AIC Rugby 2018

[cyberdox]

SPC 63 - SPLC 0

 

[BlindSide6]

SPC 63 - SPLC 0

PAD 69 - 5 SEC


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[Hands like feet]

Villa 33-24 over lauries. What could have been for lauries today, improved from last week. A classy try under the posts from the young winger gave a glimmer of hope, but let Villa back into the contest before halftime. Both teams traded tries after the break; Villa had a player sinbinned near the end but Lauries couldn't capitalise with the one man advantage. Well done to Villa on claiming back the magpie trophy; seeing that Pat's score, I have some worries for next week.

 

[don't_go_latho]

Thought the Lauries Men tried their hearts out today but just couldn't capitalise. Was much improved from the last 2 weeks and is something to build from. Well done Iona, Ash under pressure now which is something they are probably not used to. Need to win at Pats which will be a difficult task.

 

[Garry Owens]

There was more wind at Iona today than around the dinner table with Sherman Klump and family

A real boil over - but the Iona boys just executed better in the conditions - especially at critical moments with their on point passing ( and backing up the ball runner ) and kicking game

You have to hand it to the Maristians they are very well drilled on the ball and their fitness. Other AIC Teams are just not up to the same mark here , and truth be told , Iona were lucky not to lose their ball up to another dozen occasions. Marist probably did have the lion share of possession throughout the game but sloppiness with their catch / pass cost them and especially with their forward runners not moving the ball when they had clear numbers advantage on a few occasions.

Marist scrum dominantated and Jacob Heinke looks like he might be the best lineout exponent in AIC Rugby . Strong early carries from Rozka , met in kind by Iona’s Finochiarro - both big men laying down the law early for their teams. 2 and 4 were in everything for Marist - especially on the ball - but the toughness and ball speed of Iona’s 9 counted , their mid field had a size / strength / class edge - and Iona’s wingers also got the better of their match ups . Plath , at 15 , for Iona was a true X factor and capitalised on some great work at times from his midfield to really put his mark on the game

I can’t see anyone topping Iona at this point unless they suffer some key injuries through their backline

It is worth noting MCA were without “their X factor” at 13 - but I don’t think it would have been enough on his own at those critical mercurial moments from the Ionians

 

[Bledisloe]

Any other match reports out there to post please.

 

[Cormaic Jones]

Iona too good on the day.

 

[Confucius Say]

Iona too classy in backline yesterday. Not as many opportunities created but execution was slightly better. Both half of game were 3 tries to 1 to the team with the strong wind behind their back.

Any injury report on the Iona loose head prop? Looked like a serious shoulder problem! Hope he is recover soon.

Next week at Padua another big challenge. Padua will want a 3 way premiership and they look like their had a relative easy game compared.

 

[Confucius Say]

Even though they will be underdog, Padua motivation -

I. First home game of 2018
II. Chance of joint premiership with a win
III. Representative spots with good performance in key position
IV. Bruce T is back
V. Beat Iona in trial a few week back
VI. Big mental letdown for Iona after MCA game
VII. Iona injurys
VIII. Pressure is on Iona for next 5 weeks
IX. AIC competition wide open if Padua victory
X. Long time since Iona defeat Padua at this level at Banyo

 

[Garry Owens]

Both forward packs aren't very good , however , Iona have a couple of very good individual talents in the front row that are better than anything Padua have in their whole forward pack

Big man mountains that promise a lot and deliver so little are sort of ho hum , and in fact , the very thing that is killing Australian Rugby in what we want them to be - but aren't . I literally would pick any forward in the MCA pack ahead of any forward in the Padua pack.

The broader point was underscored ( again ) on Saturday Night's U20's game against the Kiwis - we pick guys on physical prototyping with limited focus on innate / inherent skill and capacities to develop - and at every level of Rugby , from Schoolboy Tours to Schoolboy Rep , to U20's and then Senior Rep we mythologise these f'n sheep shaggers into something bigger ( physically ) than what they are actually are . Meanwhile ....the Kiwi's just keep producing pro's pro after pro's pro - Sam Cane , Matt Todd , Ryan Crotty , Ben Smith , these are not gigantic men - all sort of 5'11 to 6'2 and 95kg to 103kg . Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith were in this range. Emerging young guns Anton Lenert Brown , Rieko Ioane and Ardie Savea the same.

Where we do get rooted is that they are just more intuitive players and 1 through to 15 play breakdown rugby and are patient and ruthless with it at the same time and piss all over us with their catch and pass and attack lines

We're still barring up over power player prototypes 99% of which will never do dick

Anyway ....back to Iona and Padua - bottom line - depth of talent in Iona's backline is far greater than what Padua are trotting out.

It would be a shame for the competition ( with what it is ) if Padua somehow wiggled their way ( unworthily IMO from what I have seen of them ) into a 3 way

Marist should have won , but didn't - and for a few moments of mercurial brilliance - and on that score alone ( for the sake of exciting Rugby and chancing their arm ) Iona deserve to be stand alone premiers this year

I hope they can hang on

 

[Confucius Say]

Yes they do deserve to hang on after their magnifique victory but the complacent team against the hungry team can happen. Worthy or not.

