Rugby Report
Results from 6 August Shore vs Newington College and Sydney Grammar School
Another glorious Sydney winter day awaited our teams last week for the second last round of the season with fixtures against Newington College and Sydney Grammar School.
Many of our Shore Teams matched ‘up’ against both schools, so well done to all those who did. In a few games, this meant we were outgunned but in many games we saw some fantastic results. The Opens, in particular, did well in this way. Our Fourths continue their great run and defeated Newington College’s Thirds. Our Fifths were narrowly defeated by Sydney Grammar School’s Second XV, our Sixths went down to Newington’s Fourths by three points. Our Sevenths and Eighths both had excellent results versus Newington’s Fifths and Sixths respectively. The word out there is that there’s a ‘social premiership’ on the line this Saturday.
In the U16s, the As had one of their best games of the year, defeating a very competitive Newington outfit. The Shore boys showed their potential and dug deep when needed in the second half. The Shore 16Bs also had a great win, defeating Sydney Grammar School’s As. A kick after the siren by Josh Clayton sealed the match.
Our Junior Teams had some tough assignments. There were some big boys against us in the 13As and 14As but we also saw some gutsy win in our B teams – the 15s and 14s did really well. Mr Morris was on the edge of his seat for the 14B clash and jumped about six feet when Shore scored the winning try!
Our Third XV faced Sydney Grammar’s First XV on the weekend and just couldn’t get into the groove. Sydney Grammar School played some enterprising rugby and took a 10-3 lead into half-time. Their best player was taken off on the stroke of half-time but credit to our opposition, they lifted a gear. The opposition inside centre played a very strong game and was a great example of someone stepping up when needed. As always, the Shore boys fought to get back into the game but just couldn’t break Grammar. A final score of 8-20 reflected the frustration of the day.
The Second XV were encouraged by the 16A and strong Open results in the day but Newington wanted to reverse the trend and had the best of the start of the game scoring first out wide. Hugo Orpin then got the team moving with a clever break up the middle and Ben Whatley and Tim Bannister combined to hit back in the corner. That was Tim’s first touch for the Second XV – nice start! The match then see-sawed until a good passage and build-up of play saw Shore press the line and get James Kase over for a try. James converted his own try but Newington quickly struck back. 12-12 at the half time break. The second half was tough until a Finn Baxter charge from a lineout got Shore close to the line and a good delivery had Kase go over again out wide. A few minutes later, Kase slotted a penalty goal and took the lead to 20-12. Another penalty goal took it to 23-12 and the rest of the game was desperate defence (Angus Gill tackled anything in white) and good game management. Well done for the win men.
The First XV match was another thrilling encounter with Shore notching a win. Facing a huge forward pack, the Shore boys worked hard for this one.
The game started evenly, and Shore were first to cross the line through some excellent build up play and Archie Jackson crashing over. The reliable Joe Hutton converted. Shore then turned pressure into points and kicked a penalty goal to take the lead to 10-0. Daimon Pin was kicking brilliantly and launched some long-range bombs, turning the heavier Newington pack back on multiple occasions. Newington however, countered and took their first opportunity in Shore territory via a penalty try from a lineout on the Shore line. It was disappointing but Shore got back into it and had the better of the next five minutes of the game. This culminated in Leo Bassingthwaighte crashing over for our second try to take the score to 17-7. However, as has been the case this season, the game got tighter and when the Newington #13 ran a good line, he scored under the posts. Back to 17-14 and that would be the lead at half-time. Some desperate defence made this so – Noah Holt was mighty all day in this regard and Cam Johns came off after suffering a season-ending knee injury after desperately defending the line. Three cheers for Johnsy – what a season you have had!
The second half was entertaining. The game ebbed and flowed and Newington were first to cross the try line scoring in the corner. They hit the front for the first time and continued to press Shore’s half crossing for a second time in the half. It was now 17-24 to Newington. Again, Shore fought back and got down to the Newington try line and took their opportunity through Archie Jackson’s second try. Hutton converted and the game was level!
The rest of the match was a desperate struggle to find points…and Newington did so with a penalty goal to lead by three. Shore lifted one last time and pressed and pressed and got held up over the line twice. The clock was ticking down and it looked like it was the last play of the day. Shore’s attacking lineout was set and Finn Baxter stepped up to crash over the line and put Shore in front. The final whistle blew much to the joy of the Shore crowd.
This was another fantastic game of schoolboy rugby and congratulations to all the Shore and Newington players involved.
Hoping for a big win this weekend… my heart can’t take all these close finishes.
Special mentions – 6 August
- Ben Whatley pulled off the best 50-22 of the season thus far. No angle and he managed to really turn the Second XV game with this kick.
- 16As beating a strong Newington team with many NSW U16 reps.
- Josh Clayton kicking a conversion to win the game for the 16Bs over Grammar 16As.
- Archie Jackson for his double in the First XV.
- Finn Baxter returning from injury and playing a full game in the Second XV’s win and then coming on at the end of the first half in the First XV and sealing the match with a try. A good day Finn! And well done to Luca Fulton for playing in the Second XV and also playing the second half in the First XV. Both boys showed tremendous grit.
- Cam John’s last act for Shore Rugby was defending his try-line. He tore a ligament in the process but held the line for the First XV.
Mr D. L. Mason-Jones
MIC, Rugby
Top Image Credit: First XV Team Photo
| Team | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 13A/B | Newington College A/B | Drew, 45-45 |
| 13C | Sydney Grammar School A | Loss, 17-44 |
| 13D | Newington College C | Loss, 12-38 |
| 13E | Sydney Grammar School B | Loss |
| 14A | Newington College A | Loss, 14-50 |
| 14B | Newington College B | Win, 17-15 |
| 14C | Sydney Grammar School A | Loss, 10-22 |
| 14D | Newington College C | Loss, 5-42 |
| 14E | Newington College D | Loss, 25-26 |
| 15A | Newington College A | Loss, 5-24 |
| 15B | Newington College B | Won, 39-7 |
| 15C | Sydney Grammar School A | Won, 17-14 |
| 15D | Newington College C | Loss, 17-48 |
| 15E | Newington College D | Loss, 7-73 |
| 16A | Newington College A | Won, 29-26 |
| 16B | Sydney Grammar School A | Won, 22-20 |
| 16C | Newington College B | Loss, 5-36 |
| 16D | Newington College C | Loss, 5-14 |
| 16E | Sydney Grammar School B | Loss, 7-20 |
| First XV | Newington College First XV | Won, 29-27 |
| Second XV | Newington College Second XV | Won, 23-12 |
| Third XV | Sydney Grammar School First XV | Loss, 8-20 |
| Fourth XV | Newington College Third XV | Won, 15-0 |
| Fifth XV | Sydney Grammar School Second XV | Loss, 0-10 |
| Sixth XV | Newington College Fourth XV | Loss, 14-15 |
| Seventh XV | Newington College Fifth XV | Won, 19-7 |
| Eighth XV | Newington College Sixth XV | Won, 32-7 |
