Week 5 - Trinity College

 I’VE SEEN FIRE AND I’VE SEEN RAIN What an amazing three days of rugby, played in weather ranging from late summer sun on Thursday to everything but snow on Saturday – it really was almost a case of fire and rain (Thankyou Mr Taylor). Regardless of the weather however, all games were well supported from the sidelines, with Saturday morning especially so. Even in the wind and rain, it was a carnival atmosphere, for which special mention must be made of the Year 10 players and supporters, who have been a wonderful addition to this fixture, lifting it to another level – just like the big blue marquee which disappeared across the footy oval in a huge gust of wind. As you will see from the Round 3 Wesley Results Table and Match Reports, despite a couple of losses, it was a very good round against Wesley, with two teams in particular recording great wins. Despite coming close on a couple of occasions, the Year 5/6 and Second XV teams have not won a game since the 2013 season, so this was a very special weekend for them. Their delight, enthusiasm and passion for the game are wonderfully expressed in their match reports and these two teams epitomise all that is great about Trinity Rugby. After my spray last week, it was particularly satisfying to see the Second XV step up and show what they are really capable of and what it means to play with the three crowns on your chest. Absolutely brilliant boys and to see the smile on Mr Webb’s face at the end of the match – priceless. Not even MasterCard could buy that. I was very fortunate to see both of these games and as I have said so many times, I encourage everyone to get along to watch our boys whenever you can. You never know what will happen and who knows, you may just see and experience something magic. So we move onto one of the most anticipated rounds of the PSA season. The Catholic Derby. Trinity v Aquinas. I know that I speak for a lot of people when I say I can’t wait – it’s going to be an absolute cracker. So I sign off this week with just a little more gusto when I say ‐ Go TC and let’s “maintain the rage”!!! All the best, Geoff Hogg (’81) 2015 TC Rugby Club President Note that the amazing image of Blake Woodward above is courtesy of Tom Campbell of Total Sports Photography. I think that Tom may even be giving our Greg Owen a run for his money.
Quote of the Week “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Francis of Assisi
Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 1 Round 3 Results and Match Reports A summary of the scores from last week’s fixtures against Wesley as follows: Team Trinity Wesley First XV 7 23 Second XV 17 12 Year 10 26 7 Year 9 39 0 Year 8/9B n/a n/a Year 8 38 5 Year 7 0 59 Year 5 / 6 33 31 Photo of the Week : The mighty 5/6 Team ready to ruuuummble! First XV Match Report – Taine Oakley We knew coming into the Wesley fixture that it would be tough, and tough it was. The first half was fought out through the forward packs, no one being able to gain advantage. Our defence held Wesley out and they couldn’t break it, resulting in them opting to take the easy 3 points. Wesley continued to try and break our defence but we wouldn’t let them in easily, until the last play of the half when they scored in the corner from a very questionable pass. Half time had the score 8‐0 to Wesley. We knew what we had to do to win this game but the torrential conditions wouldn’t let us play how we wanted to play, but they did play into Wesley’s favour. At the start of the second half, a questionable call from the Referee resulted in Wesley scoring in the corner again. A few penalty goals and another try had them up 23‐0. However, we didn’t let up, as we played with heart and pride for the jersey that we were wearing, resulting in a late try to Liam Johnson. While it was a loss to Wesley, we did not play at our best but we did show positive signs throughout the game and will continue to build and get better. Finally on behalf of the boys and Trinity Rugby, I would like to wish Matthew Birch a speedy recovery after injuring his knee on the weekend. We hope to see you back out on the field as soon as possible. Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 2 Second XV Match Report ‐ Alex Cicchini The boys in blue have done it! The morning started off with perfect rugby weather; rain and wind. We hit the paddock with a passion and fire in our stomachs from the Captain’s (James Ludovico) inspirational speech; we knew we had the game. With Trinity taking the first kick and the wind in our favour we used it to our advantage. As the forwards put in big hits and the backs powerful runs, we were a force to be reckoned with. A solid play from Nathan Scott scored us our first try, with Carl Fasolo converting. With our heads held high we continued to fight but unfortunately Wesley got the better of us and evened out the score at 7‐7. A motivational talk from ex TC rugby player and assistant coach Alex Pensini relit the fire to keep going and fighting. As we continued to dominate the rucks, lineouts and scrums this lead to another success with Samuel Fasolo scoring another try, giving us a lead of 5. As the rain kept coming down, it was making the ball extremely challenging to catch and pass. A combination of silly errors resulted in 4 continuous penalties with Wesley having the advantage. They ran in another try and the score was even once again. A powerhouse run from our début back Jon‐George Boylan brought us close to the try line. With one minute forty left on the clock we knew it was do or die. With huge tackles, rucking and pick and goes from the forwards, we topped the match with a try from Shaun Almeida. This was the final score for the game, ending 17‐12 in Trinity’s favour and giving the Second XV their first win since 2013. Credit must go to all the boys, especially Ben Mahoney, Kieren Munrowd‐Harris and Lachlan Hogg for their outstanding performance and passion throughout the game. Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 3 Year 10 Match Report – Jamie Bonner The game against Wesley was played in wet wintry conditions, but the team had been training hard and were well prepared. In the first 15 minutes both teams were evenly matched. It was then Michael Nicoli went crashing through for a great try. We spent the rest of the half in Wesley’s territory, making numerous attacks on their line. With all of this pressure, it wasn’t long till Connor Reece went over for a try. There were a few referee decisions that didn’t go our way but the boys maintained their discipline which paid off, although Wesley did manage to get a try and a conversion towards the end of the first half. In the second half of the game we kept the ball in their territory putting pressure on Wesley, with Tavish Meade going over for a try. In the last minutes of the game Jamie Bonner had a runaway try to top off the match for TC. With Tavish Meade converting three of the four tries, the final score was 26‐7. The team is gaining confidence and experience with every game, with every player performing well. Year 9 Match Report – Jeremy Hansen The whole year 9 team was devastated and angry after our loss to Guildford in the previous game. We had made mistakes and we knew that in this game we had to avenge ourselves with a win. Throughout the week the intensity of training and the effort and focus put in was immense, unlike our training before the Guildford game. The team was feeling much more prepared for this game as the backs had a better understanding of the moves and the forwards now knew how to attack in shapes instead of relying on mongrel and power. So when the boys ran onto the rugby field at Waterford we felt ready to get the win against Wesley. At kick off we quickly got into focus and within 5 minutes Rhys Bormolini scored our first try due to strong passing and maneuvering. This first half was met with intense focus from the Trinity side, which Wesley did not match. The Trinity side now upped the pressure on Wesley, with big hits being from Jamie Kinnimont Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 4 and Rhys Bormolini and massive runs being performed by Nic Deleonardis, Alexander Pennefather and Xavier Leatherland. These boys really stood out in the game as they showed immense mongrel and strategy. Nic Deleonardis scored our second try with a massive break, leaving the Wesley boys panting behind him. After this our new half back Ethan Roux scored a cheeky try with a scoot and showed his worth in his new position. Half Time was called and Jamie our captain and Mr Brock our coach gave us some words about maintaining our structure, mongrel and focus. Then the second half begun and the boys ran back onto the field ready to finish the game off strong. We’d made the promise to ourselves to not let Wesley inside our 22 – a