Was not Padua hold MCA to 8-0 with 14 men?

 

[Garry Owens]

Well you were there you saw what happened

With a full complement or not Padua were always getting blown out in the 2nd half of that game . They were fading after 15m to to reset their lines

 

[Bledisloe]

Well you were there you saw what happened

With a full complement or not Padua were always getting blown out in the 2nd half of that game . They were fading after 15m to to reset their lines

Probably a bit of a hang over from the euro tour.......all that salami and guinness being consumed.

 

[Echidna]

Iona winning a close game on the weekend is great for the AIC comp. Lets hope the remaining games between SPC, Pad, MCA and Iona are also close for the sake of the comp. 50 plus scorelines undermine the AIC as a comp and exposes the varying development structures (or lack thereof) and ultimately the importance the individual schools place on AIC Rugby. It is to everyones detriment getting beat by 50, 60 and more. Conversely the top couple of AIC schools may just beat the bottom GPS school each year - further reinforcing how far behind AIC XV rugby is in terms of standard. To those leaders of those poor performing AIC schools, look at your structures, ask for help, and impliment measures to improve the standard. Also look to change the culture. Well done to Iona this year. Congrats to SPC, Padua and MCA.
The rest, not cool at all.

 

[Ali Barber]

Both forward packs aren't very good , however , Iona have a couple of very good individual talents in the front row that are better than anything Padua have in their whole forward pack

Big man mountains that promise a lot and deliver so little are sort of ho hum , and in fact , the very thing that is killing Australian Rugby in what we want them to be - but aren't . I literally would pick any forward in the MCA pack ahead of any forward in the Padua pack.

The broader point was underscored ( again ) on Saturday Night's U20's game against the Kiwis - we pick guys on physical prototyping with limited focus on innate / inherent skill and capacities to develop - and at every level of Rugby , from Schoolboy Tours to Schoolboy Rep , to U20's and then Senior Rep we mythologise these f'n sheep shaggers into something bigger ( physically ) than what they are actually are . Meanwhile ..the Kiwi's just keep producing pro's pro after pro's pro - Sam Cane , Matt Todd , Ryan Crotty , Ben Smith , these are not gigantic men - all sort of 5'11 to 6'2 and 95kg to 103kg . Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith were in this range. Emerging young guns Anton Lenert Brown and Ardie Savea the same.

Where we do get rooted is that they are just more intuitive players and 1 through to 15 play breakdown rugby and are patient and ruthless with it at the same time and piss all over us with their catch and pass and attack lines

We're still barring up over power player prototypes 99% of which will never do dick

Anyway ..back to Iona and Padua - bottom line - depth of talent in Iona's backline is far greater than what Padua are trotting out.

It would be a shame for the competition ( with what it is ) if Padua somehow wiggled their way ( unworthily IMO from what I have seen of them ) into a 3 way

Marist should have won , but didn't - and for a few moments of mercurial brilliance - and on that score alone ( for the sake of exciting Rugby and chancing their arm ) Iona deserve to be stand alone premiers this year

I hope they can hang on

Well said GO,
I reluctantly trotted out to Iona, I don't normally head to the other side of the river until the GPS season but i had my son driving and two of his rugby mates from different GPS Schools, so excluding myself we had 3 different GPS schools in the car. All probably silently barracking for Ash but looking for an upset. Who actually barracks for Iona. Quite a few it seems!
With the cross breeze i thought it could be a 10 points plus advantage. Turned out almost exactly that. Iona were pulling heavy breaths after 20 minutes. Ash went to the break 15-7 and really without too much fanfare and they would have expected and been happy with a 30+ to 14 win scoreline and that looked about right. They didn't factor turning into that breeze would be so difficult and when Iona scored under the posts again and 15-14, this was when Ash should have settled down and dominated the short plays, been calm and played some tight 9 & 10 man rugby. The Ash forwards started to hurry everything and their halfback and 5/8 especially making hasty passes to the centers who although spirited aren't breaking any lines soon. The Ashgrove 12 hits the line well but that's as far as he goes, and the flyhalf used that hit-up time and time again to no avail until he was getting hammered but he kept giving him more inside ball. Enter Maxie Plath, he inspired his team by running the ball hard and wide looking for the smallest of gaps to gain and extra 5 or 10 meters. The forwards rallied and so did everyone in between. The tide was ebbing and began to turn. Ashgroves tight 5 went pretty well all game. Their backrow just didn't aim up enough in the end which really surprised a few and they were outgunned by players who just wanted to win more - not necessarily better, but wanted to win more. Iona had nothing at all to lose. Ash looked like they were waiting for someone to snatch a victory and the only bloke capable was running their drinks and they crowded around him every time he came on, obviously with the coaches instructions. My son said Lachie is really giving it to them dad and as he ran off the field so did any of their scoring ability against the play. The Ash wingers were good with good ball in the first half but the double passes from the Ash 5/8 in the second were rushed and out of sequence when obviously nobody was expecting them and they were going everywhere. In comparison Plath ruled Iona from behind and every player from 1 to 14 was inspired by his play. Best on field by a long way. I couldn't really say any other Iona player was outstanding - they all were playing above themselves. The big question is, can they do it again this weekend. This weekend against an average Padua will be their bogey. Ash need to harden up a bit, not get rougher, just harden up to the occasion or they'll fall again this season. I think we might head Padua way this weekend.

