10th September 2005
Women: Old Collegians 8 v Port Adelaide 3
Congratulations to the Frocs who defeated Port Adelaide and secured themselves a berth in the Grand Final on 17th September.
Typically for a game against Port Adelaide, who have been much improved this year thanks partly to the addition of a few players from the folded Uni team, this was a close, physical and scrappy contest. The only try of the day was scored from the base of the scrum as the dominant Frocs' forwards pushed the scrum 10 metres to get it over the tryline.
The penalty goal was kicked by Beck Derbyshire-Lloyd, while Port's penalty was kicked by Bec Smith.
Port was overwhelmed in the forwards as the girls from Old Collegians pushed nearly every maul and scrum further and further back. The advantage in the scrums was somewhat cancelled out by the Ref allowing Port to drop its flankers off the scrum and into their backline.
In open play, both the backs and forwards had some great passages of play, with the ball being recycled quickly. There were several long, stylish and evasive runs, particularly from Lusia Raikiwasa and Kate Reynolds.
The Frocs didn't make it easy on themselves, giving away a series of pointless penalties in the second half and being forced to defend their tryline for nearly 20 minutes against a firey Port Adelaide.
At the end of the day, despite lapses in discipline the Frocs maintained the lead and won the game through sheer gritty determination and a lot of hard work.
The Best Forward was Imogen Hume and the Best Back was Candy Daniel.
4th grade: Old Collegians 24 v Souths 7
Congratulations to the Fourth Grade! Their convincing win against Onkaparinga earned them a spot in the Grand Final against Elizabeth on 17th September.
The weather was better than expected, ergo so was the result. Rob Sadler played well, including a great try out wide that earned him the Presidential Flash he'd been promised (but alas for the sports bra).
A cameo from He of the Hamstring was good. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a kick in a street fight, either at goal or touch on penalties.
The young blokes played well; the old blokes need to lift to match them! Roll on for the final...
The U14s Grand Final:
Old Collegians 12 v Onkaparinga 29
3rd September 2005
1st Grade: Old Collegians 23 v Brighton 16
A fantastic performance from our First Grade in the Semi Final against Brighton saw them come from behind and score three tries to Brighton's one try and three penalties. We moved the ball out wide and handling was excellent despite the dreadful conditions which were expected to favour Brighton's style of play.
Great performances all round secured this win, putting us straight into the Grand Final on 17th September against the winner of Port v Brighton this weekend. Tries: H Winter, J Grimes, J Suttell, Conv : J Aguiar, Pen : J Aguiar (2)
4th Grade: Old Collegians 5 v Elizabeth 13
This game was a disappointing performance from Old Collegians 4th Grade who looked so dominant in the minor round. Fortunately, they have a second chance at making it to the Grand Final and will play Southern Suburbs in the Elimination Final on 10th September at 9.30am. Old Collegians try was scored by J Hopkins.
Women: Southern Suburbs 12 v Old Collegians 0
Like our Fourth Grade, our women lost the semi final in a performance well beneath their potential. The very wet conditions lead to a high number of handling errors, particularly on a number of occasions when the Frocs could have scored. Fortunately, also like the Fourth Grade, they have a second chance at making it to the Grand Final and will play Port Adelaide in the Elimination Final on 10th September at 11.00am.
Under 11s: Old Collegians 0 v Southern Suburbs 42
It was always going to be a big ask against the bigger Souths team that has not lost a game for three years. The boys approached their task carefully but knowing if things went right they could do it. They played what was to be one of their best games of the year. We won about 65% of the ball from all set plays. We wanted to keep the ball away from their fast runners and it almost came off, but the powerful Souths backline rushed our smaller backline players and the turnover rate was just too great. As the score line mounted, the boys did not give up and tried variations on their game plan. It was a great effort by all boys and they tried their hardest, but it was not to be. "Next year" they said at the end, unbeaten in their minds and showing to be true Old Collegians.
Under 14s: Old Collegians 22 v Southern Suburbs 0
Through the mud, through the blood to the finals (again)...and this is our year. In very heavy going the Old Collegians Under 14s ground out a physically gruelling but convincing win against a much improved Southern Suburbs. The first half was simply slogged out in ankle deep mud between each teams 22 metre lines with very little give or take by both sides. Eventually from the back of the lineout and about 40 metres out Harley plucked the ball from the air, saw a chink of daylight between a couple of Souths players and ran straight as an arrow to score our first try.