promise we kept. Nic, Penny and Xavier burst out again and showed their mongrel on the field. Our backs were now getting the ball out to the wingers and we were making ground. Tom Marr one of our wingers rewarded this brilliant passing to the wing by receiving the ball and having an open space ready to spring and score, which he did. Strong maneuvering was also shown by Josh Stops in his new position of fly half and was able to run around a large number of players to get the ball down close to the posts. Dylan Salvia scored the final try in the last few minutes of the game finishing it off with a 39‐0 win. We had avenged ourselves and are now ready to face Aquinas next week. Good Job Boys! Year 8 Match Report – Connor Seve As the boys came off a great first round win against Guildford and a nice deserving rest for a second round bye, the boys went it to this Wesley game hyped and looking for another win. Reesjan started the game with the sound of a kick and everyone was off. Trinity had a flying start with our new rookie winger Aaron Moore scoring the first two tries down the sideline. Our forwards had a great first 10 minutes when they stopped the Wesley forwards from making any metres up the field. When we had the ball, the backs had great moves, getting around Wesley’s backs and pushing the team up the field, where JP Starkie found himself scoring a magnificent try. We were up by three tries and p[laying well, but Wesley took us by surprise and went down the blindside, scoring a sneaky try. This woke us up and soon after TC Captain Reesjan made a great 40 metre run all the way to score a diving try, keeping the boys spirit up at the end of the first half. The boys had a great second half with new lock Kael Everett scoring his first try of the year. The backs had an outstanding game with stars like Alessio and Aaron pushing the team and matching the stars in the Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 5 forwards, with James Fahy having an astounding game. Once again JP scored another try, ending the game on a high with the TC boys winning 38 to 5. A great result but one thing’s for sure ‐ it's frustrating watching from the sideline injured! Tries: Aaron More 2, JP Starkie 2, Reesjan Pasitoa 1, Kael Everett 1 Conversions: Reesjan Pasitoa 6/8 Year 7 Match Report – Joshua Crevola Our second round of fixtures was against Wesley at Collins Oval in Como. It was a disappointing game for us as we weren’t able to make many tackles which resulted in a final score of 59‐0 to Wesley. Even though we tried our best, we sustained injuries to two of our key players that couldn’t continue. At the rucks we were getting beaten, thus we had no ball to construct an attack of our own. The Wesley boys had a bigger forward pack and they just ran over the top of us. Wesley were also beating us with speed, their halfback doing his fair share of running metres. It was getting too hard to get over the advantage line and mistakes like knock‐ons made it difficult to come back. We eventually found ourselves wishing for the final hooter to end this thrashing. Hopefully we can build on this experience and come out firing for our next match against Aquinas. Year 5/6 Match Report – Charlie Stops Due to the loss against Guildford last week, Trinity were not confident despite training well going into the game against Wesley. As Trinity were warming up, we glanced at Wesley getting off the bus ‐ they looked like a pretty dominant side. Wesley won the toss and chose to receive at the scoreboard end. Trinity kicked off to start the match. There were a few big runs from both Trinity and Wesley. Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 6 From a scrum, Trinity passed the ball down the back line, then out of nowhere, Damon Winterburn scored the first try of the match and Charlie Stops converted the kick to make it 7‐0 to Trinity. Trinity knocked the ball on, lost two rucks and Wesley were getting closer and closer to scoring. With a couple of missed tackles Wesley scored and converted to make it 7‐7. A few minutes later Trinity made some silly mistakes, giving Wesley possession of the ball and with Trinity's defensive line leaving gaps, Wesley could broke through and scored. They converted to make the score 14‐7. It was a see‐sawing game, with Trinity now making good runs and plays. Passing down the line Tex Gorski outpaced the Wesley Winger and Fullback to score a try, with Charlie Stops converting the try to leave the game tied 14 all at half time. At the start of the second half Trinity was playing well giving Wesley a good fight. Charlie Stops made a good break beating, two Wesley players to score a try in the corner and converting to make it 21‐14 to Trinity. A couple of minutes later Wesley made some good plays scored a converted try – 21 all. Wesley then took control, making no mistakes. With Trinity doing the opposite, Wesley scored again, their Wingers spreading deep and taking the opportunity to cross for a try, with their kicker missing a costly conversion. 