players turned for the second half with gritty St Patrick’s players clinging doggedly to the tail of their jerseys.
Paddies’ announced intentions with a committed, defiant front line of defence that Ashgrove did well to twice negotiate to lead 14-0.
Replacement No. 8 Burnell started his recall match with a driving tackle, a stolen ball and then a try off Tom Howard’s ball work.
Nice set piece line out work also gave Ashgrove’s midfield some quick ball and nice half gap running by Millard and lovely support play by Xavier Howard saw Howard finish with aplomb to score under the posts.
However St Pat’s did not go away, bustling Ash in defence and retaining ball in attack.
And it shocked no one to see Pat’s try scoring machine, hooker and captain Manaaki Bateman, drive forward from a rolling maul to break free and score.
At 14-5 St Pat’s were back in it, and oh how Ashgrove needed the try by lock Christian Kurylewski.
The tall second rower had a moment earlier driven play forward and then jumped to his feet to be ready to be involved again. He deserved full reward by scoring.
Kurylewski was later the trigger for a late try and had a splendid game.
Straight after the break Ashgrove played a period of their best football.
Then came the pass of the match by Ashgrove second rower Pat Anderson, an old fashioned around the corner classic in traffic.
The workhorse tight forward thundered down the right side and when pinned by two defenders, released his left arm to deliver the ball in the bread basket of Tom Howard.
No one can polish a movement like Howard who put his halfback Lachie McCall in to score.
The industrious McCall deserved that moment as well.
Tom Howard, soon after, then thrust himself past defenders on another left hand surge, powering in to score.
ST LAURENCE’S V ST EDMUND’S
On Mulkerin Oval in North Ipswich, home side St Edmund’s put in a brave fight but came up short against a St Laurence’s College outfit spearheaded brilliantly by kicking maestro Finn Mackay.
Headgear wearing Mackay was instrumental with his clearing kicks, attacking kicks and general play kicks, while for the Wolf Pack, rookie flyhalf Tiger Campbell was equally impressive in what was an entertaining fly half kicking duel.
Young Campbell, the Ipswich Jets Connell Cup pivot, did not get a look off the kicking tee but kicking for touch he was excellent and on the money with his right to left spiral passes, except on two occasions late in the game when trying to spark things for his team.
His showing eclipsed what was a more than gutsy performance by St Edmund’s, who despite being kept scoreless, had some brilliant phases of attacking play.
But St Laurence’s ploughed on, the reigning premiers still unbeaten with two huge matches looming against Ashgrove and Padua.
There was plenty to like about the way they played on Wednesday, but they will need to be even better if they want to make it four outright premierships in a row.
Hooker revelation Griffiths continued to ruffle feathers, his pile driving heaves from close range and his barnstorming runs down the right edge allowing the visitors to manufacture a 19-0 half time lead.
Year 12 student Griffiths, a Souths Magpies junior, was a wrecking ball hooker in Wednesday’s game but just last year was running amok in the backline.
“Junior years I started as a hooker then I moved into the flankers and then last couple years I have been in the centres, mainly inside centre,” said Griffiths, one of the discovery players of the season.
“This year back to hooker, playing as like an outside forward, a loose forward in game play.
“It’s just sticking to our game plan and we should be right (against Ashgrove),” the 87kg front row dynamo said ahead of his team’s big clash against Ashgrove in round six.
His props, Luka Smith and Preston O’Brien, were also top notch with O’Brien the first try scorer.
Their captain Tom Nadenic also found the scoresheet, burrowing over for St Laurence’s fourth try and first in the second stanza.
The tall, physical lock was strong, but found his match in fearless St Edmund’s forwards Will Tatt, Fletcher Haspels, the Doubles Daley medallist, Jack Breuer and dangerous winger Ryder Rundell.
Behind Nadenic, mobile big man Ben Davis was again a powerful force.
He scored a try late in the first half for his troubles.
Around traffic director Mackay in the St Laurence’s backline, Zack McNeven, Owen Frost, Will Cartelo and Xavier Santos were strong with limited touches.
The scramble defence, line speed and physicality of the Wolf Pack a real highlight in their inspired defensive effort.
Trojan worker Jack Breuer epitomised the workhorse mindset of St Edmund’s players 1-15, who won their lineouts, scrummed hard, cleaned out fiercely and defended with pride.
