Australian Schoolboys and National Championships 2011
- Thread starter The Chosen
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Peter Fenwicke (45)
CS #10 is McIntyre and from all reports he has been the choice flyhalf of the comp, however being overlooked for NSW will hurt him. The selectors clearly think he has weaknesses so will be interesting to see if he gets the nod over the experienced Davies. Neither IMO are superstars and I think could be a potential weak position come matches against NZ schools.
B
baldingwingforward
Guest
I don't think being overlooked for NSW will come in to the equation (or it farking shouldn't!!) At least he is there and playing and getting seen in front of the selectors. Hopefully the Australian selectors will be able to see straight and pick up what the NSW selectors missed... Although he wasn't the only one who was hard done by. I wouldn't be surprised if a few players from CS make it through to the A or full sides.
Knockers
Ward Prentice (10)
Neither are superstars, really? How did Davies manage to gain a spot for Australia A last year and also QLD 1. Last year at nationals he was one of the standouts in the team. McIntyre has all the potential to be a great player.
RugbyInterest
Herbert Moran (7)
Agree with Light - compared to last year, Davies has been poorly performed and attitude seems to be playing a big part
Iluvmyfooty
Phil Hardcastle (33)
To answer some of the questions asked.
I haven't noticed that young chap Gregg for CS. I'm sure he has had a run at some stage and I will try and take notice of his game today if he gets on.
Gutherson has been ok - not outstanding but hasn't done anything wrong. he is playing in a strong team and this will count for him as well as the fact that there are no outstanding 15's showing up. He will be in the running for higher honours if he performs well over the next two games.
Kulen has been good - scrummaging well and getting through a lot of work. I did he had a slight hamstring strain on Wednesday. I think he will be picked at 3 for Aus Schools as he is a strong scrummager which is what OZ needs against English schools who will be very good at the set pieces.
As for the No.10 shirt I thinks this is a battle between Davies, McIntyre and Debrezcini. I think Davies has his nose in front given where he was at last year and his team is going well again this year. I personally like McIntyre and can't forget his performance on Monday against QLD2 which was very good. He came back to the pack on Wednesday but if he performs today and Sunday then we may see his name read out. Debrezcini is an interesting contender. He has a good partnership with Wessels, who will most probably be the half. He plays a distributors role and has a good kick. If they select a creative 12 then he may be the player to have between the forwards and the outside backs. Again strong performances today and Sunday will go a long way to his selection.
I haven't noticed that young chap Gregg for CS. I'm sure he has had a run at some stage and I will try and take notice of his game today if he gets on.
Gutherson has been ok - not outstanding but hasn't done anything wrong. he is playing in a strong team and this will count for him as well as the fact that there are no outstanding 15's showing up. He will be in the running for higher honours if he performs well over the next two games.
Kulen has been good - scrummaging well and getting through a lot of work. I did he had a slight hamstring strain on Wednesday. I think he will be picked at 3 for Aus Schools as he is a strong scrummager which is what OZ needs against English schools who will be very good at the set pieces.
As for the No.10 shirt I thinks this is a battle between Davies, McIntyre and Debrezcini. I think Davies has his nose in front given where he was at last year and his team is going well again this year. I personally like McIntyre and can't forget his performance on Monday against QLD2 which was very good. He came back to the pack on Wednesday but if he performs today and Sunday then we may see his name read out. Debrezcini is an interesting contender. He has a good partnership with Wessels, who will most probably be the half. He plays a distributors role and has a good kick. If they select a creative 12 then he may be the player to have between the forwards and the outside backs. Again strong performances today and Sunday will go a long way to his selection.
F
footyboy
Guest
Any results from north of the boarder today?
S
sdg
Guest
NSW 1 Defeated QLD 2 49-6
QLD 1 defeated NSW 2 32-26
QLD 1 defeated NSW 2 32-26
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Peter Fenwicke (45)
"QLD, NSW UNBEATEN AT NOVOTEL AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS RUGBY UNION CHAMPIONSHIPS
Defending champions Queensland and arch-rivals NSW remain unbeaten after two days of action at the Novotel Australian Schools Rugby Union Championships at Ballymore in Brisbane. In search of the state’s sixth-straight title, Queensland opened their campaign on Monday with a 54-13 defeat of ACT and continued their dominance with a 44-10 victory over Victoria on Wednesday. NSW were also impressive during the opening two days of competition, registering a 28-11 win over Western Australia and 39-14 defeat of Combined States.
