St Aloysius v Waverley
by “sidelineview”
In the cosy setting of Aloys home ground of College Oval and on a sunny afternoon, St Aloysius and Waverley proved why schoolboy rugby can be one of the most entertaining forms of the game.
First half
Waverley started off badly by making mistakes and giving penalties away. Aloys were gifted opportunities and they didn’t let them slip. After some controlled phases of play #11 James Shiel-Dick scored the first try. #10 Pearce Cohen was successful with the conversion. 7-0 Aloys
The Double V worked their way forward into the Aloys red zone and received a penalty. #10 Dion Narayan added the three points. 7-3 Aloys.
After about the sixth penalty given away by Waverley, Aloys advanced upfield. With Waverley on the back foot Cohen put a grubber kick through from 20 metres out. Livewire rake Eric Stene chased it down to score. Converted by Cohen 14-3 Aloys.
SAC (St. Aloysius) continued to gain the ascendency with #9 Matthew Hayes putting an excellent box kick in from his just inside his own half to find the line on the Waverley 22. From a scrum, classy centre #12 Sam Lawson drew two defenders before slipping the ball to #13 Peter Slaven who raced through a gap and over for another five-pointer. Cohen converted. 21-3 Aloys.
Then the Waves recovered and got their act together with some good ball control and disciplined play. They put pressure on their opposition and forced a couple of penalties which advanced them into the SAC red zone. From a scrum win #8 Zac Cardassilaris and #9 Cooper Murphy combined on the old run-around move to put Narayan through a gap. He raced over the white stripe much to the relief of the Waverley supporters. Narayan potted the goal. 21-10 Aloys.
More disciplined and strong phase play from the Waves gave them good field position. With Aloys retreating, Cooper darted over from a ruck five metres out to score. Narayan kicked the conversion over the black dot. Game on.
Half-time score: St. Aloysius 21 – Waverley 17.
Second half
The Double V continued with their dominant play to gain territorial advantage but couldn’t manage to convert it into points. #14 Jaya Yoannidis charged onto a ball and through a gap only to be held up over the line. There was another missed opportunity with a Waverley pass going to ground near the line.
The tension was mounting and from a scrum fed by Aloys five metres out from their own line, Hayes made an uncharacteristic mistake. His box kick was charged down by the hard working #6 Jack Clifford who grounded the ball before being swamped by his team mates in celebration. Narayan made no mistake with the conversion next to the posts and Waverley led for the first time – 24-21.
Then it got very interesting ….. and nerve racking for both camps. For the next ten or so minutes it was action aplenty. There was a kicking duel between Aloy’s #15 Tom Dunlop and Waverley’s #15 Tyzac Jordan. Narayan got in on the act as well. There were charge downs, kicks that just went out on the full by inches, missed opportunities and some desperate scrambling defence by both teams.
Both teams made mistakes and gave penalties away to add to the theatre of a thrilling finish to a game that had all spectators on the edge of their seats.
Aloys managed to work their way into Waverley’s red zone and threw everything at them except the kitchen sink, but the Double V defence didn’t falter.
Then Aloys received a penalty with four minutes remaining. A message came out from the bench to kick for goal while most spectators expected them to tap it and go for the win. Cohen coolly slotted the 3-pointer. The score was tied 24-24 with only a few minutes remaining.
After the restart Waverley received a penalty 30 out and on an angle; it was probably going to be the last play of the game. They decided to shoot for goal with Narayan in good form with the boot. He lined it up, said a little prayer but it wasn’t enough. It missed as the SAC supporters breathed a sigh of relief.
Narayan shouldn’t have felt too bad; he had scored 14 of his teams points.
Full time score: 24 -24.
The teams
Unfortunately it has been characteristic of Waverley at times this season to give penalties away and make mistakes, but conversely it is also characteristic of the Double V to fight back and didn’t they do a good job of it!? It was a great comeback.
SAC always put up a good effort and this game was no different. They made some mistakes as the opposition did, but typically they left nothing out on the field.
The Players
Every player on the field did their bit for their respective teams; it was a gutsy determined effort. If I mention one player I have to mention all, but it’s a game they won’t forget.
Wrap-up
It was a bloody good game of rugby that went right down to the wire. Well done to both teams.
The spectators got money’s worth, that’s for sure. It didn’t do much good for nerves of the two sets of coaches but they would have been proud of their players’ wholehearted efforts.
Ending up with a draw after trying your guts out for 70 minutes is a bit like kissing your sister, but at the end of the day there wasn’t a split hair between the two teams.
Scoring
St. Aloysius 24 (J. Shiel-Dick, P.Slaven, E.Stene tries; P.Cohen pen, 3 cons) drew with Waverley 24 ( D. Narayan, C.Murphy, J.Clifford tries. D.Narayan pen, 3 cons)
Other Scores
Waverley 2nds, 3rds and 4ths won
Images of Aloys v Waverley by https://www.facebook.com Thank you.
Click on Page 3 below for report on Cranbrook v Knox by “Elfster”
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