Holding out a dominant scrum by the visitors just five metres from their tryline on the cusp of time was a nice reward for the side’s determination against what a was a well drilled St Laurence’s outfit led by headgear wearing duo Ben Davis and Liam O’Callaghan, who was awarded the Doubles Daley Medal for his side.
St Laurence’s 33 (Tries: O’Brien, McNeven, Davis, Nadenic, O’Callaghan, Cons: Mackay 4) def St Edmund’s nil.
EARLIER
ST PETERS V IONA
Headgear wearing fullback Campbell Rolfe slotted eight-from-nine off the tee in Iona College’s 71-7 win in Tuesday afternoon First XV rugby against St Peters at Mayer Oval.
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The sharpshooting sniper banged three over from near sideline and four more a little closer in to add the finishing touches to eight of Iona’s nine tries in their 64 point reconciliation round victory.
Ironically, the 17-year-old was only handed the kicking duties for the first time last year when a gap opened up in the First XV.
Prior to 2023, Rolfe had never been the goal kicker in any side since starting at Iona as a Year 5 student.
The Wynnum Manly Seagulls Meninga Cup squad member and five-eighth perfects his craft after hours at training and also with his older brother Connor (Iona, 2019) on Monday afternoons after ripping into his school based carpentry apprenticeship.
“We didn’t have a kicker (last year) so I thought why not,” Rolfe said.
Rolfe said growing up his brother Connor was his inspiration, as a ballplayer not as a kicker.
“He played 10 and 12 and in league he played five-eighth,” Rolfe said of Connor, who was teammates alongside emerging Dolphins rake Max Plath.
Rolfe said the Confraternity Carnival, the First XIII league season and another season of Meninga Cup footy were short term goals of his, although Iona First XV coach Paul Davey thinks Rolfe would thrive in the 15-a-side game where his booming kick could come into play.
Indeed there is a bit of Jock Campbell (Reds fullback) about Rolfe.
After trailing 47-7 at oranges, the home side conceded just 24 points (four tries) in an inspired second half performance where speedster Alex Thompson continued to make big plays in front of a cheerful St Peters crowd.
But Iona’s first half demolition job had already ensured their third victory of the season.
SCORING AVALANCHE
Iona ran in seven first half tries before going onto win with prop powerhouse Hopo Leota and pacy winger Connor Quinn bagging doubles as the sun set behind Mayer oval.
Sam Hodder (prop), lock Oscar Clarke, debutant Finn Lucock, Ned Dore, midfielder Matt Doherty and Adrian Burrows also scored tries for Iona, who sported an eye-catching Indigenous jersey with Yura printed on the chest.
Yura means welcome for the people of Quandamooka Country and both St Peters and Iona wore their reconciliation playing strips with pride and passion.
EXCLAMATION MARK
St Peters were behind 24 points, so in came No. 24 with a wonderful 85m sprint effort to score and get the Saints supporters up on their feet.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, elite sprinter Alex Thompson pounced on an errant pass and put the after burners on to run in a near length of the field five pointer.
It was a feel good moment, a nice moment to start reconciliation round after a colourful acknowledgment to country celebrated prior to kick-off.
Another special moment followed for the Saints when St Peters rugby stalwart Mukil Manoharan took to the field for the final five minutes.
SAINTS’ SUPER FIVE
Despite conceding tries in quick succession throughout the first half, there was plenty to like about the way the St Peters boys rallied around each other.
Iona were the bigger side with more finesse, but that did not deter lock pairing Nigel Sherriff and Alex Brown from getting their hands dirty and taking a ton of carries.
The headgear wearing Sherriff was fearless through the middle of the field, while Brown was brilliant in the wider channels as a link man and at the breakdown.
Around them, midfielders Daniel Norris and Johnny Nona were classy with limited touches, forward leader Solomone Koroi powerful with his clean outs and offloading and Will Lovegrove excellent with his clearing kicks while Thompson scored his side’s lone try.
But well before that, he made a tremendous try saving tackle on Iona breakaway Adam Kelly, bringing him down just shy of the tryline. In the second half the gutsy cover tackling of Thompson, who joined the squad just two weeks ago before making his starting debut on Tuesday, was on display again.
Iona 71 (Tries: Leota 2, Quinn 2, Hodder, Clark, Lucock, Dore, Doherty, Burrows, Sampaolini, Cons: Rolfe 8) def St Peters 7 (Tries: Thompson, Cons: Norris).
Originally published as AIC First XV rugby: How reconciliation round unfolded
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