19th August 2007
U18 Semi-Final, At Bailey
Old Colls 19 v Brighton Siberians 7
Tries: Kabil Pradhan (2) (15th minute, 32nd minute); Conversions: Nil; Penalty Goals: Will Sadler (2) (10th minute, 40th minute), Jack Macklin (1) (65th minute)
A good start was essential if there was to be any hope of victory in this knockout semi-final match. Now, for the geographically mind amongst you, you will no doubt be interested to know that the number two pitch at Bailey is significantly narrower than most. And you may well draw the conclusion that this is not an advantage to a side whose strength is in the pace of its back line. But here's the thing! With Brighton choosing at almost every option to run an inside pass the crowd were treated to an exemplary display of the Flanker's art as Gray Bautz and John Muchan stopped virtually every attack at the gain line. The narrow pitch made the blindside a non-option and let Robbie Bell (Full Back) and Rowan Mein (Right Wing) free to patrol the last line of defence at will and snuff out Brightons' kicking game.
And so strong, compact defence, great ball-retention, solid scrum and quick release to committed running Centres all created too much pressure for Brighton who were forced into a penalty at the 22 just on the ten minute mark. Will Sadler kicked brilliantly for the goal and the scene was set for a cracking first half. Kabil, in his best game so far this year, tore up the left wing 5 minutes later for a try and then repeated the feat again 15 minutes later on the cusp of half time. Half-time score line 13 - 0.
When Will Sadler slotted over another penalty five minutes into the second half the sweet smell of victory was in the Spring air. Some joy for Brighton though as they finally broke through and posted a converted try. The game ebbed and flowed until yet another kickable penalty in the 30th minutes was well taken by Jack Macklin. Brighton continued to press hard and full-time came and went as they clawed up the ground metre by metre. But it was all in vein when the cover defence which had been great all day finally carried ball and attached Brighton players over the touch line to give us a very well deserved 19 to 7 win.
On to the Grand Final then, but a word of caution my friends! Many of the Brighton crew where licking their wounds after having beaten Onkas in a very tough Semi-final game the day before and so they (as a Club) where already into the Grand Final. Expect something far fiercer from the Tigers next weekend.
Best Players: Gray Bautz and John Muchan were outstanding. The performance of the rest of the team was very even and all played exceedingly well.
... Doug Mein
11th August
Old Collegians U18 31 v Onkaparinga 20
Tries: Jack Macklin (2), Jack Campion (1), Sam Oughton (1), Rowan Mein (1); Conversions: Jack Macklin (3)
The common wisdom is that there are no guarantees in this life. Well you can be guaranteed of this! Travel to Onkaparinga RFC and you will be in for 70 minutes of brutal, unforgiving, bone jarring rugby. An Onkas intercept try two minutes into the match set the scene for a tough, fast paced opening. Equity was soon restored through a barnstorming Jack Campion try. Two more tries were traded (Jack Macklin and Sam Oughton) and at the break it was the only conversion of the half that gave us a 17 to 15 lead.
A two point lead, several hundred-weight of ice and the breeze at our backs was strong medicine and when Rowan Mein scored off a typically blistering run and Jack Macklin converted for a 9 point lead things were looking rosy. But there are no guarantees and when Onkas closed the gap to 4 points it was all hands to the pumps. With a minute to go Rowan experienced some of that aforementioned bone-jarring rugby but the ball fell to Jack Macklin who completed the job and converted with a wonderful kick to seal the game 31 to 20.
This was as good a full team performance as we have seen form the guys all season. Especially so because the level of performance never dropped even though we had to cover several injuries from the bench. Oh, and I'll guarantee you this - it's nice to very nice to win at Onkaparinga.
Best Players: Tom Northcott, Philip Gold, Tom Nutt, Jamie and Charlie Neate, Jack Macklin
... Doug Mein
4th August
U18 a forfeit, U14 a bye, Under 10 a forfeit
At Womma
Old Collegians U16 55 v Elizabeth 7
Tries: Maybury, Stapleton, Linder-Patton x 2, Bretag-Norris x 2, Ha, McLeod, Rieger; Conversions: Macklin x 5
After a sluggish start, good aggressive forward play and straight running by Stapleton, Maybury and McLeod led to domination in the second half resulting in 6 tries and 4 conversions.
BOG: Stapleton, Bretag-Norris, McLeod
... Michael Barrettt
At Womma
Old Collegians U12 7 v Elizabeth 12
Try: Hudson
Huge improvement by the whole team. OCs held Elizabeth scoreless in the second half & stopped a few giants in their tracks. Good pace from Hudson capped earlier solo runs in an excellent try. The pack dominated the scrum and was far fitter over the park.