The second half saw Souths begin to falter as Harley ran in a couple of additional tries, followed by Tom Sullivan once again showing soccer skills to kick and dribble the ball some 40 metres to score under the posts.
The final score was 22 - 0; a reasonable reflection on the strengths of both teams. Everyone played extremely well. We now play the Grand Final on 10th September against Onkaparinga.
U16s: Old Collegians 12 v Onkaparinga 19
Our best team display for the season was not quite enough to overcome Onkas in this pulsating semi-final match. We headed into the game as clear under-dogs, but for all that Onkas scored 2 tries (and 1 conv) to zip in the first half. It was obvious from the boys work-rate and commitment that we were in the game. For the first time this year the Forwards demonstrated the cohesion at the breakdown that we all suspected was there. The result was a well executed yo-yo and Kabil crossing in the corner. Onkas, though, broke through for a third try and the pressure was back on. It could have easily been "heads down" time but not so for this enthusiastic, gritty team!
From a scrum well inside Onkas 22 a searing run from Robbie Bell released Kabil on the left wing from the half way line to run through the remaining defence and score under the posts. Jack Macklin converted and it was game on at 12 - 19 with 5 minutes to go. Alas it was not to be. There's no disgrace in losing to a good team if you play to your best and this excellent group of our young men most certainly did that today.
Congratulations to all the team and to coaches Ryan 'Boo-Boo' Nielsen and John Bell for a successful and very entertaining season.
The 1sts - taken after the match against Burnside (on the 20th of August)
27th August 2005
1st Grade: Old Collegians 28 v Woodville 5
- Best player - Andy Farquharson
2nd Grade: Old Collegians 17 v Woodville 7
- Best player - Quentin Manuel
Women's, 3rd Grade and 4th Grade - Bye
U18s: Old Collegians 0 v Vikings 5
A very close game that was finished early, due to two serious injuries that occurred in the same passage of play to Simon Kenny and Rory Sheppard. At the time Old Colls were in control of the game and it was a sad way to finish the season when all players had put so much effort in.
U8s: Old Collegians 25 v Vikings 25
The U8s had an exciting fun game, sharing the ball around the team - showing the skills that they had learned during the season and getting five very good tries. After the game they celebrated the season in the clubrooms.
U9s: Old Collegians 55 v Vikings 15
A fast scoring game by Old Colls, an excellent way to end the season. A fine game by Lachlan Pridham, Ryan Foll and Cameron Andrews. Some U8s helped out the U9s when they had finished their game.
U11s: Old Collegians 20 v Vikings 22
An exciting game of two halves. Old Colls led at half-time but the Vikings came back in the second half to win in the last minute. Good games by Paddy Macklin, Stewart Nutt and Darren Pinkerton. Player of the Day was Ross Andrews who dominated the halfback position on the field.
U12s: Old Collegians 33 v Vikings 24
Perhaps their best win of the year, showing a lot of confidence and ball handling skills. Excellent game by Patrick Brooker, Chris Russell, Brice Nairn and Chester Armstrong. The usual U11s helped out the U12s.
U14s: Old Collegians 103 v Vikings 0
A one-sided game. Old Colls totally dominated the smaller Vikings team. All players excelled. The team showed itself to be confident and a well drilled team and are looking forward to the Finals.
U16s: Old Collegians 69 v Vikings 5
With Souths/Vikings only able to field 13 players (reduced to 12 in the second half) the resultant space was too much of an invitation for our much faster, hard running backs who put on 11 tries to one in this decidedly one side match. To Souths/Vikings credit their pack held up well in the scrum but our forwards dominated at the clean out and in open play - prop James Marshall making one notable 20 m dash. Nick Walker was good in the line out and Andrew Bradley tackled well.
The try scorers were: Robbie Bell (4), Jamie Foster (4), Kabbie (2) and Sam Berketa (1). Conversions by Jack Macklin (5), Robbie Bell and Jason Leonardis one each. For the record Robbie Bell scored 114 points for the home and away rounds (22 tries, 2 conversions). So it's on to the finals next Sunday
20th August 2005
1st Grade: Burnside 15 v Old Collegians 31
Old Colls played well despite the filthy conditions which did not lend themselves to our type of game play. The tries were scored by Peter Cross, Charlie Sheppard (2) and. Lee Rebbeck. All conversions were kicked by Ben Suttell A penalty try was also awarded, which would otherwise have been scored by Andy Farquharson. We played down to Burnside's level at times but generally kept to the team structure.
