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CAS Rugby 2012

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I like to watch

David Codey (61)
The conclusion I draw, is that these two Schools are better than The CAS Schools. The other Schools in the ISA competition much weaker than the CAS Schools.
Also that the CAS comp is of a more even standard than the ISA.
All of it pure conjecture of course.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
There's no doubt that St Augustines and Oakhill are very good Rugby schools that would perform very well in the Associated Schools competition. Yet CAS walloped ISA pretty easily. What conclusions can be drawn from this, I'm not sure.

The Rugby Gods get up to funny things at times don't they.

Consider the recent results from Scotland v Men in Gold , Tonga v Les Frogge at RWC 2011 pool play and so on.

The best team on paper frequently doesn't win.

I think there are a number of ISA I (read St Augs) supporters who thought that they just had to do to win was to run on and do the old three cheers thing and then CAS team would part like the Red Sea in awe of their magnificence. Didn't quite happen that way did it. :)
 

Blackers13

Syd Malcolm (24)
The Rugby Gods get up to funny things at times don't they.

Consider the recent results from Scotland v Men in Gold , Tonga v Les Frogge at RWC 2011 pool play and so on.

The best team on paper frequently doesn't win.

I think there are a number of ISA I (read St Augs) supporters who thought that they just had to do to win was to run on and do the old three cheers thing and then CAS team would part like the Red Sea in awe of their magnificence. Didn't quite happen that way did it. :)

Lets not open the ISA selection tin of grubs, there's a whole other forum devoted to that debacle.
 

It is what it is

John Solomon (38)
........and Waverley defeated Scots earlier this year too, but I don't think they'd win the GPS.
These games are called trials for a reason.
Kids are away, coaches are away, kids are injured, kids are playing other sports, kids are rested, kids are in rep teams, new combinations are tested etc etc.
Strange results might even happen next year too.
 

Openside

Stan Wickham (3)
....and Waverley defeated Scots earlier this year too, but I don't think they'd win the GPS.
These games are called trials for a reason.
Kids are away, coaches are away, kids are injured, kids are playing other sports, kids are rested, kids are in rep teams, new combinations are tested etc etc.
Strange results might even happen next year too.
Scots had there full 15 for that game including Kellaway, Horwitz and stewart playing in there key positions
 

Snort

Nev Cottrell (35)
Newington 42 Trinity 12

Not much more than a training run for Newington really. 14-0 at half time, and Trinity did pretty well to pull it back to 21-12 but then Newington took control in the last third of the game. Standouts for Newington were hooker Vea, and full-back Hood while scrum-half Lussick converted six from six. Newington's winger Holley was interesting - probably the biggest player on the field, but had one skill only, which was to run hard and straight. He caused havoc once or twice doing just that.

For Trinity - well, not many crumbs of comfort. Whicker had a very good game, making some sniping runs, tackling well and generally making a nuisance of himself (he plays 9 so that's a compliment). Clark probably overdid the chip-and-chase, but one spectacular regather would have led to a better result if he'd been supported. Clunies-Ross did his best to inject some thrust into the attack. The two tries were well taken. First Moala produced a barnstorming run and offloaded, too late, to Roberts. The pass was knocked down by a Newington player but Roberts regathered to score. Then there was some very adept backline work by Clark, Clunies-Ross and Pack, who grubbered ahead and either Clunies-Ross or (I think) Ebeling fell on the kick to score.

Trinity had Orr (Australian Schools) and Tiumalu-Afele out. There was a new flanker, Whitelock, who tried hard but whose most memorable contribution was to be thoroughly pole-axed by the defence on one particular hit-up.

There was yet another combination in the backs - Ebeling and Roberts in the centre, with Pack and Finn on the wings. It didn't really work. Finn looked unhappy to be on the wing and four of the six Newington tries were scored out wide. Twice fullback Hood scored by running a curving line to get outside his man, then straightening. All seaon Trinity has looked vulnerable out wide and today was no different.

The Trinity line-out remains a mess, even without Morsello as the scapregoat. Several times the ball went way over the jumper. Winning your own line-out ball should be a given, not a lottery. After two seasons it's a failure of coaching, I fear.
 

supporter

Sydney Middleton (9)
Newington 42 Trinity 12

. Winning your own line-out ball should be a given, not a lottery. After two seasons it's a failure of coaching, I fear.
-------------------------

Trinity had their opportunities to score more tries but their pick and drive should not be their weapon especially playing against Newington. Newington defence was so solid when they defend their try line.
 

Snort

Nev Cottrell (35)
OK, so the run home starts on Saturday. Really there's no reason to believe that anyone will get in Barker's way. They can lose two, maybe even three, of their last four games and still win the Plume Shield. I expect they will beat St Aloysius on Saturday, and then one more win will make it mathematically impossible for anyone to pass them.

Waverley and Trinity need to win to stay in touch. Waverley are away to Cranbrook. This was the banana skin they slipped up on last year. Cranbrook loves making things hard for Waverley. But it was 50-7, eight tries to one, in their last game and although Waverley has not impressed lately, it's hard to see Cranbrook earning the upset this time.

Which leaves Trinity at Knox. Trinity will still be pondering that thumping they took at home. Knox stormed home 31-6 and probably put an end to Trinity's hope of retaining its title. Since then Knox has got within five points of Waverley, and Trinity has lost two of its last three matches. I'd go so far as to say that Knox probably start slight favourites at home.

Trinity began the season with a number of pretty clear problems, and things haven't really improved very much. Defence out wide is pretty poor - but not, mind you, the tackling. Players like Pack and Clunies-Ross are very good one-on-one defenders. But it's not one-on-one that's the problem, but the fact that the team's defensive patterns are all over the place, so that anyone who goes wide against them finds acres of space and big overlaps. No-one slides. And there's no speedster in the pack to strengthen the cover-defence.

In attack, the backs do some good things and can score from anywhere but after a dozen games they still don't know what their best combination is. Finn has played centre, fly half and wing. Kotobalavu has played centre, wing and seconds. Pack and Roberts shuffle from centre to wing and back again. Ebeling and Naylor pop up from time to time, and so does Cho, who plays scrum-half in the seconds and sometimes wing in the Firsts. Injuries have a lot to do with this, I know. But in the closing weeks of the season, Trinity's backs still look like strangers to each other. Talented strangers, but still.

Corias seems to be back from injury, which is good, because he's the closest thing Trinity has to an open-side flanker. If Orr and Tiumalu-Afele are back, too, then the pack will have a bit more balance and power than it did against Newington. Actually, the pack pretty much held its own at the breakdown against Newington, with fewer turnovers than usual. The coaches will take some encouragement from that.

They won't be encouraged by the line-out, though. It's a mess. And there's a fairly simple answer. Harb can get airborne and he's light enough for his lifters to keep him there. Don't mess about with variations. Just chuck the ball to him. If the thrower can get the ball somewhere near him, he'll usually catch it. If he gets outjumped every now and then, well, how is that worse than what's happening now? End of heckle.
 
J

Justin Macline

Guest
will the loss of wileman affect waverley against cranbrook?
 

The Chosen

Fred Wood (13)
Anyone know what the situation is with Liam Creely at Knox. I know he was injured at Schools Championships- without him the Knox backline is pretty ordinary
 
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