... Nigel Duckett
28th July
At Tregenza Oval, Old Collegians U18 27 v Brighton 17
Tries: Kabil Pradhan (2), Rowan Mein (1), Gary Bautz (1), Chris Chattaway (1) Conversions: Will Sadler (1)
As the Sun burnt off the early morning fog over Tregenza, so the U18s burnt off Brighton in this entertaining game. In a change as refreshing as the day, a good fast start from the Forwards and an early try to Kabil off the right wing set the mood. When Rowan joined the line from Full Back and slipped a lovely flat pass into Kabil's hands it was Try time again. Brighton, as they do, hit back to make it 12 all. Rowan collected the pay-off from a fabulous jinking run from Flanker John Muchan and the quick hands of the Centres to keep the momentum rolling. Speaking of John Muchan, this first year player had his best game so far this year with an inspiring exhibition of tackling (not all orthodox, but all very effective). Half-time scores were back to par at 17 all.
The good work of the first half was polished in the second half when a massive defensive effort lead by Gary Bautz, backed up by Rowan on the last line of defence and some inspired straight running from Tom Northcott culminated in the tackle of the day from Charlie Neate which snuffed out any remaining opposition late in game. In between was a well deserved try to Gary and one to Chris Chatterway who glided through a hole for his first Try.
Also worth mentioning was the line-out which stole a number of throws and was effective all day.
Best Players: John Muchan, Charlie Neate, Gary Bautz, Chris Chatterway, Rowan Mein
... Doug Mein
At NEDS, Old Collegians U14 zero v NEDS 29
Beaten by a poor side in the first half. Finally woke up in the second and produced a much improved performance.... Lloyd Nutt
At NEDS, Old Collegians U12 v NEDS
Tries Ian Begley & Laughlin Birrell
A vast improvement by the whole side held NEDS to one try all in the second half. Ian Begley and Laughlin Birrell scored for OCs while bruising runs from Digby Sever and Laughlin Prideaux paved the way. All the pack scrummaged well and drove hard over the ball.
... Nigel Duckett
30th June
At Port Adelaide, Old Collegians U18 v Brighton, lost 14 v 20
Tries: Robbie Bell (1), Gary Bautz (1) Conversions: Jack Macklin (2)
Whether it was the flu, the lure of the Bledisloe Cup or fatigue from the School Boys U18s, we were 7 or 8 regulars short. In a sporting gesture Brighton agreed to loan us a Prop and thus avoided the dreary non-contested scrum. What ensued was our best first half of Rugby for the year resulting in tries to Robbie Bell and Gary Bautz, both converted by Jack Macklin. Brighton clawed back a try just on half time for a 14:5 score line. Sadly we were unable to sustain the pressure into the second half and seemed to run out of attacking options.
Brighton ended up running in 3 tries to none leaving us trailing 14 : 20 at full time.
Best Players: Jack Macklin, Charlie Neate, Gary Bautz, Sam Berketa, Jack Campion Tom Nutt, Chris Chattaway
... Doug Mein
At Gleneagles, Old Collegians U16 v Vikings, lost 12 v 29
Tries: Wakeham, Stapleton, Conversion: Macklin
A much better team performance with a disappointing result. Again, we played "chase the ball" for too long and were unable to put together enough continuity in the forwards to allow our backs the time and opportunity to show their strengths.
We gave away too much possession by poor support play and poor decision making that left our ball carriers isolated. The Vikings heavy forwards had too easy a job pinching our ball.
We missed key players with illness/injury.
BOG Ha, Macklin, Stapleton
... Michael Barrett/Simon Macklin
At Gleneagles, Old Collegians U14 v Vikings, lost 0 v 62
Started well defensively in the first half. Lost mentally in the second. Boys played well with lots of heart and good hussle.
... Lloyd Nutt
At Gleneagles, Old Collegians U12 v Vikings, lost 12 v 34
Try: Rick Wilkinson, Lauchlin Pridham
Poor rucking failed to stop a rushing Viking's defence. Brave tackling led to injuries and despite losing their Captain, Old Colls never gave up.
... Nigel Duckett
23rd June
At Tregenza:
U8 v Onkas 35 - 35
U10 v Onkas 5 - 80
U12 v Onkas 5 - 24
U14 v Onkas 0- 37
U16 v Onkas 0 - 17
U18 bye
Old Collegians U16 v Onkaparinga, lost 0 v 17
Sluggish performance with a score that belied a poor team performance. But for a committed defense, the result would have been much worse.