26 ‐21 to Wesley. They scored another quick try basically using the same tactic and we missed more tackles making the score 31‐21 with four minutes to go. We were thinking that the game was all over, but Mr Brock, Fin and Noah H along with Mr Hogg had other ideas, yelling to the boys to play with TC passion and to keep our chins up. So keeping the TC Spirit in our minds, we knew that we had to fight and play on ‐ so we did! Pushing for another score Tex Gorski used his pace to land his second try of the game. We missed the conversion. 26‐31 to Wesley and the clock was ticking! Feeling confident about scoring another try to win the game, Harry Duncan at scrum half played hard and allowed Coen Agate to have some good runs, after several passes through the backs. We pushed and pushed for victory. Then it happened. Tex scored his third try under the posts to make it 31‐31. Time is up. We convert – we win. No pressure. Charlie Stops walked back with the ball tucked under his arm, places it on the tee, steps back, sets and kicks the ball over to win the game! Mr Brock, Mr Hogg, Fin and Noah H were more excited than we were. Our first win as Year 5/6 in 14 months with the final score 33‐31. Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 7 A special mention to
o Tex Gorski, Damen Wintterburn and N
Noah McDon
nald who werre very good but all the boys had
d good momeents, with Co
oen having seeveral runs an
nd Isaac Meld
drum worryinng the Wesleyy boys with his size aand run. Thanks tto Mr Brock, Fin and Noah
h Harris for t heir training and support and a big thhank you to M
Mr Hogg for coming tto watch, sup
pport and talkk to our team
m. He was as happy as we were. Bring on Aquinas!! Round
d 4 Gamess versus Aquinas A summaary of this weeek’s fixturess against Aquiinas follows :: Team Daay Kick
k Off Wheere Ground First XV
V Saturday 11.00 am Aw ay McMaahon Oval West Second
d XV Saturday 9.45
5 am Aw ay McMaahon Oval West Year 100 Saturday 8.30
0 am Aw ay McMaahon Oval West Year 9 Frid
day 2.00
0 pm Aw ay McMaahon Oval West Frid
day 2.00
0 pm ‐
Year 9 to Aquinas
Year 8 to Waterford
Year 8 Frid
day 3.00
0 pm Hom
me Waterford W
Year 7 Frid
day 2.00
0 pm Hom
me Waterford W
Thurssday 1.15
5pm Aw ay McMaahon Oval West Year 88/9B Year 5 // 6 Aquinas is located in Salter Point and their ruugby pitch is on McMahon
n Oval West, which is located in the grounds of the College. There iss parking at A
Aquinas off Mt M Henry Road or you caan access the
e oval from Redmond Street ad directory (traditional o
or online) for details on h ow to get there or if all As usual, check your favourite roa
else failss, ask your Yeear Rep. Good lucck to all of ou
ur teams reprresenting Trinnity this week and if you ccan get to thee games, makke sure you get a cop
py of the won
nderful Match Day Progra m. If you wo
ould like to seee how the 1
1st XV are farring in the 2015 Brother Redmond Cupp, follow this link or type it into yo
our favourite search engin
ne: http://ww
ww.psa.wa.ed
du.au/?page_
_id=2335 Sponso
ors Once agaain in 2015, tthe Trinity Co
ollege Rugby Club has maanaged to seccure the suppport of some
e wonderful companiies and indiviiduals. We gratefully acknnowledge and
d encourage yyou to suppo rt these organisations : Trinity C
College Rugby Club Newssletter : Weeek Ending 22 May 2015 8 So just how wet and windy was it last Saturday? We couldn’t close this Newsletter without making a comment about last Saturday’s wild weather. These photos pretty much sum it up. It started off calmly enough. I mean, how bad could it get? Has anyone else noticed something’s missing?
What the…….!?!?!?! …and if that hasn’t convinced you, this should.
Once again, the image above is courtesy of Tom Campbell of Total Sports Photography.
Trinity College Rugby Club Newsletter : Week Ending 22 May 2015 9