Old man Joe Suttell had a great game and Best On Ground was Charlie Sheppard. This win secured us the annual "East Adelaide Challenge Cup" between Burnside and Old Collegians.
2nd Grade: Old Collegians 5 v Elizabeth 48
A disappointing performance from our second grade who have much more potential than this. Elizabeth scored their first try 37 seconds into the match and we were on the back foot for the rest of the game. Elizabeth called uncontested scrums early in the match.
3rd Grade: Old Collegians defeated Onkaparinga by forfeit
4th Grade: Old Collegians 37 v North Torrens 0
The 4th grade won their last minor round game of the year, their 11th win in a row, leaving them on the top of the table by a healthy margin of nearly 20 premiership points. They played well given the miserable conditions, with good ball control. Best on ground was Simon Cross. This game marked a low point in Graham Raymond's rugby career. He is loudly lamenting that he can't even get a run in the 4ths any more!
Women's XV: Burnside 0 v Old Collegians 82
A great win in the Frocs' last game of the minor round. The score was particularly impressive as it was pouring with rain for most of the game, the pitch was gluggy and slow and the ball was slippery and heavy.
The twelve tries were scored by Kate Reynolds (4), Zoë Woodstock (2), Belinda Wade (2), Lusia Raikiwasa, Kim Evans and Bec Manson. Beck Derbyshire Lloyd kicked an incredible 11 conversions. The girls had excellent communication, ball skills and structure despite the conditions.
There were good performances from every member of the team. This win is the biggest margin the Frocs have racked up since about 1999 and is a great way to head into the Finals!
Under 18s Colts: Burnside 22 v Old Collegians 21
U11s: Burnside 33 v Old Collegians 22
U 12s: Burnside 62 v Old Collegians 5
U 14s: Burnside 0 v Old Collegians 31
U 16s: Burnside 22 v Old Collegians 17
A three try to one first half from a highly galvanised Burnside had us on the ropes. Things looked dire shortly after the restart when Burnside crossed the line again. With some improvement in handling, good persistence and sustained pressure and a couple of changes to our line up we had the best of the possession in the second half and two tries came. The damage was done however and we fell one try short - left to rue Kabil's "try" early in the game that was deemed knocked on.
Tries to Jamie Foster, Robbie Bell and Rowan Mein. The best of the forwards were Jack Campion, Vince Donohue and Nick Walker.
Tries to Jamie Foster, Robbie Bell and Rowan Mein. The best of the forwards were Jack Campion, Vince Donohue and Nick Walker.
Tries to Jamie Foster, Robbie Bell and Rowan Mein. The best of the forwards were Jack Campion, Vince Donohue and Nick Walker.
13th August 2005
1st Grade: Old Collegians 46 v Southern Suburbs 10
This was a scrappy game but we managed to keep to our planned structure for a good part of it. We were missing a few of our first string forwards, but held strong in their absence. Charlie Sheppard had a blinder of a game.
2nd Grade: Old Collegians defeated Southern Suburbs by forfeit
3rd Grade: Burnside 32 v Old Collegians 10
4th Grade: Elizabeth 10 v Old Collegians 29
Women's XV: Bye
College Cup: Charlie Sheppard
U18s [Colts] Old Collegians 3 v Brighton 24
A strong start from the colts once again this week, however, missed opportunities was the story of the day. Old Colls were unable to capitalise on a strong first half wind, which made the rest of the day more of a battle. A good all-round performance from captain G.Barrett & a season best game for J.Gummow.
U8s: Old Collegians v Brighton
Everyone had a great game, with tries coming quickly for Old Colls and not so quickly for Brighton. The team skills are coming together and the team has the makings of a good future for Old Colls rugby.
U9s: Old Collegians 40 v Elizabeth 15
A fiery game against Elizabeth which almost got away from the Old Colls team. A strong finish secured the win. Excellent game from Dexter Duckett for his tackling. Lachlan Pridham and Cameron Andrews had great all round games.