Play resumes on Friday with NSW I taking on QLD II, Combined States facing WA, NSW II will tackle QLD I and ACT will wrap the pool rounds against Victoria. On day one, Freshwater fullback Clint Gutherson scored a try and kicked four from four conversion to fuel NSW’s 28-11 victory over WA. Australian Schoolboys 2010 representative Michael Wells also crossed the chalk in the side’s opening four-tries-to-one victory. Combined States also gave a dominant performance in their 31-17 victory over Queensland II, while in Pool B, Victoria upset NSW II with a 30-26 victory.
Marsden State High School’s Caleb Timu was a standout in Queensland’s opening win over ACT with the No.8 crossing the tryline twice. On Day 2, Saia Tanginoa and Nathan Scarano both picked up doubles to set up NSW’s comprehensive 25-point win over Combined States, while WA secured their first victory of the tournament defeating QLD II 23-7.
In Pool B the closely contested game between NSW II and ACT finished with NSW II running out 31-19 victors. Queensland then confirmed their Championship credentials with a comprehensive six-tries-to-two victory over Victoria to wrap up Day 2. The 2011 Australian Schoolboys squad will be announced following Sunday’s Championship final."
That was taken from the OZ schools website. Looks as if #6 (Timu), #11 (Taginoa) and #13 (Scarano) will be hard to beat for selection
Defending champions Queensland and arch-rivals NSW remain unbeaten after two days of action at the Novotel Australian Schools Rugby Union Championships at Ballymore in Brisbane. In search of the state’s sixth-straight title, Queensland opened their campaign on Monday with a 54-13 defeat of ACT and continued their dominance with a 44-10 victory over Victoria on Wednesday. NSW were also impressive during the opening two days of competition, registering a 28-11 win over Western Australia and 39-14 defeat of Combined States.
Play resumes on Friday with NSW I taking on QLD II, Combined States facing WA, NSW II will tackle QLD I and ACT will wrap the pool rounds against Victoria. On day one, Freshwater fullback Clint Gutherson scored a try and kicked four from four conversion to fuel NSW’s 28-11 victory over WA. Australian Schoolboys 2010 representative Michael Wells also crossed the chalk in the side’s opening four-tries-to-one victory. Combined States also gave a dominant performance in their 31-17 victory over Queensland II, while in Pool B, Victoria upset NSW II with a 30-26 victory.
Marsden State High School’s Caleb Timu was a standout in Queensland’s opening win over ACT with the No.8 crossing the tryline twice. On Day 2, Saia Tanginoa and Nathan Scarano both picked up doubles to set up NSW’s comprehensive 25-point win over Combined States, while WA secured their first victory of the tournament defeating QLD II 23-7.
In Pool B the closely contested game between NSW II and ACT finished with NSW II running out 31-19 victors. Queensland then confirmed their Championship credentials with a comprehensive six-tries-to-two victory over Victoria to wrap up Day 2. The 2011 Australian Schoolboys squad will be announced following Sunday’s Championship final."
That was taken from the OZ schools website. Looks as if #6 (Timu), #11 (Taginoa) and #13 (Scarano) will be hard to beat for selection
Iluvmyfooty
Phil Hardcastle (33)
Thats the way Lily stick to your guns no matter what
Iluvmyfooty
Phil Hardcastle (33)
Last of the pool games today with the placing games and final on Sunday.
Game 1 Vic v ACT
Final score Vic 20 ACT 5
This has put Vic into the third/fourth place game and ACT into the 7th/8th place playoof. A good result for Vic and shows some progress in their rugby programme. However, this game was the least impressive game all day. Vic were always on top and ACT tried hard but.......No one really stood out in this game and I doubt whether any higher rep honours await any of these players.
game 2 Combined States v WA
Final score CS 22 WA 20
CS progress to the third/fourth place game against Vic and WA go into the 5th/6th game. This was quite an entertaining game. CS skipped out to a lead of 22-6 before WA came back at them to get the scores close and the game in the balance. CS had all the ball in the first half and got the advantage of a hefty penalty count to be able to go into half time 22-6 in front. The CS forwards were waging a good battle with the WA piggies and the CS five-eigth McDonald was controlling things quite well. In the second half WA started to get some ball and was able to build good attacks coming forward on the CS defence. However in the end the lead that CS had established was just too much for WA to peg back.
