Waratah Shield/Cup 2015

[Quick Hands]

Ah cool, thanks mate. Much appreciated!
We played in the Waratah shield in the mid 90s and that was for everyone back then. Mostly CHS schools tho from memory. (We made quarter finals both years FWIW - CHS school too!). I guess these days we probably would've entered the Cup.
Thanks again mate.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No worries.

I was a school a little before that and at that time the competition was dominated by CHS schools. We made the 1/4 finals when I was at school as well. Neither my school nor the ones we used to play against go in it anymore.

 

[Shane Smeltz]

24-16 (hills needed to score twice for last 12 minutes)
Hills were ahead 16-5 at one point. I think it was that time Augies settled into playing rugby union, winning the set pieces and controlling the breakdowns, they managed to score 3 unanswered tries. A fifth was foiled when the ref caught site of a forward final pass. As has been the nature of this years team the pigs provided enough ball to win two games. The back chose to show how good their pigs were by making them do it again.

Hills outside backs always looked threatening but we're well shut down by the augies hard back line defence, as an augies supporter I didn't feel comfortable until the last two minutes.

Agree WR (World Rugby) - until the last two minutes Hills were still looking dangerous but St Augs lifted in the second half and made up for their poor ball handling in the first half. Lough played well, Bonnie scored a try, Jack O converted well, Milah was dangerous. Wingers and centres created opportunities, forwards did their job. Captain Jack N led his forwards well and the whole team. He has been an excellent captain and 2 this year, he will be sorely missed next year when he moves on to the next stage of his life in a few weeks.

In the Waratah Cup Erindale College defeated Redfield 68-12 so quite convincing.
Redfield play a really nice brand of rugby and have an excellent coach in the NSW Schoolboys U16 coach, but Erindale won the pack weight argument substantially so I would suspect size and might made the difference today.

The ground was very heavy and muddy and those wearing metal studs would have had the advantage today.

 

[sarcophilus]

THSHS collected some significant scalps this year and showed they had a formidable sting in their tail early in this match. This school has had good results in this com over the past six years, as this was their third final appearance in that time. They were well beaten by Augies in the semi last year.
I don't know the manner in which they defeated Eddies and Oak Hill, two teams with strong Union tradition that would have been well drilled in heaven's game strategies and techniques, I would be interesting to hear from some that saw those matches.
I do remember with some disdain commentators suggesting a teams forwards were to achieve parity and the match would turnout ok. It would have been easy for those two teams (Eddies and Oaks) to be drawn into THSHS's game style, which would have given Hill's the parity their backs required. The Brookvale team it seems, got caught in that net early as well. Subsequently both of the Hills tries were scored from handling errors that were turned into effective attack. After that Saints opted to play a more direct rugby style of game, controlling the set piece and using their forward pack to repeatedly cross the advantage line and quick recycling. Pretty no, but no frills rugby that worked, and their four tries were scored as a result of this policy (even the try scored wide by their backs).
Getting over the chalk has been St Augustine's Achilles heal this year. It cost them in their ISA match against Oak Hill and is probably the reason Quick Hands has been tagging them the way he has been. "The weakest St Augustines team for some time". the team found a way to address that in this final.
The team was handed more than 24 medals yesterday all the players earned them, the coaches managers physios and other supports deserved them

 

[Runner]

Agree with much of the above comments.
Auggies have been slow to start in many games this year often being scored against early in the game. As it was this time.
Worth noting that coaches made a tactical change at half time where they replaced both the strating centre with Lough and Hopoate. Thes are two rep players who both had a impact out wide as well as each scoring a try.
Hills were bigger and faster but out thought and played.
From my count this is 7 out of 8 wins for the coaches and the non winning year they were runners up to Hills.