U11s: Old Collegians 76 v Elizabeth 0
An outstanding game from the Old Colls team against a larger Elizabeth team. Many tries scored from good team work and supporting play. The team is coming together at the right time of the season in readiness for the finals. Best player was Sam Collett with excellent games from Darren Pinkerton, Stewart Nutt, Nick Howlett and Jeremy Wittert.
U12s: Old Collegians 22 v Brighton 12
A well deserved win created from good all round play. Good games from Brice Nairne, Chris Russell and Hugh Hope Murray and excellent kicking by Chris.
U14s: Old Collegians 41 v Brighton 10
Coming off the back of a very strong game last week and a good solid work out at training on Wednesday night, the lads put in a lot of effort to bring in a 41-10 score line. With strong workloads from backs and right up their forwards the team effort was good to see. The business end of the season is with us now and the lads are ready to make their presence felt in the finals.
U16s: Old Collegians 46 v Brighton A 5
A comprehensive, if scrappy win at Brighton. Although we had too much enterprise and pace for the opposition, handling errors meant we did not see much in the way of phased play. That said, when the ball stuck the tries came. Five in the first half - one each to the wingers Tom Sullivan and Ashwin Thomas, one to hooker Ned Fitzgerald and 2 for Robbie Bell. The second half was pretty much as the first with Rowan Mein scoring a try followed by Robbie crossing the try line twice more, for an excellent four tries on the day. So eight tries in all with Jack Macklin converting four in a strong breeze. Hooker Ned Fitzgerald played very well, with good support from Rupert Weaver and Vince Donohue.
6th August 2005
The 1s and Women had Byes.
Second Grade: University 41 v Old Collegians 7.
University put five tries, two conversions and two penalties on the board against us in a disappointing display. The first half was a good effort, with Quentin Manuel at halfback scoring an excellent try and Uni being held to two tries. However, in the second half we left Uni's dangerous back line with space to run through and support was often lacking. A good effort by Marc Fullager who did all he could as the last line of defence.
Third Grade: Old Collegians 5 v Roseworthy 44.
The try was scored by Rob Papryski. Typically, Roseworthy turned out strong and dominant. They are easily the best team in the third grade. Their dominance in the scrums particularly hurt us in this game, but we never dropped our heads and are playing very well as a team.
Fourth grade: Old Collegians 39 v Southern Suburbs 0.
Simplicity wins rugby games! We continued our winning streak; this was our twelfth win in a row. We ran in seven tries but, as Jesse said, couldn't get a kick in a street fight. Simon and Peter Cross played particularly well at half-back and five-eighth and were very influential in the win. It is the first time two of the Cross brothers have taken the field together. Rob Sadler, first grade coach, played in the centres and was awarded Wayne Kerr, the Fourth Grade Cock(erel). Rob had been out on the town the night before with his First grade and had shown excellent leadership at the bar but was looking very seedy on the pitch. Although we have been winning well, this game could and should have been a cricket score. The team will need to train more to win a premiership!
30th July 2005
1st Grade: Port Adelaide 14 v Old Collegians 31
- A great game, although we're still playing erratically with moments of brilliance interspersed with moments of mediocrity. Fortunately, there was enough brilliance to outweigh the mediocrity in this game. We had a tough battle against the Port Pirates. Although the Pirates held most of the territory in the opening twenty minutes, neither side could control the flow of play for more than a few minutes at a time. Both sides made mistakes as players strove to maintain a tight defence. In addition, they incurred a high number of penalty kicks, which, at that stage, failed to give either side much benefit. Eventually, the Pirates were able to get the ball out wide and run into open space and opened the scoring with a converted try. Later in the half, we began to retain the ball for longer periods, thanks to speedy responses at the breakdown that provided us with sequent phase wins. Long cut out passes proved to be an effective means of moving the ball to undefended areas, although mishandling sometimes marred this action.
We drove the Port lads into their 22 for the last ten minutes of the term, where the forwards endeavoured to control the ball. Port regained possession twice in this spell but our persistence paid off and we got the ball across the line to level the score at half time. We had to struggle just as hard in the second half. Excellent passing and fast running enabled us to breach the Pirates' defence and cross the goal line for our second try. Port regrouped firmly after this and tried to swing the ball wide past our defenders several times. However, on each occasion our players chased and tackled the ball carrier effectively. Well done. As well as defending successfully, we were now attacking more confidently.