This game saw the clash of two of the better 7's running around at this championship in Baldwin and Hardwick. These two players did not let anyone down and both had great games. Baldwin again failed to see out the game but this time was able to leave the field under his own steam. His work at the breakdown and his support play is very good. I would like to be able to see him fully fit. Hardwick was a strength of his team. being captain he leads by example and was in everything WA did. A high workrate and a good ability to run with the ball in hand are his strengths. The player that did impress me was the 8 for CS Tasi. he had a significant impact on the game and his contribution to the CS result cannot be understated. He worked well in contact and ran well with the ball. The only issue I have with him is his size. he isn't that big. Watching him play I believe he would mke a very good half back similar to Will Genia.
Other players to impress were the CS 12 Asquith, a strong stocky centre with a good turn of pace, the WA hooker Scoble who was aggressive and worked like a trojan all game, the WA 12 Burton, another stocky centre who gave good service to his outside backs and the 20 Le Roux who put himself in some good places to contribute. McIntyre started the game at fullback and scored two tries running through strong contact to score. His positional play was good and he proved a good link. He later moved to 5/8 in the second half and worked Ok. I just don't think he has followed up his first day performance well enough to be considered for the Schools No.10 position.
Someone asked about Simon Gregg earlier. he got on today late in the second half and he went well. he directed his forwards well and he gave nice service to his runners and 5/8. He is rather small though
Game 3 NSW 1 v Qld 2
Final score NSW 49 QLD 6
QLD2 now go into the 7th/8th playoff with ACt and NSW into the Championship match. Could this be NSW's year? In the past I said I didn't know what was wrong with QLD 2 but today I came to the conclusion that thye are not very good and deserve to be in the last place playoff. Given this what cn be taken from NSW's performance?
The game started with QLD having all the possession and receiving numerous penalties for NSW infringements. This meant that they had good field position and all the ball for the first 6 minutes of the game. In this time they could manage only 1 penalty. The NSW defence at this time and during the whole game was awesome constantly moving up on the QLD attack and getting numbers to the breakdowns. Unfortunately NSW kept getting penalised in the breakdown. After QLD got their penalty the rest of the game belonged to NSW. This was the best performance of the Championship by NSW. The forwards were busy and covering huge amounts of ground both in defence and attack. the backline was fluent and the passing crisp and accurate. On counter attack the back three all looked threatening and all they wanted to do was run the ball. As evidence of the nSW attack most of the tries went to the outside backs. QLD simply could not handle the pace and size of the NSW backline. Good forward support ensured that continuity of play was achieved and there was very little turnovers by NSW. Halftime score was 23 - 6.
For NSW the whole team played well with Josh Calcagno having his best game of the tournament, Michael Wells leading the team well and was very strong all around the field making some good hits in defence and having some nice runs. Jack Debreczeni organised well at 5/8 giving his outside backs plenty of time to use the ball. He also kicked flawlessly kicking 3 penalties and 5 conversions, most from near the touchline (missed an easy penalty from in front early so you can't win them all).Saia Tanginoa reinforced his position as the first winger to be picked for OZ schools - so strong and a good finisher. Jack purcell started at 12 and was the perfect foil for Jack Deb. he was clever with his passes, strong in running the bal and smashing in defence. The two players, however, that have now thrust their names onto the Schools selectors sheets were Alex Northam and Brogan Roods. Northam started the game at fullback (a position he plays with Manly colts) and later went back to the wing in the second half. His pace is exceptional and he was instrumental in starting numerous NSW counter attacks when at fullback. When he went back on the wing he scored a great try following a strong 50 meter run where he outpaced the cover defence and ran around the QLD fullback. Roods is a big strong forceful runner who gave the QLD defence plenty of headaches. He always made it over the advantage line and his combination with Purcell in the centres made sure that any QLD attack was bought to a shuddering halt.
