Those who have followed this forum for more than just this season may recall I posted a number of times last year mainly on the history of AIC (the Association and the Rugby).
I was correctly accused of being on old fart sitting with my pipe and slippers in a dusty den. Please excuse the observations in this post if they offend however they do come with the benefit of experience if nothing else.
A couple important points
- Congratulations to Iona who were clearly the best side in the competition and deserved their Premiership. Iona really seem to have their act together across the ages so kudos to them for the 1st XV and as a whole school.
- St Peters showed that 2012 was not a flash in the pan and the better showings by their age group teams is also encouraging for the Association.
Forgive me for saying though, that the real story of the season is the incredible fall in standard and results by St Laurences and Ashgrove. I would encourage younger members of the forum to read over the 2012 forum and see some of the history there. St Laurences have traditionally been one of the powerhouses of AIC (and before that TAS) rugby. I was speaking several weeks ago with an experienced SLC teacher I know and he was very sad at how (his words) "rugby is dying at Lauries".
As for Ashgrove it defies belief the 1st XV was beaten 3 times in the season (my Ashgrove insider tells me that last happened in 1973!). I understand other posters will quickly point and say this proves that Iona, St Edmunds and St Peters have improved lots. This may or may not be so however the drop in Ashgrove is not just in 1sts but across the board. For a school with a 1st XV that went 5 years without a loss (2002 - 2006) and between 1998 and 2002 produced about 8 Australian Schoolboys the drop from 2007 to now is staggering. I think they have shared 2 premierships in the past 6 years?
The next thing I am going to say is going to make me really unpopular.
The drop off in these two schools is a
very bad thing for all the schools in AIC. I know we all like to see them beaten however there is a bigger picture.
If AIC is to be competitive with GPS then a strong Ashgrove and St Laurences (being two of the biggest schools) is critical. Without the depth provided by these schools it will be much harder for good players from all AIC schools to get a look in at the next level.
I would be very interested to hear from some Ashgrove and St Laurences insiders as to their opinions for their fall from grace. From what I understand both schools have less "hard physical kids" attending? I have also been told they have both lost some experienced top coaches?
Let the hate mail begin.
