Waverley v Aloys
by “Anonymous Al”
On an overcast and chilly afternoon at Death Valley, the match between Waverley and St Aloysius lived up to all expectations.
As predicted, it was a close encounter that went right down to the wire.
First half
Waverley started off badly. One could almost hear the collective sigh of the Double V supporters thinking they were in for a long afternoon. Mistakes and poor options gave Aloys the opportunity to score through big Alex Diamond. He crashed over from a couple of metres out. SAC 5-0.
But then the home team got their act together and played an impressively structured game for the remainder of the half.
The Double V forwards were controlling the ball and putting phases together, while their fly half Tyzac Jordan was kicking intelligently to the corners to gain territory. The tactics put Aloys under pressure and from a penalty # 11 Dion Narayan booted home a three pointer. SAC 5-3.
Waverley once again gained favourable field position through good ball control and tactical kicking and from a scrum 20 metres out, Jordan beat several defenders to score a fine individual try. Waves 8-5.
Just before half time Waverley had the opportunity to kick for goal from a penalty but opted to kick for touch and go for the try, but the ball went to ground from the lineout.
Half time score: Waves 8-5.
Second half
The contest was fierce from the outset.
The Waverley defenders forced an error from Aloys and # 14 Jaya Yoannidis pounced on a dropped ball to race 35 metres to score a five pointer. Waves 15-5 with the conversion.
A penalty goal to Narayan edged the Double V further ahead 18-5 with 15 minutes remaining and they looked well in command.
A charge down by the Waves # 4 Patrick Clifton saw him go close to scoring and the home team looked to be on a roll, but … the momentum of the game soon changed.
St Aloysius fought back to work their way downfield to finish with a strong try to # 13 Peter Slaven. Waves 18-10 but the SAC team had their tails up.
From a scrum close to their own line, # 10 Pearce Cohen found a gap in the Waves’ defensive line and make a good break downfield. After some good phases of play, quick hands gave Aloys a two man overlap and # 11 Diamond crossed out wide untouched. Waves 18-17 after a fine conversion from the sideline.
It was nail-biting stuff as both teams gave it everything they had to secure the win.
Aloys ground their way downfield and into the Waves red zone. With five minutes left on the clock Waverley needed to stay mistake-free, but amidst the hectic pace of the game a simple error was made. A penalty was awarded for not rolling away and Diamond slotted the three pointer from in front of the posts. SAC hit the lead 20-18.
With only minutes remaining the Double V worked their way into the Aloys red zone and were on the attack, but the referee ruled a flat pass forward. From the ensuing scrum and with only a minute left on the clock, fullback Tom Dunlop made a break. He was supported by Diamond who raced away to put the final nail in the Waves coffin. Another conversion from the # 11 gave SAC a 27-18 victory.
The teams
St Aloysius
They made the most of their opportunities and played a determined game to prevent the opposition from scoring more points in the first half. They worked hard and fought back impressively to wear the Waves down to take the prize.
Waverley
It could be argued they lost the game in the first ten minutes. However, they played a greatly improved game compared to previous weeks and were the dominant team for most of the first half and some of the second half.
They’ll be ruing making a few basic errors but will no doubt build on that performance.
The Players
St Aloysius
All the forwards worked hard as a pack; they did a great job.
# 13 Peter Slaven constantly posed a threat with the ball in hand. # 9 Matthew Hayes was clinical in achieving his assignment. Diamond scored 22 points.
CAS Reps – 1s: Hayes, Slaven, Diamond. 2s: Halliday, Shiel-Dick, Lawson, Stene, Nikopolous, Mazaraki.
Waverley
The forwards, as a pack, played their best game of the season.
# 9 Cooper Murphy and # 10 Tyzac Jordan played very well in the first half. # 12 Tom Fuller played strongly and Jaya Yoannidis did well to match Alex Diamond for strength in their one-on-one clashes.
CAS Reps – 1s: Dion Narayan. 2s: Cooper, Murphy, Smirnotis, Mohi, Cardassilaris, Jordan
The wrap-up
It was an excellent game of schoolboy rugby that could have gone either way. Both teams were highly committed, but at the end of the day Aloys made a few less errors than the Double V.
The scoring
Aloys 27 ( Alex Diamond 3, Peter Slaven tries. Alex Diamond 2 cons, pen) def. Waverley 18 (Tyzac Jordan, Jaya Yoannidis tries; Dion Narayan 2 pens, con)
Other scores: 2nd XV, 3rd XV, 16As, 14As, 13As won by Waverley. Aloys won 15As 8-7.
Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com
