CAS Rugby 2015

[SonnyDillWilliams]

That is no good re Renton ... seems like he is a bit injury prone ... hopefully he will be back, for the season start.

Were Spira and Hill back on deck, for the Shore game?

I gather Cranbrook has a NZ tour ...so hopefully Cranbrook doesn't get shown-up by a lack of depth.

I keep seeing former Cranbrook stars with kids now at Waverley ... latest being Grant Lodge ... distinctly remember him in a match versus Joeys back in the 80s ...

Waverley also has a NZ tour, but I think they have good depth, and a pretty expansive 1st and 2nd squad, that really only lacks in terms of scrummaging, and maybe genuine tall timber

where is Lee Grant? Someone going to cobble together a season preview ... including Tom Waterhouse odds

 

[Gary Owen III]

That is no good re Renton . seems like he is a bit injury prone . hopefully he will be back, for the season start.

Were Spira and Hill back on deck, for the Shore game?

I gather Cranbrook has a NZ tour .so hopefully Cranbrook doesn't get shown-up by a lack of depth.

I keep seeing former Cranbrook stars with kids now at Waverley . latest being Grant Lodge . distinctly remember him in a match versus Joeys back in the 80s .

Waverley also has a NZ tour, but I think they have good depth, and a pretty expansive 1st and 2nd squad, that really only lacks in terms of scrummaging, and maybe genuine tall timber

where is Lee Grant? Someone going to cobble together a season preview . including Tom Waterhouse odds

Cranbrook teams as per program were

1st XV
1. Rathie
2. Antico
3. Hill
4. Stenmark
5. Clifton-Bligh
6. Kemeny
7. Szangolies
8. Matters
9. Doyle
10. Searl
11. Stewart
12. McNiven
13. Renton
14. Quin
15. Wilson

2nd XV

1. Chirnside
2. Suriano
3. Barakat
4. Tanne
5. Nolan.
6. Schiller
7. Burston
8. Doohan
9. Harrington
10. Burcher
11. Fagan
12. Negus
13. Gibson
14. Sprague
15. Tierney
16. Senes
17. Reynolds
18. Spira (but wore 17)
19. Anderson
20. Coppola

Spira came on at half time in the 2nds and scored a solo try from the base of a wheeling scrum.

 

[Rover]

^^^ Thoughts on this Cranbrook lineup compared to last year ??

 

[SonnyDillWilliams]

I had been expecting the Match of Round 1, to be the Knox v Barker,
however with Knox looking so dominant, and Barker struggling

I think crunch match for Round 1 will be Waverley v Trinity, at D/valley

... Waves are touring NZ ... not sure who they and Cranbrook would be playing as most of the NZ rugby nurseries are otherwise engaged ....

meanwhile I gather Trinity isn't doing a tour ... and instead highly-rated, and former joint Waverley coach (Engele) will have a rugby camp, and build-up games against Redfield, Sydney Grammar and St Pats

trinity has some excellent players (several who were already excellent last year), and with the only question mark being depth ... it could be a repeat of the last round (of 2014) which was fiery (particularly in the 2nds, with the claret flowing)...

either way, I think this game should good give a good guide on whether either of these sides have any chance against Knox

 

[bighit123]

Aloys to Auckland. Training camp and 1 game vs Kings College

 

[Lee Grant]

Are there any forum members who would be interested in writing match reports on CAS games this year?

We try to get a three-page blog out every week with a match on each page.

Or maybe you take photos during a game and you can forward a few. They can be added to somebody else's writing and lift the whole report.

Would anybody interested in providing writing or photos please send me a "convo" by clicking on Inbox and then on "Start a new conversation."

Thank you
.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

As well as the weekly match reports, are there any takers for a CAS Season Preview?

You don't need to cover all the schools, and a 200-400 word report on each of the schools you are familiar with would suffice with the overall 2015 CAS season preview being assembled as a collaborative effort.

 

[Lee Grant]

Thanks for the heads up but Snort will do the preview - though I haven't asked him to yet.

Last I looked I couldn't find the CAS fixture list - anybody got a link? I can find the 2014 fixtures but not those of 2015.

Also if anybody knows any details of trial games between now and the start of the season (teams, venue, time of 1sts) please post them.

Thanks
.

 

[WavesToWin]

That is no good re Renton . seems like he is a bit injury prone . hopefully he will be back, for the season start.

Were Spira and Hill back on deck, for the Shore game?

I gather Cranbrook has a NZ tour .so hopefully Cranbrook doesn't get shown-up by a lack of depth.