Against a bigger pack, we won sequent phases at the breakdown; our handling improved as we swung the ball to the left or right, still using the cut out pass effectively and backed up in good position to take the ball when required.
Three fine tries in succession took the score to 17-7, 24-7 and then 31-7, before Port replied with a converted try scored just before the final whistle.
A great win in the end, yes, but the other contenders for the finals each have the potential to win the grand final.
Tries were scored by Juan Aguiar (2) (shown left), Andy Farquharson, Richard Czeglik and Christian Tedge and the two conversions were kicked by Juan. Best Player: Juan Aguiar.
2nd Grade: Port Adelaide 12 v Old Collegians 41
- A really great game from the second grade, one of the best this year and great communication considering the number of newcomers to the squad, including Mark West and Jon Teo coming up from the 4th grade.
Our players combined well to keep the ball out of the opposition's hands for extended periods and this enabled us to use a variety of ploys to penetrate the Port defence. Our forwards showed good form in scrums, produced a good effort in lineouts and matched Port in general phase play. Our inside backs showed plenty of dash, controlled the centre and made some good breaks, whilst the back three provided much speed and support. Defence proved to be solid and reliable.
Our first try resulted from a break through the centres and we kicked the conversion. Port replied by scoring a try soon afterwards and, for a while, looked as though they could repeat the dose. However, we got back on top and scored two more converted tries and a penalty goal to set a half time score of 24-5.
We continued to play well in the second half, although the Port men tightened their defence to restrict our own scoring to three further tries during the rest of the match. Best player: Mark West
Under 18s - Colts: Bye
3rd Grade: Old Collegians 12 v University 43
- A very pleasing game notwithstanding the score. The young players are progressing well despite having only played and handful of games in their life. Next season looks good! Rob Papryski did a great job winning three tightheads. The tries were scored by Brad Morson and Tom Pilkington. The conversion was kicked by Halley Sparrow. David Pridham, at prop, was the best player.
4th Grade: Bye
Women's XV: Port Adelaide 8 v Old Collegians 8
- The try was scored by Beck Derbyshire-Lloyd who also kicked the penalty. Bec Manson was again the best player. The Frocs had a great deal of possession, support play was generally good and the backs had excellent depth, speed and hands, but failed to penetrate. The girls did not play to their strengths and discipline was again disappointing resulting in needless penalties, backchat and a yellow card. The Frocs gained a good share of possession from set play early in the first half and tried to gain ground by spinning the ball to the outside backs who ran hard when allowed to by the Port defenders. The Frocs' forwards played soundly most of the time, although they occasionally faced problems caused by lineout infringements. A few handling errors provided setbacks when players appeared to have set up promising attacking moves, but we did well to hold territorial advantage for long spells.
The Frocs' defence was solid enough to prevent Port from creating attacking movements that threatened our line, except on one occasion. This was when they drove play into our 22 and retained enough possession to cross our line just before half time and score their only try for the day. The Frocs pressed hard after half time, drove play into the Port 22, forced a couple of great breaks and eventually scored the equaliser. Players contested the remainder of the match evenly; both sides had periods when their defence was keenly tested.
We still had a big share of possession and territory, but found it difficult to cut through tight defence, despite having a speed advantage. Port looked menacing at one stage when we gave away a series of penalty kicks inside our 22.
We turned the tide with a long kick up field and attacked inside Port territory for a considerable time, but Port hampered our efforts by bustling us into errors at crucial moments. Our backing up was sound and handling was generally good, except on a few occasions. Both sides kicked a penalty goal before the final whistle.
The women's competition approaches a fascinating finals series; the Frocs deserve much more support from the sidelines.
U 8s: Old Collegians 50 v Souths 50
an exciting and spirited game for a draw of 10 tries.
U 9s: BYE
U 11s: Old Collegians 5 v Souths 50
a good game, but we were beaten by a better team on the day. The combinations are coming together, but too much ball is being given away. Sam Collett had an outstanding game on the wing as did Stewart Nutt in the forwards. Player of the day was prop Andrew Smith for his work in the tight and for his excellent tackling.
U 12s: Old Collegians 0 v Souths 68
a loss to a team who have not been beaten for a number of season but we played well and never gave up.
