NSW JRU State Championships & Representative Teams 2015

[William]

yeah have to agree with that - played their hearts out and put their bodies on the line.

They certainly deserve the encouragement award!

 

[James999]

Gordon were really impressive - I saw a game or two and what I noticed was that their forwards subs come on and rip into the defence and attack with as much intensity as the run on squad. I could hear the impact Meanwhile their backs look deadly

Great coaching to have such a good pool of players and used to play for the entire tournament

Go the mighty Rats who finished credibly and played with a lot of pride and gusto!

I was surprised that Parra didn't fair as well as I thought they would

 

[CatchnPass]

Hear hear. And fantastic to see 5 of the Randwick boys selected for the MSZ team.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

2015 NSW JRU State Championships
Under 15 (Incl Country and Metro Championships)
hosted at Glen Willow Sporting Complex MUDGEE
http://www.nswjuniors.rugbynet.com.au/verve/_resources/2015_U15_Final_Results_.pdf


Day 1
Country Champs
Hunter 29 d Far North Coast 5
Central Coast 26 d Central North 0
Central West 45 d Southern Inland 0
Illawarra 14 d Mid North Coast 0
Hunter 34 d Central North 7
Central Coast 28 d Far North Coast 0
Southern Inland 0 d by Mid North Coast 36
Illawarra 14 d Central West 5
Central Coast 10 d Hunter 5
Mid North Coast 7 d by Central West 22
Central North 15 d Far North Coast 12
Southern Inland 7 d by Illawarra 54

SJRU Champs
Gordon 17 d Warringah 0
Northern Suburbs 38 d Manly 5
Parramatta 12 d Eastwood 0
Southern Districts 24 d Randwick 0
Gordon 19 d Southern Districts 7
Warringah 21 d Randwick 10
Northern Suburbs 12 d Parramatta 5
Manly 0 d by Eastwood 24
Gordon 40 d Randwick 0
Southern Districts 13 d by Warringah 14
Northern Suburbs 7 d Eastwood 3
Manly 7 d by Parramatta 36

Day 2
SJRU Ranking games
7 v 8 Randwick 0 d by Manly 13
5 v 6 Southern Districts 12 d by Eastwood 14
Semi Final 1 Northern Suburbs 31 d Warringah 0
Semi Final 2 Gordon 10 d Parramatta 0

Country Ranking games
7 v 8 Southern Inland 5 d by Far North Coast 12
5 v 6 Mid North Coast 12 drew Central North 12
Semi Final 1 Illawarra 20 d Hunter 0
Semi Final 2 Central Coast 10 d Central West 5

Competition then split into State Champs Bowl and State Champs Cup Competitions. The draw gets rather complicated from there depending on results, but essentially follows a Hong Kong 7's format with all teams getting plenty of games over the weekend narrowing in to games against similar level opponents as the weekend unfolds.

Cup Pool A = Central Coast, Illawarra, Parramatta, Warringah
Cup Pool B = Gordon, Northern Suburbs, Hunter, Central West
Bowl Pool A = Eastwood, Mid North Coast, Far North Coast, Randwick
Bowl Pool B = Central North, Southern Districts, Manly, Southern Inland

Bowl Pool A
Eastwood 26 d Mid North Coast 0
Far North Coast 12 d Randwick 7
Eastwood 40 d Far North Coast 0
Mid North Coast 26 d Randwick 0

Bowl Pool B
Central North 12 d Southern Districts 10
Manly 24 d Southern Inland 14
Central North 0 d by Manly 14
Southern Districts 40 d Southern Inland 0

Cup Pool A
Illawarra 7 d by Central Coast 10 (NSW Country JRU Championships Final)
Parramatta 21 d Warringah 0
Central Coast 3 d by Parramatta 16
Illawarra 26 d Warringah 0

Cup Pool B
Gordon 15 d Northern Suburbs 7 (SJRU Championship Final)
Hunter 17 d Central West 0
Gordon 15 d Hunter 14
Northern Suburbs 26 d Central West 0

Day 3 Under 15 NSW JRU Championship Games
Cup Pool A
Central Coast 10 d Warringah 7
Illawarra 14 d by Parramatta 26