 

[mcdonladclan]

Well said GO,
I reluctantly trotted out to Iona, I don't normally head to the other side of the river until the GPS season but i had my son driving and two of his rugby mates from different GPS Schools, so excluding myself we had 3 different GPS schools in the car. All probably silently barracking for Ash but looking for an upset. Who actually barracks for Iona. Quite a few it seems!
With the cross breeze i thought it could be a 10 points plus advantage. Turned out almost exactly that. Iona were pulling heavy breaths after 20 minutes. Ash went to the break 15-7 and really without too much fanfare and they would have expected and been happy with a 30+ to 14 win scoreline and that looked about right. They didn't factor turning into that breeze would be so difficult and when Iona scored under the posts again and 15-14, this was when Ash should have settled down and dominated the short plays, been calm and played some tight 9 & 10 man rugby. The Ash forwards started to hurry everything and threir halfback and 5/8 especially making hasty passes to the centers who although spirited aren't breaking any lines soon. The Ashgrove 12 hits the line well but that's as far as he goes, and the flyhalf used that hit-up time and time again to no avail until he was getting hammered but he kept giving him more inside ball. Enter Maxie Plath, he inspired his team by running the ball hard and wide looking for the smallest of gaps to gain and extra 5 or 10 meters. The forwards rallied and so did everyone in between. The tide was ebbing and began to turn. Ashgroves tight 5 went pretty well all game. Their backrow just didn't aim up enough in the end which really surprised a few and they were outgunned by players who just wanted to win more - not necessarily better, but wanted to win more. Iona had nothing at all to lose. Ash looked like they were waiting for someone to snatch a victory and the only bloke capable was running their drinks and they crowded around him every time he came on, obviously with the coaches instructions. My son said Lachie is really giving it to them dad and as he ran off the field so did any of their scoring ability against the play. The Ash wingers were good with good ball in the first half but the double passes from the Ash 5/8 in the second were rushed and out of sequence when obviously nobody was expecting them and they were going everywhere. In comparison Plath ruled Iona from behind and every player from 1 to 14 was inspired by his play. Best on field by a long way. I couldn't really say any other Iona player was outstanding - they all were playing above themselves. The big question is, can they do it again this weekend. This weekend against an average Padua will be their bogey. Ash need to harden up a bit, not get rougher, just harden up to the occasion or they'll fall again this season. I think we might head Padua way this weekend.

Thou doth protesteth tooo much! We get it, you’re pretending to be from a gps school!

 

[Ali Barber]

Thou doth protesteth tooo much! We get it, you’re pretending to be from a gps school!

Actually went to a Public School and a good one. If you were on the hill, you would have seen me telling them to be quiet and we left when Ash were winning 20-19 to beat the exodus. whilst I'm not the pilot.

 

[new recruit_ brisbane]

The Iona 13 was one of the most dangerous players on the park - he broke numerous tackles. 12 from Iona is a man mountain and if he learnt to use his size more effectively could form a lethal center pairing.

 

[Garry Owens]

^
Totally agree

12, 13 and 15 from Iona are best I've seen this season , although , if healthy I'd still go with MCA's first choice 13 and go with SPC's Maritz and SPLC's McKinlay as my wingers . Padua 10 at 10 and Iona 9

That's my AIC backline

9 . Iona
10. Padua
11. SPLC ( McKinlay )
12. Iona
13. MCA ( LTW )
14. SPC ( Maritz )
15. Iona ( Plath )

With back ups

21. ?
22. MCA 10
23. SLC ( Stannard )
24. Iona 13
25. SLC ( Lamin )

Pretty good and competitive line up to face off against GPS competition like :

9's like : Kirk ( GT ) Thomas ( IGS ) Pappin ( NC )
10's like : Gordon ( BBC ) Parata ( TSS ) Asi ( BGS ) Walker ( IGS )
Centres like : Pasiota ( NC ) Flook ( NC ) Condon ( GT ) Howarth ( BBC ) Tuisamoa ( High ) Waight ( BGS )
Back 3 like : Samuela ( TSS ) Bennett ( NC ) Bowyer ( BBC ) Stirling ( BBC ) Vui ( GT ) Robbins ( NC ) Laei ( IGS ) King-Smith ( IGS ) Waia ( NC )

 

[Ali Barber]

The Iona 13 was one of the most dangerous players on the park - he broke numerous tackles. 12 from Iona is a man mountain and if he learnt to use his size more effectively could form a lethal center pairing.

The whole back line played solid and safe. The tall Winger was like a second fullback which helped take the pressure off the Iona fullback who obviously hasn't got as big a boot. The back line really stepped up in the early second half. The Ash fullback kicked really well into the second half breeze. He looks like a find. He might be grade 11, I haven't seen him before this year in any competition of school or club.