BOG Ha, Whewell, Atkins
... Michael Barrett
Old Collegians U14 v Onkaparinga, lost 0 v 37
A huge improvement from the team, compared to our last encounter with Onkaparinga.
Great effort from: Matthew Bautz, Nicholas Scott and Stewart Nutt.
Old Collegians U12 v Onkaparinga, lost 2 v 24
Try: Rick Wilkinson
A massive improvement. Guts and determination were shown by the U12's. The pack shut off possession and suddenly Onkas looked beatable. In the 2nd half it was even, with yet another Wilkinson try set up by a powerful surge from Sever and good linking from Andrews.
.... Nigel Duckett
Old Collegians U8 v Onkaparinga, draw 35 v 35
These were 2 full teams this week. Some good defence from College. Passing is improving. Neil Fisher did a great job with the team.
BOG Liam Westrik
... Fraser Bell
16th June
U8 good game
U12 OC 7 Brighton 43
U14 OC 5 Brighton 39
U16 OC 7 Brighton 31
U18 OC 22 Brighton 17
Old Collegians U16 7 v Brighton 31, at Brighton
Tries: Maybury, Conversions: Atkins
A good quality game where the OC scrum dominated. Defensive lapses and some hesitant defense cost 3 tries.
BOG Maybury, Wagstaff, McLeod, Smith, Barrett
... Michael Barrett
Old Collegians U14 5 v Brighton 39, at Brighton
Try: Stewart Nutt
Good hussle. Struggled with size difference but held our own. Scoreline doesn't tell the full story. Stewy Nutt, Tom Armstrong Chris Russell, all had good games.
... Henry Nutt
Old Collegians U12 7 v Brighton 43
Try: Rick Wilkinson Conversion: Chris Hodgson
Several try saving tackles by Rick Wilkinson could not stop a first half rout. Courage from OC's then held Brighton in the second half 2 tries to 1.
... Nigel Duckett
Old Cols v Brighton @ Brighton
Score: 9 - 5
Old Colls turned up with a bare 10 to play and multiple injuries reduced us to 7 at one point. Great character shown by all players with tries scored by Phoebe Lindner-Platten (2), McKenzie Sadler (2), Isaac Taylor (3), George Wells (1) and Jo Hodgson (1). This game showed that the extra training on Wednesday night is paying off with continuance of ball movement being the highlight.
Standouts were George Wells, Nick Litchfield but all players were best on ground.
9th June 2007
Old Collegians U16 52 v Elizabeth 5 played at Tregenza
Tries: McLeod x 4 Eames, Smith, Maybury, Wood x 1 Conversions: Atkins x 3, Macklin x 3
Strong team performance with good clean ball coming to a strong group of running backs.
Alex McLeod on debut scored 4 tries. Congratulations also to Llewllyn Wood who scored his first try. Pleasing conversions from Atkins and Macklin.
BOG McLeod, Maybury, Blackall, Smith, Wagstaff
.... Michael Barrett
Old Collegians U12 22 v Elizabeth 15 played at Tregenza
Tries: Rick Wilkinson x 3 Chris Hodgson x 1
Solid scrimmaging paved the way for a standout performance by Rick Wilkinson in both defence and attack. The team held together well as Elizabeth pressed hard to the end
.... Nigel Duckett
Old Collegians U8 3 v Elizabeth 5 played at Tregenza
Elizabeth started well. A rousing halt-time speech by Fish produced a really good result. Colls won the second half with multiple passes. The team shared the ball around to great effect.
... Fraser Ball
2nd June 2007
At Brighton, Old Collegians U18 22 v Onkas NEDS 29
Tries: J Neate, Campion, Leonardis, Oughton Conversions: Sadler x 1
OC made too many basic mistakes. The team has lots of potential but they need to be prepared to put in for a full 70 minutes. Sadly, Onkas declined the opportunity to borrow a few players and the game was played 13 a side. OC had a full compliment of players and reserves. The game was played with uncontested scrums from the outset due to the lack of an Onkas front row.
... Doug Mein/ Michael Campion
At Tregenza, Old Collegians U14 30 v NEDS 12
Tries: Litchfield x 2, Linder-Patton, Macklin, Nutt, Imber
Excellent effort by the whole team, first team win of the season. Fine work by Will Goode, who got the ball at every line-out.
... Lloyd Nutt
At Tregenza, Old Collegians U12 7 v NEDS 76
Try: Sadler
OCs were thumped by a well drilled NEDS team which had several athletic backs. We started well with an excellent try by Noah Sadler, but then dropped off after too many tackles.