Unfortunately for QLD I can't say that I saw anyone stand out from the rest, however, their lineout dominated NSW and the two locks should be congratulated for this. NSW will need to address this aspect for the final.
Game 4 Qld 1 v NSW 2
Final Score QLD 32 - NSW 26
I have to say that the performance of NSW 2 in this game was the team performance of the tournament so far. Going into this most thought that QLD would overpower them and steamroll to a strong victory. At the start of the game this appeared to be the correct assumption as QLD raced to a 22 - 0 lead. Their forwards were dominant in attack and they had all the ball and field position. Whenever NSW got the ball they were under pressure deep in their own half and just kicked aimlessly down field with a poor chase. This allowed QLD to counter attack deep into NSW half where their forwards took control of the breakdown and allowed points to be scored. At this stage the No.8 Timu was causing problems and the big no.18 Fotuakai were bulldozing all in front of them. However in the second part of the first half NSW started to get some ball and field position and began taking it back up to the QLD forwards and the backs started to use the ball effectively in hand and made inroads into the QLD defence. Harry Orr was going great guns at this time but unfortunately came off injured and was replaced by Pat Sio. Just after coming on Sio scored from a ruck close to the QLD line. This made the half time score 22-7.
The second half started as the first half ended with NSW pressing QLD through good forward play and good use of the ball. The QLD forwards like to get involved in attack but they are lazy and slow in defence. In saying this NSW still had to work hard to score points. With the score at 22-12 and everyone thinking how well NSW were going QLD struck back with the best try of the Championship so far. The little fullback Greene started it from his own 22 feinting a kick out and stepping the oncoming defence he found room and linked up with his No.8 Timu near half way who took the ball forward and offloaded it to enable the play to progress into the nSW 22 where after a couple of more phases the prop Fotuakai plunged over under the posts. A great try following some really good team play mixed with individual skills. This try won QLD the game. NSW didn't give up and got the score to 32-26 with a minute thirty left. If they could win it would mean an all NSW final. They tried hard but unfortunately NSW knocked on and that ended the game.
Standouts for the wnners were Timu, who will be selected for OZ Schools just don't know where, Grant Davies, who played a sensible and mature role at 5/8 (he later came off the field with his arm cradled in his jersey indicating a serious shoulder injury - bad for QLD and OZ Schools), Craig Hunt, who showed good pace on the wing and scored a good try after some good backilne play, Fotuakai, who was a strong focal point for the forward pack, is big and strong but does lack some scrummaging skills and greene at fullback who as I said created that marvellous try.
For NSW Kovacic had his best game, good work in the lineout and was fairly mobile around the field, Jack Walters, another good 7 who has a high workrate and leads by example, Jock Merriman, I believe the best player for NSW who controlled evrything and working with his forwards got NSW back into the game ( apossible OZ A candidate), Jonathan Vaux, as he did on Wednesday had a strong game at 5/8 with Horwitz outside him. he was creative and a cool head when nSW were coming at QLD and Natahn Roye, who again showed he is a talented winger, big and fast.
This then gives us a final of QLD 1 v NSW 1. If both teams play like they did tonight I can see the National Championship heading south for the first time in 5 years. The NSW team has a talented pack of forwards who work well together and have a high work rate due to their speed and mobility around the field. QLD have a pack that will try and intimidate in the first part of the game. Individuals such as Browning and Timu will try and gain the advantage for QLD in attack. However if NSW can soak this up and come back at QLD then QLD could be in for a world of trouble. The workrate of players like Dombkins, Broome, Wells and Lawley may be the edge that NSW have over QLD's power game. From what I have seen QLD backs will have their hands full with nSW attack. Its speed and power are better than QLD's but if NSW's defence is any less than it was tonight then QLD will be able to get into broken field and be able to mix with their forwards to cause NSW trouble. I predict a great game with nSW just edging out QLD to take the title back to NSW
Game 1 Vic v ACT
Final score Vic 20 ACT 5
This has put Vic into the third/fourth place game and ACT into the 7th/8th place playoof. A good result for Vic and shows some progress in their rugby programme. However, this game was the least impressive game all day. Vic were always on top and ACT tried hard but.......No one really stood out in this game and I doubt whether any higher rep honours await any of these players.