Cup Pool B
Gordon 21 d Central West 0
Northern Suburbs 14 d by Hunter 24

Bowl Pool A
Eastwood 17 d Randwick 0
Mid North Coast 15 d Far North Coast 0

Bowl Pool B
Central North 28 d Southern Inland 7
Southern Districts 10 d Manly 3

Shield SF1: Far North Coast 10 d by Southern Inland 17
Shield SF2: Randwick 5 d by Central North 10
Bowl SF1: Eastwood 26 Manly 0
Bowl SF2: Southern Districts 26 Mid North Coast 5
Plate SF2: Warringah 15 d Hunter 7
Plate SF1: Illawarra 0 d by Central West 3
Cup SF1: Parramatta 0 d by Northern Suburbs 7
Cup SF2: Gordon 26 d Central Coast 0
Shield Bronze: Far North Coast/Randwick FFT
Plate Bronze: Illawarra/Hunter FFT
Bowl Bronze: Manly 19 d Mid North Coast 5
Cup Bronze: Parramatta 10 d Central Coast 0
Shield Final: Southern Inland 0 d by Central North 19
Bowl Final: Eastwood 5 d by Southern Districts 12
Plate Final: Central West 31 d Warringah 12

Cup Final: Norths 12 d by Gordon 21 (NSW JRU Under 15 State Champion)

 

[rugbyking2]

I was up at the U14 Champs in Orange and I know it may not mean much here, but would like to congratulate the referees on their performance. I know us rugby men give them a hard time but kudos to the young boys up there, they did a tremendous job.

Interested to see if the performance was the same across the board, or just outstanding from the refs up there (They were all year 12 students).

 

[Quick Hands]

Whatever QHands and Inside Shoulder talk of I do not know in the under 15's re eligibility of players. However what should be written about is the Randwick under 15's. They started Saturday with 16 -17boys . Played 8 games a total of 240 minutes of very hard rugby with 1-2 subs. Although going close against a few teams did not win a game but put in the whole weekend. This team had been depleted thru injury and late pull outs and had been supplemented by 4-5 boys from other districts who got exemption to play with them. The spirit and determination all these boys showed, through adversity not of their making, was immense. These boys showed great courage and bonded in team spirit and if you are looking who were the "real champions " for the weekend look no further than these boys.

It's not Randwick.

 

[Dingasden]

Interested to see if the performance was the same across the board, or just outstanding from the refs up there (They were all year 12 students).

I was at Concord for 16s & 17s and lets just say it was mixed in both age and ability. Some pretty good young refs and very good older refs but a couple of very poor refs who did not seem to be able to control breakdown or basic rules. A fair few supervisors scoring the refs so just hope the feedback from them is productive - good or bad. We need more refs but need them to be well educated

 

[Langers]

Congratulations to the NSW Country U17 Team announced at the championships today:

Dean Wanstall (CC)
Lachlan Seaman (CC)
Dan Mathews (CC)
Nicholas Bracken (CC)
Jacob Ellis (CC)
Travis Gifford (FNC)
Riley Wilson (FNC)
Kade Robinson (Hunt)
Ben Shelley (CC)
Hamish Mould (FNC)
Jesse Tasi (CC)
Hayden Thompson (Hunt)
Angus Windred (CN/NE)
Jack Hackett (FNC)
Matt Blackman (CW)
Ben Schaefer (FNC)
Damien Johnston (CW)
Samuel Pearce (FNC)
Lachlan Stewart (CW)
Archie Hamilton (CW)
Jack Hogan (CC)
Ben Hall (CN/NE)

Jonathan Huddy (FNC) was also announced, but has pulled out (I'm not aware of why).

The NSW Country Selection policy does not allow players playing up one age group eligibility for selection in that age group. Jono reverted to the U16 team squad so he can continue representing NSW Country.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

2015 NSW JRU State Championships
Under 16 (Incl Country and Metro Championships)

Day 1 Under 16 results here:
http://www.nswjuniors.rugbynet.com.au/verve/_resources/U16_Draw_Final_ver_2_Results_Day_1.pdf

Country Champs
North Coast 12 d Hunter 5
Central West 41 d Central North 5
Hunter 14 d Illawarra 0
Central Coast 19 d Central North 7
North Coast 36 d Illawarra 5
Central West 10 d Central Coast 0

Metro Champs
Northern Suburbs 12 d West Harbour 0
ACT 31 d Southern Districts 0
Gordon 12 d Eastwood 7
Randwick 17 d Parramatta 7
ACT 54 d West Harbour 7
Northern Suburbs 41 d Southern Districts 5
Randwick 40 d Gordon 7
Parramatta 26 d Eastwood 3
ACT 17 d Northern Suburbs 0
Southern Districts 19 drew with West Harbour 19
Randwick 29 d Eastwood 12
Parramatta 31 d Gordon 0

Day 2 Results
http://www.nswjuniors.rugbynet.com.au/verve/_resources/2015_U16_Results_Day2_Monday_draw_Sheet1.pdf
Metro Ranking games
7 v 8 Southern Districts 0 d by Eastwood 8
5 v 6 West Harbour 5 d by Gordon 12
Semi Final 1 Randwick 7 d by Northern Suburbs 19
Semi Final 2 ACT 24 d Parramatta 0

Country Ranking games
5 v 6 Illawarra 17 d Central North 7
Semi Final 1 North Coast 15 d South Coast 5
Semi Final 2 Central West 10 d Hunter 14

Competition then splits into State Champs Bowl and State Champs Cup Competitions. The draw gets rather complicated from there depending on results, but essentially follows a Hong Kong 7's format with all teams getting plenty of games over the weekend narrowing in to games against similar level opponents as the weekend unfolds.