... Nigel Duckett
2nd June - U10s Pathway Gala Day at Gleneagles
Our first game against Onkaparinga was our second match against them this season and the pleasing factor was that all players were trying to execute skills that we had practiced at training. The defensive effort of all players has lifted considerably since the first game of the season against them..>
Our second game against Burnside was very much the same, however, when in possession of the ball we put together some great passages of team play and recycled the ball very well at times. We were very unlucky to not score.
The third game against Brighton was outstanding with all players contributing to a great 3 try to 1 win against Brighton (scored by Phoebe, Luke and Isaac). The tackling, passing and running the ball up were put together in a confident display of the developing skills.
All players ended up with some bumps and bruises for the efforts but all enjoyed the games and bonded very well over the 3 hour period.
With thanks to all the families that turned up to support the team.
... Jill Taylor
25th May 2007
Old Collegians U18 8 vs Brighton 33
Played at Tragenza on Sunday, 26 May at 11.20
Penalty (Will Sadler), 1 Try (Sam Berketa) not converted
Best Players: Rupert Weaver, Chris Bartlett, Ned Fitzgerald, Sam Berketa, Chris Chattaway
For the second week Brighton proved just too strong in the Forwards and were able to exploit this strength with a fair degree of ruthless efficiency especially in the first half.
Will Sadlers' penalty kick just before half time gave us some small relief. Always nice to get on the scoreboard!
So to the second half, we finally managed to suck in a few of the Brighton defenders, get some quick ball and a couple of excellent passes through the centres culminating in a very good try to Sam Berketa and it all looked so easy. Special mention to Rupert Weaver whose consistent tackling performance all day was a pleasure to behold.
Old Collegians U16 36 v Souths 35
Tries: Ha x 2, Stapleton x 2, Maybury, Macklin
Conversions: Atkins x 1, Macklin x 2
After a slow first half, our forwards began to dominate the scrums. In the second half we out scored Souths, notwithstanding some very fierce tackling. Another good day from the backs.
BOG: Ha, Linder-Patton, Smith, Maybury, Reiger, Bretag-Norris
... Michael Barrett
Old Collegians U12 31 v Souths 24
Tries: C Hodgson x 3, R Wilkinson x 2
Victory came after a torrid contest. Up against a side with several massive runners OCs never gave up. Led by stellar performances from Rick Wilkinson and Chris Hodgson, who put over a touchline conversion.
... Nigel Duckett
Old Collegians U10 5 v Souths 15
During the first half Old Colls had plenty of possession but could not get the ball out of the congestion to score. The lack of spreading wide of the rucks and mauls defensively led to some run away tries from the opposition. However, after addressing our defensive efforts at half time, we held the opposition scoreless.
Isaac made an outstanding intercept try (on the whistle again - hopefully this is not turning into a habit) to cap off a great second half team effort. Once again, Jenny and Venetia put in some tough tackles, Phoebe had an outstanding debut, Liam Trus showed a bit of toe when accepting a good pass from a scrum and George Wells and Andrew Ascough displayed solid performances in cleaning out the opposition and protecting the contested ball in the ruck.
BOG: Phoebe Linder-Platten and Liam Trus.
Old Collegians U8 v Souths
Two teams took the field to play both Uni and Souths.
Cols played good rugby but Souths had real pace outside. This was the difference.
BOG Willoughby Clarke
... Fraser Bell
19th May 2007
At Parkinson, Old Collegians U18 5 v Brighton 22
OC were not able to match Brighton's intensity for the full game. Brighton scored 3 tries (1 conversion) in the first half to our single unconverted try (by Robbie Bell). The second half was better with Brighton confined to a single try. 30minute halves were played instead of the anticipated 35 minute halves.
... Doug Mein
Old Collegians U16 17 v Burnside 10
Tries: Macklin, Wagstaff. Ha. Conversions: Macklin x 1
Our first win of this season against a big Burnside team. Excellent back play with good clean ball provided by the forwards. This was a difficult game for the forwards against a sizeable Burnside pack. However, they stuck their ground and defended extremely well. There was hardly a tackle missed and the clean ball in the second half meant that the backs always looked dangerous and invariably crossed the gain line.
Unfortunately, our discipline let us down in the final minutes. Congratulations to Jimmy Ha on his inaugural try for OC.
BOG Macklin, Linder-Patton, Maybury
... Michael Barrett/Simon Macklin
Old Collegians U12 7 v Burnside 55
The U12s encountered a strong well-drilled team. In a game of many penalties, OC struggled for rhythm. Powerful running from Laughlin Pridham gained field position for Digby Sever's sole try.