game 2 Combined States v WA
Final score CS 22 WA 20
CS progress to the third/fourth place game against Vic and WA go into the 5th/6th game. This was quite an entertaining game. CS skipped out to a lead of 22-6 before WA came back at them to get the scores close and the game in the balance. CS had all the ball in the first half and got the advantage of a hefty penalty count to be able to go into half time 22-6 in front. The CS forwards were waging a good battle with the WA piggies and the CS five-eigth McDonald was controlling things quite well. In the second half WA started to get some ball and was able to build good attacks coming forward on the CS defence. However in the end the lead that CS had established was just too much for WA to peg back.
This game saw the clash of two of the better 7's running around at this championship in Baldwin and Hardwick. These two players did not let anyone down and both had great games. Baldwin again failed to see out the game but this time was able to leave the field under his own steam. His work at the breakdown and his support play is very good. I would like to be able to see him fully fit. Hardwick was a strength of his team. being captain he leads by example and was in everything WA did. A high workrate and a good ability to run with the ball in hand are his strengths. The player that did impress me was the 8 for CS Tasi. he had a significant impact on the game and his contribution to the CS result cannot be understated. He worked well in contact and ran well with the ball. The only issue I have with him is his size. he isn't that big. Watching him play I believe he would mke a very good half back similar to Will Genia.
Other players to impress were the CS 12 Asquith, a strong stocky centre with a good turn of pace, the WA hooker Scoble who was aggressive and worked like a trojan all game, the WA 12 Burton, another stocky centre who gave good service to his outside backs and the 20 Le Roux who put himself in some good places to contribute. McIntyre started the game at fullback and scored two tries running through strong contact to score. His positional play was good and he proved a good link. He later moved to 5/8 in the second half and worked Ok. I just don't think he has followed up his first day performance well enough to be considered for the Schools No.10 position.
Someone asked about Simon Gregg earlier. he got on today late in the second half and he went well. he directed his forwards well and he gave nice service to his runners and 5/8. He is rather small though
Game 3 NSW 1 v Qld 2
Final score NSW 49 QLD 6
QLD2 now go into the 7th/8th playoff with ACt and NSW into the Championship match. Could this be NSW's year? In the past I said I didn't know what was wrong with QLD 2 but today I came to the conclusion that thye are not very good and deserve to be in the last place playoff. Given this what cn be taken from NSW's performance?
The game started with QLD having all the possession and receiving numerous penalties for NSW infringements. This meant that they had good field position and all the ball for the first 6 minutes of the game. In this time they could manage only 1 penalty. The NSW defence at this time and during the whole game was awesome constantly moving up on the QLD attack and getting numbers to the breakdowns. Unfortunately NSW kept getting penalised in the breakdown. After QLD got their penalty the rest of the game belonged to NSW. This was the best performance of the Championship by NSW. The forwards were busy and covering huge amounts of ground both in defence and attack. the backline was fluent and the passing crisp and accurate. On counter attack the back three all looked threatening and all they wanted to do was run the ball. As evidence of the nSW attack most of the tries went to the outside backs. QLD simply could not handle the pace and size of the NSW backline. Good forward support ensured that continuity of play was achieved and there was very little turnovers by NSW. Halftime score was 23 - 6.
For NSW the whole team played well with Josh Calcagno having his best game of the tournament, Michael Wells leading the team well and was very strong all around the field making some good hits in defence and having some nice runs. Jack Debreczeni organised well at 5/8 giving his outside backs plenty of time to use the ball. He also kicked flawlessly kicking 3 penalties and 5 conversions, most from near the touchline (missed an easy penalty from in front early so you can't win them all).Saia Tanginoa reinforced his position as the first winger to be picked for OZ schools - so strong and a good finisher. Jack purcell started at 12 and was the perfect foil for Jack Deb. he was clever with his passes, strong in running the bal and smashing in defence. The two players, however, that have now thrust their names onto the Schools selectors sheets were Alex Northam and Brogan Roods. Northam started the game at fullback (a position he plays with Manly colts) and later went back to the wing in the second half. His pace is exceptional and he was instrumental in starting numerous NSW counter attacks when at fullback. When he went back on the wing he scored a great try following a strong 50 meter run where he outpaced the cover defence and ran around the QLD fullback. Roods is a big strong forceful runner who gave the QLD defence plenty of headaches. He always made it over the advantage line and his combination with Purcell in the centres made sure that any QLD attack was bought to a shuddering halt.