Cup Pool A = Country 1, Country 2, Metro 3, Metro 4
Cup Pool B = Metro 1, Metro 2, Country 3, metro 5
Bowl Pool A = Country 4, Country 6, Metro 8, The Bye
Bowl Pool B = Country 5, Metro 6, Metro 7, The Bye

Bowl Pool A
Central Coast 13 d Central North 7
Central Coast 0 d by Southern Districts 22

Bowl Pool B
Illawarra 12 d with West Harbour 12
Illawarra 0 d by Eastwood 10

Cup Pool A
North Coast 5 d by Hunter 12 (NSW Country JRU Championships Final)
Parramatta 14 d Randwick 5
North Coast 7 d by Randwick 24
Parramatta 26 d Hunter 5

Cup Pool B
ACT 13 d Norths 0 (SJRU Championship Final)
Central West 5 d by Gordon 14
ACT 31 d Central West 5
Norths 55 d Gordon 5

Day 3 Games http://www.nswjuniors.rugbynet.com.au/verve/_resources/2015_U16_Final_Results.pdf
Under 16 NSW JRU Championship Games
Cup Pool A Games
Hunter 0 def by Randwick 10
North Coast fft to Parramatta

Cup Pool B Games
ACT 29 def Gordon 10
Norths 26 def Central West 0

Bowl Pool A
Central North 5 d with Southern Districts 5

Bowl Pool B Games
West Harbour 5 def by Eastwood 11

Shield Final: Central North fft to Illawarra
Cup SF1: Parramatta 5 def by Norths 14
Cup SF2: ACT 27 def Randwick 7
Bowl Bronze: Central Coast 12 def by West Harbour 31
Bowl Final: Southern Districts 0 def by Eastwood 12
Plate Final: North Coast fft def by Gordon
Cup Bronze: Parramatta def Randwick fft

Cup Final: Norths 3 def by ACT (NSW JRU Under 16 State Champion)

 

[Langers]

2015 NSW JRU State Championships
Under 16 (Incl Country and Metro Championships)
<snip>
Day 3 Games http://www.nswjuniors.rugbynet.com.au/verve/_resources/2015_U16_Final_Results.pdf
Under 16 NSW JRU Championship Games
Cup Pool A Games
Hunter 0 def by Randwick 10
North Coast fft to Parramatta

<snip>

No a big thing, but North Coast did play the Cup Pool A game against Parramatta with the result Parramatta 24 North Coast 10.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

^^ Thanks. For some reason the "official" record has registered that game as a forfeit by North Coast. No idea why.

 

[Langers]

All good, hate to see forfeits at the best of times, but being there and watching them play, just wanted the record to be correct somewhere. And this seems as good a place as any, as the information here is as up to date as it gets. I'm enjoying the threads and the content. Thanks.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I quite like the revised format (Cup/Bowl/Plate/Shield/Knife Fork and Spoon) that they have used in the upper age groups where all teams get games on Finals day, and the games are against similarly skilled opponents.

This supports the concept that the Championships are about both establishing a Tournament Winner but they have a player, coach and match official development component as well.

I can also understand that some disappointed teams may not want to contest a 3rd/4th play off match, particularly if they have a bit of traveling to do to get home, but in reality players need to learn to deal with fronting up after disappointment of losing a key match.

If travel was that vital, would the team have forfeited the Grand Final due to travel arrangements?

 

[Langers]

I too thought the format was good and the first time both Country and Metro teams played together at the same venue and then against one another.

I think the draw could have allowed for the Country zones to play against each other so that an eventual Country zone was declared 'champion' prior to playing against the Metro sides, as North Coast did not play games against Central West or Central North. Possibly something similar for the metro sides, then have the pools based on position gained in each competition.

I can't speak for the officials and coaches of the team with regard to finishing up after the Parramatta game. Talking with the players, some of whom I coach in their club side, there was no disappointment about losing and then having to front up to play further games. The results show this against Randwick & Parramatta for a side comprised of players from two Country rugby zones that run from south of Port Macquarie to the NSW/Qld border that had 1 training session prior to travelling to Sydney (11 hours on the bus). And I for one, along with other parents who attended the weekend, were extremely proud of their efforts.

I think too there was some confusion re the Monday draw and players and team officials may have been unaware the next game was in fact the Plate Final, as the original draw seemed show a Semi-Final at the time they were supposed to play.