U 14s: Old Collegians 22 v Souths 25
a very close game, but unfortunately lost on the final whistle with a try in the corner. Harley Jansen very dominant in the forwards and the centre combination of John Knowles and James Wagstaff bought points for the team.
U 16s: Old Collegians 0 v Brighton B 25
a tense top of the table game. The Brighton forwards used their size to their advantage and dominated the game in the tight. Old Colls backs played a spirited game with the ball that was available. Rowan Mein had an exciting game. Our Canadian import, Cameron Polson, had his last game and will be missed.
U18 (Colts) Bye
Big thanks to James Diack for the match reports for 1s, 2s and Frocs
23rd July 2005
1st Grade: Old Collegians 26 v Brighton 12
Tries scored by Leigh Rebbeck, Henry Winter, Paul McFadden and Christian Tedge. Juan Aguiar converted three of the four tries. Ben Suttell was the best player. A good win in a game which both clubs view as a potential preview of this year's grand final. The defence was very strong and our game will only improve with increased team structure and a commitment to 80 minutes of rugby rather than 60.
2nd Grade: Old Collegians 10 v Brighton 30
Despite the loss, this was a better game from the second grade. We tackled well in defensive mode which is how Brighton's score was kept down. We lost a lot o our own line out ball because we had little variation in the throw. Best player: Ed Mitchell.
Under 18s - Colts: Old Collegians 27 v Vikings 0
Well done to the Colts with their first win for the year! Our Number 8 had a particularly good game.
3rd Grade: Brighton 57 v Old Collegians 0
A disappointing result but better play than earlier losses this year. Best player: Brad Morson.
4th Grade: Brighton 14 v Old Collegians 22
Great result from the fourths, their 11th win in a row!
Women's XV: Southern Suburbs 15 v Old Collegians 14
The two tries were scored by Zoë Woodstock and Kate Reynolds, with Beck Derbyshire-Lloyd making both conversions. Bec Manson was the best player on the day. The girls were sorry to lose this and particularly by such a small margin. They looked absolutely unstoppable in extended passages of play but let themselves down in between by giving away a great many pointless and undisciplined penalties.
Under 8s: Old Collegians 40 v Vikings 40 - The best game the Under 8s have played this year.
Under 9s: Old Collegians 10 v Vikings 30
Under 11s: Old Collegians 45 v Vikings 22
Under 12s: Old Collegians 0 v Vikings 60
Under 14s: Old Collegians 87 v Vikings 0 - The whole team played really well, especially our outside centre. Brilliant game.
Under 16s: Old Collegians 36 v Vikings 26 - A win, but not a pretty one. We struggled to dominate a clearly weaker side.
Reports by faceless
16th July 2005
The Fourth Grade, Women and Juniors all had byes.
The State women have their trial game tomorrow (Sunday) as part of the carnival for the 10th Anniversary Women's Rugby in SA. The photos/write up will be on the Frocs site
The Third Grade defeated University at Waite, 13 to 5.
The game was strongly contested in very muddy conditions. It was a much better result than the last two outings against University, which were both lost. The try was scored by Danny Martin who had a great game in the centres, ably fed by Luke Callaghan at five eighth who also played very well. Michael Bell kicked two penalties and the conversion. Chris Darby needs to learn not to lead with his head. Two weeks ago he broke his nose, last week he copped a black eye and this week he clashed skulls off the side of a ruck and earned 5 stitches for his trouble. Chris left a puddle of blood behind him and sat on the sideline with his head bandaged up in a makeshift dressing and bandana, looking like a demented pirate or a spectre from the Crimean war.
The Second Grade travelled to Onkaparinga and were beaten 16 to 7
in a disappointing performance. Although Onkaparinga are well above us on the Second Grade table, we could have won this game easily if we had played to our potential. The scrums and lineouts were particularly poor. Henry Winter, returning in the Second Grade from injury, scored the try and was best player. The conversion was by Marc Fullager.
The First Grade defeated Onkaparinga at Onkaparinga, 7 to 3
The try was scored by Lee Rebbeck and converted by Juan Aguiar. There was very strong defence from both teams. The new centres' combination of McFadden and Farquharson could do with a dry day to allow it to consolidate. Kudos to John Grimes who pulled off a miracle, game-saving chase and tackle when an Onkaparinga player intercepted a pass and ran 60m before John caught him only a yard from the tryline. This win moves Old Colls to second spot on the ladder, behind Brighton.