Unfortunately for QLD I can't say that I saw anyone stand out from the rest, however, their lineout dominated NSW and the two locks should be congratulated for this. NSW will need to address this aspect for the final.
Game 4 Qld 1 v NSW 2
Final Score QLD 32 - NSW 26
I have to say that the performance of NSW 2 in this game was the team performance of the tournament so far. Going into this most thought that QLD would overpower them and steamroll to a strong victory. At the start of the game this appeared to be the correct assumption as QLD raced to a 22 - 0 lead. Their forwards were dominant in attack and they had all the ball and field position. Whenever NSW got the ball they were under pressure deep in their own half and just kicked aimlessly down field with a poor chase. This allowed QLD to counter attack deep into NSW half where their forwards took control of the breakdown and allowed points to be scored. At this stage the No.8 Timu was causing problems and the big no.18 Fotuakai were bulldozing all in front of them. However in the second part of the first half NSW started to get some ball and field position and began taking it back up to the QLD forwards and the backs started to use the ball effectively in hand and made inroads into the QLD defence. Harry Orr was going great guns at this time but unfortunately came off injured and was replaced by Pat Sio. Just after coming on Sio scored from a ruck close to the QLD line. This made the half time score 22-7.
The second half started as the first half ended with NSW pressing QLD through good forward play and good use of the ball. The QLD forwards like to get involved in attack but they are lazy and slow in defence. In saying this NSW still had to work hard to score points. With the score at 22-12 and everyone thinking how well NSW were going QLD struck back with the best try of the Championship so far. The little fullback Greene started it from his own 22 feinting a kick out and stepping the oncoming defence he found room and linked up with his No.8 Timu near half way who took the ball forward and offloaded it to enable the play to progress into the nSW 22 where after a couple of more phases the prop Fotuakai plunged over under the posts. A great try following some really good team play mixed with individual skills. This try won QLD the game. NSW didn't give up and got the score to 32-26 with a minute thirty left. If they could win it would mean an all NSW final. They tried hard but unfortunately NSW knocked on and that ended the game.
Standouts for the wnners were Timu, who will be selected for OZ Schools just don't know where, Grant Davies, who played a sensible and mature role at 5/8 (he later came off the field with his arm cradled in his jersey indicating a serious shoulder injury - bad for QLD and OZ Schools), Craig Hunt, who showed good pace on the wing and scored a good try after some good backilne play, Fotuakai, who was a strong focal point for the forward pack, is big and strong but does lack some scrummaging skills and greene at fullback who as I said created that marvellous try.
For NSW Kovacic had his best game, good work in the lineout and was fairly mobile around the field, Jack Walters, another good 7 who has a high workrate and leads by example, Jock Merriman, I believe the best player for NSW who controlled evrything and working with his forwards got NSW back into the game ( apossible OZ A candidate), Jonathan Vaux, as he did on Wednesday had a strong game at 5/8 with Horwitz outside him. he was creative and a cool head when nSW were coming at QLD and Natahn Roye, who again showed he is a talented winger, big and fast.
This then gives us a final of QLD 1 v NSW 1. If both teams play like they did tonight I can see the National Championship heading south for the first time in 5 years. The NSW team has a talented pack of forwards who work well together and have a high work rate due to their speed and mobility around the field. QLD have a pack that will try and intimidate in the first part of the game. Individuals such as Browning and Timu will try and gain the advantage for QLD in attack. However if NSW can soak this up and come back at QLD then QLD could be in for a world of trouble. The workrate of players like Dombkins, Broome, Wells and Lawley may be the edge that NSW have over QLD's power game. From what I have seen QLD backs will have their hands full with nSW attack. Its speed and power are better than QLD's but if NSW's defence is any less than it was tonight then QLD will be able to get into broken field and be able to mix with their forwards to cause NSW trouble. I predict a great game with nSW just edging out QLD to take the title back to NSW
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