... Nigel Duckett
Under 14s, Old Collegians U10 5 v Burnside 50
Best Players: Phillip Green and Liam Trus
Some good efforts this week in a tough game, noteworthy were Phillip Green and Liam Trus who are really finding their form this year.
Luke, McKenzie and Nick also put in a good effort with some great tackling. There were a few injuries this week though with Jenny, Jo and Rhys going off and the team will need to try and get back on track continuing to work and communicate together as a team, something which proved so successful against the Vikings last week. Overall, a good effort with Isaac putting Old Colls on the board with a try.
Old Collegians U8 1 try v Burnside 4 tries
Tackling in the backs was the main feature of a tight game. Colls played good team rugby.
... Fraser Bell
12th May 2007
U18 at Parkinson Oval, Old Collegians U18 31 v Brighton 5
Tries: C Bartlett x 1, G Bautz x 1, R Mein x 3; Conversions: W Sadler x 3
Turned out a full compliment of 22 and loaned 3 to Brighton.
Game played in very warm conditions. Tight in the first half - half time score OC 7 Brighton 5. OC always looked more likely to break out however.
Second half dominated by OC for 25 minutes with 4 tries (1 conversion). Fantastic effort in last 10 minutes to hold out Brighton who were camped on the 5m line. Held up in goal a couple of times - great effort to deny Brighton a try.
BOG C Neate, W Sadler
Good games from S Oughton, J Leonardis, T Northcott, T Nutt, G Bautz and H Lord
... Doug Mein
U16 at Tregenza, Old Collegians U16 20 v Vikings 24
Tries: Maybury x 1, Whewell x 1, Macklin x 2
Good aggressive start with strong, fast running back play. Excellent ball retention allowed us to play the first half on the front foot and allowed the backs to show their skills.
However, fitness failed us and resulted in a failure to secure possession in the second half. This left us chasing shadows.
A disappointing result after a good performance last week.
BOG Whewell, Maybury, Barrett, Linder-Patton
... Michael Barrett
U12 at Tregenza, Old Collegians U12 15 v Vikings 15
Tries: C Hodgson x 2, R Wilkinson x 1
A well-earned draw was set up by 2 tries to livewire Chris Hodgson, the second of which was setup by Cam Andrews. Rick Wilkinson blitzed the entire field for his score. Tough tackling from fullback & solid drives & defense from the pack kept Vikings in check.
... Nigel Duckett
U10s at Tregenza, Old Collegians U10 7 tries v Vikings 5 tries
Isaac x 1, Luke x 1, Nick x 3, Mackenzie x 1, Jo x 1
Some great tackles and pickups, everyone had a run with the ball and that means great team play beginning to appear. Venetia made a huge effort, Luke Isaac, Philip and Nick all had some great runsbut all in all everyone worked well as a team and it paid off.
BOG Venetia and Nick
... Jill Taylor
U8s at Tregenza, Old Collegians U8 v Vikings
A real team effort by the U8s proved the difference. At half time Vikings were up by 1 try but Colls played good attacking rugby to tie the game up. The Defence was outstanding as Vikings tried to score time and time again.
BOG Oscar Armstrong
... Fraser Bell
5th May 2007, At Onkaparinga
U18s 22 v Onkaparinga 40
Scorers: Jack Macklin, Robbie Bell, Sam Oughton, Rowan Mein
Uncontested scrums due to us not having any props. Excellent game with good running
Best players were Tom Northcott, Sam Oughton, James Neate
U16s 7 v Onkaparinga 24
Scorer: Andrew Smith
Strong forward play, good scrummaging put Onkas under constant pressure. OC took a well deserved lead in the first half with debutante Andrew Smith breaking the line with a strong run on a good angle to race from out own 10m line to score under the posts. We suffered in the second half and despite some committed defence were unable to hold Onkas who scored 4 unopposed tries. We were depleted by St Peters community day, which deprived us of a number of key players.
This was a good start to the season with a team that showed plenty of heart and commitment.
Best players were Billy Macklin, James Wagstaff and Andrew Smith
U12s 5 v Onkaparinga 66
Scorer: Chris Hodgson
Against a much older and bigger side, we struggled to retain possession. Brave tackling by Rick Wilkinson and tenacity from Chris Hodgson finally led to a determined try.
U10s 1 try v Onkaparinga 14 tries
Scorer: Isaac
Great first game against the toughest team. Well played by all especially Jennie Macklin and Mackenzie Sadler dishing out some tough tackles, and Isaac scored a great try on the whistle. Rhys Frew ran the ball up well and all new players showed some good form. The second half saw OC really picking up the tackling.