KE ...
9th July 2005
Fourth grade defeated Southern Suburbs 21 v 15 (?)
Third Grade lost to Roseworthy 31 v 0 (?)
Second Grade defeated Woodville 27 v 0
First Grade defeated Woodville 67 v 15
Fourth grade defeated Southern Suburbs 21 v 15 (?)
This game wasn't the Fours' best effort. We had hoped to keep Souths' scoreless, but "a win's a win". The Fours have been playing particularly well lately and are surfing comfortably at the top of the table after nine wins in a row! A great game and excellent leadership from Paull Francis, and congratulations to Clint on playing his first full game and doing well at prop.Third Grade lost to Roseworthy 31 v 0 (?)
Roseworthy are a tight unit this year and have been playing good rugby. This was a much closer game than the previous losses to Roseworthy, and the boys are still a chance for the finals if they play well in the coming weeks. Best player on the day was Schmidty, with a nod to Rohen who was doing well before he came off injured.Second Grade defeated Woodville 27 v 0
A great win from the second grade. Excellent performances from many, including a great day and two tries from Marc Fullager at fullback. Greater discipline at the ruck and maul would see this great young group of players excel.First Grade defeated Woodville 67 v 15
Obviously a good game with the 1s winning by more than 50 points. Tries were scored by Juan Aguiar, Peter Cross, Ryan "Boo Boo" Nielsen, Andy Farquharson and Quentin Manuel (with Juan (5) and Boofy (1) converting). The sideline was heard to remark that the game was typical of any OC team; moments of absolute brilliance followed by patches of nothing much. We'll take the brilliance, thanks!
15 May 2005 - Woodville 14 v Physio Direct Old Collegians 36
The Firsts played Woodville at Gleneagles Reserve on 15th May and defeated the home team comfortably 36-14, holding them scoreless in the second half after we had struggled to keep pace with some gutsy play from their forwards and inside backs before half time.
We scored six tries in the match, earning a much needed bonus point that should assist our immediate goal of securing fourth spot on the premiership ladder, after an unimpressive start to the season.
Woodville took possession of the ball in the opening minutes of the game, controlling it adeptly in phase-play inside our 22. Our defence proved adequate enough to stave off any real danger to our line at this stage, and eventually we forced play into opposition territory, gained momentum and scored the first try. Undeterred, Woodville replied with more tight, aggressive action from their pack. Their efforts found success when they scored a try, duly converted.
We regained our 5-point lead by scoring a converted try very soon after the restart, but squandered our advantage by giving away two penalty kicks in quick succession that helped Woodville keep the ball and score their second converted try. Throughout the first half, we won our share of set play. Our lineouts were good and we matched our opponents in the scrums. However, we were seldom able to take full advantage of our chances in general play because we failed to keep proceedings tight at the breakdown and because we didn't combine skilfully enough to build momentum. A penalty kick took us to a lineout deep inside Woodville's 22 where our throw went to the back of the lineout and we scored a try that gave is a 17-14 lead at half time.
The first ten minutes of the second half saw play continue in much the same vein as before, but then we gained the upper hand and controlled matters for most of the remainder of the game. We retained the ball for long periods, held most of the territory and made our set pieces work well in attack with timely, accurate passes, in rushes that involved backs and forwards combining closely.
One promising movement ended with a knock-on where there were no defenders ahead ten metres from the goal line, but we soon made amends with a similar foray and held the ball this time to score a try between the goalposts. Colls continued to outplay Woodville and scored two more excellent tries, winning the match by 22 points.
Our team has much work ahead to win enough games to qualify for finals, but showed promise in this match that we might succeed.
1sts: 2 April 2005 - Onkaparinga 17 v Physio Direct Old Collegians 0
Hullo, another trial game? Most of us travelled to Onkas expecting the first round. What's that you say? It was the first round? Well, you could have had me fooled with old retainers like Sadler playing in the centres and Ben Suttell at five-eight and many other players in new and unaccustomed positions! Clearly, we have the makings of a long season.
It was a beautiful sunny early Autumn day, with a temperature of about 36C and a steady breeze from the North. Old Cols played into the breeze for the first half and there were plenty of stops for drinks throughout.
