A lot of talk has been generated in this thread about the dire state of Terrace rugby and Terrace sport in general. Firstly, I do not believe that Terrace sport is well and truly gone by the wayside. GT has set the benchmark in Rowing, Volleyball and Cross Country over the past decade and have been perennial threats especially over the last three years in these sports. Other than that, Terrace remains competitive in every other sport that is played. The reality is that GT does not have the depth of other schools, and I think that in the years to come Terrace will continue to turn out a few Reds/Wallabies players every couple of years, but individual superstars do not win games of rugby.
Personally, I have only praise for the way the Terrace XV have played this year. As I mentioned above, the skipper has been playing out of position at the coach's request. Mark Stevenson (First XV Coach) last year turned Sam Reiser - who had played as a centre in 'B' teams thrroughout his schooling - into an Australian Schoolboy second rower. Perhaps he thought he could do the same for Birgan? However, the fact remains that Ben is far better suited as a loose forward.
Terrace's results this year cannot be blamed on one particular cause, event or person. Obviously, the College has been extraordinarily unlucky with the loss of the playing fields at Tennyson, and the boys now enter each game as the visiting team - putting them at an immediate disadvantage. Also, alot of people have been saying that this is just a down year in terms of talent - also not entirely true. This age group was extremely good in Under 13, 14, 15 competitions, losing only two games as thirteen year olds, three games as fourteen year olds and at least breaking even as fifteen year olds. However, last year as an Under 16 age group they were winless. Of course, it widely known that many other schools scholarship programs really come into full effect at around this age group. But I do not wish to harp on that. The reason that this age group has struggled is that most of the 'Star' players from the younger competitions have decided to focus on other Sports, left the College, or suffered serious injuries that have wrecked their rugby careers.
However, I believe that GT showed yesterday that they do not deserve to be written off or evaluated by the big losses they succumbed too at the start of the season. If the team continues to play the brand of rugby they played at Churchie yesterday, it is a certain possibility that a few wins are within their grasp after the holidays. Of course, a huge game awaits these men at Northgate this weekend vs BGS. If GT plays with the persistance, passion and determination that has defined Terrace rugby in the past, anything is possible.
I was out at ACGS yesterday and was absolutely inspired by the performance of the Terrace First XV against the highly touted Churchie outfit. As mentioned, the score was 28-10 in favour of Churchie, but GT really showed that they can compete in this competition. The boys played with so much passion, with a special mention going to captain Ben Birgan (#7), who despite playing in the centres all year proved he is one of the best loose forwards in the breakdown in GPS this year. His impact playing in his preferred position was substantial, and he continually harrassed the tackled player - often forcing a penalty or getting a pilfer. Birgan lead by example showing true Terrace spirit and ticker, playing with a fractured hip (he was suppossed to be out for four weeks) and returning to the field after a nasty collision that split his eyebrow. Fantastic turnaround after the 76 point defecit from the BSHS game last week. Possibly a lot of this can be attributed to Birgan returning to the forward pack.
Also, it is interesting that you are talking up the performance of Monty Ioane for Churchie. I am conscious that he scored a try, but it was really nothing spectacular. Other than that, I thought he was shut down rather effectively by Terrace's opposing winger Tom Harvey, a small guy who was obviously at a size disadvantage to Ioane but really crowded him and made some nice covering tackles. Harvey is one of the fastest players I've seen in GPS rugby this season - his acceleration is incredible - and he has defensive skills which simply should not belong to a guy of his size. The video below is Tom Harvey playing for the Terrace 2nd XV against BBC at Ballymore, a great passage of play demonstrating his rugby skill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUgG8OvooMs