Not trying to make excuses here, just putting some perspective around the situation of zones that have to travel a long way and no doubt this was a consideration in the minds of all when decisions to finish up and travel home were made.

 

[S'UP]

I was at Concord for 16s & 17s and lets just say it was mixed in both age and ability. Some pretty good young refs and very good older refs but a couple of very poor refs who did not seem to be able to control breakdown or basic rules. A fair few supervisors scoring the refs so just hope the feedback from them is productive - good or bad. We need more refs but need them to be well educated

I would agree with that to a point, there are also a very large number of coaches/parents/ players who just don't understand the laws of the game. The first and most obvious is maul, really it's not that hard. If I heard "his got to release" or "his got to roll" 50 times I heard it a 1000, simple answer at a maul, no he doesn't.

 

[rugbyking2]

As a city slicker I am not to aware of the country rugby system. Could someone give me a quick run down of the standard of play and the approximate player numbers. At the 14s, the country teams struggled against the big city teams however ended up placing just under the middle of the seedings in the majority. How was it for other age groups?

 

[Chris McCracken]

As a city slicker I am not to aware of the country rugby system. Could someone give me a quick run down of the standard of play and the approximate player numbers. At the 14s, the country teams struggled against the big city teams however ended up placing just under the middle of the seedings in the majority. How was it for other age groups?

I think it's largely the same for all of the age groups. The teams seem to fall short of the better metro teams but can be competitive with the middle of the pack.

Langers' reasoning regarding the size of the zones and the difficulties in training are, I think, the key reason.

I think we have some excellent players in each zone, but we generally suffer for depth. That means we can fill players of similar standard to the metro teams in some (or even most) positions. As such, we generally have a couple of positions where we are struggling, as well as having issues with the bench.

That is at least the case with our team. I assume most zones face similar issues.

 

[Langers]

Chris is right. Depth is always going to be an issue, but the standard of those players from the Country zones is quite high.

For example, I coach a U17 team made up of 15 and 16 year old's in the Far North Coast Zone. The reason for this has been a decline in player numbers and this year the inability of our club to field an U16 or U18 team (every other club in the zone is pretty much in the same boat).

At the recent Championships at Concord, my team had 7 representatives in the U17 competition and 6 in the U16 competition, from that 7 were selected for NSW Country.
Players for the U17 team would have come from only 3-4 clubs from the FNC Zone.

In the U16 squad two zones (Mid North and far North) combined to field a squad for the weekend (player numbers again the issue), here the distance and logistics of meeting for training, as mentioned earlier, made things difficult, and again maybe only 6-8 clubs would have had players representing.

From the U16's in that club side there are 3 representing NSW CCC (in the starting 15) and 1 in NSW CHS team this year.

All that said, when the boys were at Country Champs, they have a red hot go in each game they play and both teams made the Country Final with the U17's winning theirs.

The gap was obvious in the games against the Metro teams. A couple of solid days of rugby had tired the boys and injuries weren't helping either. And when you looked through the Metro teams listed in the program, it was clear to see why there was a difference. Squads were either from a broad base of teams to select from or all from the same team entirely.

What I'm interested in is how zones and clubs feel about the retention of players in the game. Are the Metro zones seeing a decline in numbers as I suspect all Country zones are? What systems are/should be in place to help retain players across the zones? Does the pathway to play in a range of representative teams make retention easier in say Sydney?

 

[loiterer]

Chris is right. Depth is always going to be an issue, but the standard of those players from the Country zones is quite high...


The gap was obvious in the games against the Metro teams. A couple of solid days of rugby had tired the boys and injuries weren't helping either. And when you looked through the Metro teams listed in the program, it was clear to see why there was a difference. Squads were either from a broad base of teams to select from or all from the same team entirely.

What I'm interested in is how zones and clubs feel about the retention of players in the game. Are the Metro zones seeing a decline in numbers as I suspect all Country zones are? What systems are/should be in place to help retain players across the zones? Does the pathway to play in a range of representative teams make retention easier in say Sydney?

Often the Metro teams are from the same club because at those ages other village teams have folded and the players need to move to another club to get a club game. The ranks thin out in older age groups due to school rugby or kids having to choose between rugby and league. It is obviously a lot easier to drive 2 or 3 suburbs to join another team than the 100 odd kms you might need to do in a regional comp, so easier for the kids to continue in the city.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Has the Junior Cold Cup helped with player recruiting/retention and skills development in the Country zones?

Is there a good working relationship between the country Junior Gold Cup centres, Country Junior Village Clubs and Zones, and the NSW Country JRU? With limited player and volunteer availability, I would hope that the relationship is positive and not feudal.