Onkas made the most of the conditions with good tactical kicking and camped in Old Cols half. Old Cols had good defence against hard running backs, was able to win lineouts at will, but our scrum was suspect and was rolled in on itself from the first scrum. For all that, it was not until about 15mins to go that Onkas got a penalty and they eventually scored a try and conversion before half time. Given the breeze and the ad hoc nature of the Old Cols team, Old Cols did well holding them to 10 points, when the breeze itself was worth about 15. As luck would have it, the breeze started to drop away in the second half. However Old Cols managed to attack more and spent a lot of time in the Onkas half.
The lack of positional knowledge showed in the team's inability to finish off that they created. As luck would have it, Onkas made one lucky break in that half and scored. All is not lost. The Club has a history of slow starts and there was a lot of spirit there. Onkas will be lucky if they do that to us again as the season rolls on.
... Neil Bradley
Frocs:
30 April - Southern Suburbs 10 v Old Collegians 5
A poor performance from the whole team left the Frocs with this disappointing break to their winning streak. Although scrums remained strong with many tightheads won, lineouts and support play were uncharacteristically poor. Captain, Zoë Woodstock, summed it up - when you only have eight players at training you can't expect to play as a team. This is a good lesson for all OC squads in 2005. On the bright side: new players Jen Latte and the Other Zoë (known affectionately as Aussie) both got a full game on the wing in the absence of a few of the Frocs' senior backs and are now on their way to understanding the game! Also, Naomi Woodstock scored her first try taking the ball from a third phase ruck dashing over the line in the last play of the game. In the other match of the round, Burnside defeated Port 26 to 15.
23 April - Bye
16 April - Burnside 12 v Old Collegians
A much better performance this week, with all players performing excellently. Both sides had full numbers and Burnside is looking much stronger this year with Li Fata and Jo Bathern in its backline. Both of Burnside's tries were scored in the first half through some patchy OC defense, by Li and her trademark breaks.
OC's first try was scored by Susan "Junior" Brooks in her first game for 2005 - she's clearly lost no speed over summer! Shortly afterwards, our forwards mauled the ball 15 metres up the side of the pitch after a lineout and the backs then flung the ball out wide, with Tara Naige ultimately scoring OC's second try.
The OC piggies were typically dominant in the scrums. In the second half, Imogen Hume took advantage of a tighthead to make a break up the blindside. Three phases later and Imogen had the ball again and was dashing across the pitch and when caught delivered a tidy inside pop which put Kim Evans (in her first game at halfback) in a gap through which she drove over the line to score OC's final try.
Best player: Kim Evans. The Frocs have now defeated every team in the competition and are top of the table. In the other game of this round, Port Adelaide defeated Southern Suburbs 45 to 10. Souths were only able to field 12 against Port's 14. Port are obviously better at using an overlap that we are!
9 April - Port Adelaide 0 v Old Collegians 28
This game was an excellent performance in the first half, although we lost momentum and did not play to our strengths in the second half. Port started with only 11 against our 15 but as girls arrived during the game they had 14 by half time. We played at Burnside, with 35 minute halves despite the weather (32 degrees).
The tries were scored by Lusia Raikiwasa and Belinda Wade (3). Rebecca Derbyshire-Lloyd had another great day on the boot, converting all four of the four tries. Congratulations to the piggies who won all but a handful of scrums on the day, taking tighthead after tighthead after tighthead!
This was the only game of this round - we understand that the official version is that Burnside forfeited to Souths.
2 April - Southern Suburbs 0 v Old Collegians 26
This game was an excellent first outing for the year, at Onkaparinga. Souths fielded 12 against our 15 and we played 25 minute halves due to the weather (35 degrees). The first try was scored moments before half time by Kate Reynolds, playing at fullback. Kate cleanly took a kick from Souths which failed to find touch and made a spectacular 70 metre run, evading a number of opposition players. The other three tries were scored by Kath Cherry, Bec Manson and Tara Naige. Rebecca Derbyshire-Lloyd had a great day on the boot, converting three of the four tries.
Best Player - Kate Reynolds.
In the other game of the round, Burnside defeated Port by about 25 - 0. Burnside fielded 14 against Port Adelaide's 15 (Port also had a couple of reserves, which is great to see). Burnside lost Kylie and Li during the game as a result of a threeway head collision that left the Port girl unharmed and Li with stitches!