I keep seeing former Cranbrook stars with kids now at Waverley . latest being Grant Lodge . distinctly remember him in a match versus Joeys back in the 80s .

Waverley also has a NZ tour, but I think they have good depth, and a pretty expansive 1st and 2nd squad, that really only lacks in terms of scrummaging, and maybe genuine tall timber

where is Lee Grant? Someone going to cobble together a season preview . including Tom Waterhouse odds

7/4/15 - Waves travelling to Christchurch where they play St Thomas of Canterbury College

9/4/15 - Waves in Dunedin where they play Kings High School (same as Alloys?)

11/4/15 - Waves in Invercargill, playing Gore High School

Few days before and after the respective games for travelling, training, leisure, sightseeing etc.

 

[BigKev]

No actually I'm not . Trinity drew with stannies with Morris (inside centre), wayland (prop/number 8) and Sitiene (10) all missing . Now barker got smashed by this same stannies side . Alloys is alloys . Cranbrook will be very depleted this year with the likes of summerhays, Renton, makas, Harrison , banks , Mahoney and edelstein all gone . These players were all instrumental to the premiership . That means it will be close at the top with trinity , waverly and Knox.

I'm keen to see this season even more underway (it should be a cracker) but at this stage we can only offer educated speculations. Affiliations aside, all we really have to work with is the pre-season results which would have the table looking something like this
1. Knox
2. Waverley
3/4. Aloys and Trinity (couldn't separate, both had very young sides last year too)
5. Cranbrook
6. Barker
Let me stress that I don't think this will be the actual table, just one we can somewhat base on facts (which in some cases is just one game against stannies). To say 'Aloys is "Alloys"' isn't really fair in my opinion. In years past I've been a believer in the idea that pre-season talk can be pretty cheap which only makes the final results more interesting when you compare them to tables like the one I made up. However, I would be interested in hearing the opinions on pre-season international tours (or lack of, for some schools) and then seeing if they produce tangible results.

 

[SonnyDillWilliams]

You have to laugh.

Caught up with an old mate, he is an old knox boy.

When he found out my son was at waverley, the look on his face ...

It was like I"d announced he was in long bay jail

He then relayed this story of this mate of his, and apparently a mate of james packers

Who went to waverley and then cranbrook ... Back in the 80s

Apparently he had recently attended, the 30 year reunions of both schools

Apparently the waverley reunion was "so gangsta"

Is that an expression people use?

I guess .... At the waverley do..... they weren't kitted out from double bays squire shop.

Anyway obviously cranners proved more acceptable

Anyway it got funnier ... He was saying best thing about the home and away cas rugby, is you don't have to bother with watching the away games

By his thinking knox had won last years comp, as the 2 losses were both away games

Anyway I think it was all a bit tongue in cheak

But he did start devising ways to fix waverley

From turning it into barker, by combining it with st Clare's

Getting sergeant majors ... At this point I thought he was going to suggest armed snipers on the parapets

Getting British gap kids to coach rugby, as scots college apparently does ... Keeps accents from turning too aussie

He attributed the sins of waverley rugby to the old boy coaches

Anyway it was all pretty funny, he even conceded with sydney property prices doing so well, my clovelly house might actually (now)be worth something

Even if my house sits on land no bigger than his expansive gravel drive

Anyway his wife ( could of sworn she had a ribbon in her hair) brought out the hot cross buns and she looked a bit anxious that my son was casing the joint

It sure looked like something out of the southern highlands .... Anyway I guess it just reminded me of the cultural divide, that is all good fun

I told him he should come to Death Valley for the knox game .... He told me no, if he wanted to see bottles thrown, he'd go to a souths bulldogs game.

I wanted to tell, my knoxian mate, about my fav new player at waves ... They call him the honeybadger, and he is a dead ringer, and quite the character

Anyway I thought his wife might think me a nut, so I decided against it

Anyway safely back in the east, and no my son didn't pinch anything ... Just in case you were wondering

 

[oldandslow]

Wayland captained the South Harbour side in the NSW Junior Gold Cup (wearing 1 but playing 8) and the responsibility appears to sit well with him. He displayed a more mature approach which exhibited by him remaining a powerful ball runner and heavy hitter in defence, but without any of the silly stuff or ill discipline. His fitness and work rate also look up.

It is early days, and pre-season results count for nothing at the end of the season, but I don't think there is any reason why Knox wouldn't be going is as the team to beat again this year.

Waverley may give them a run and are unlikely to get dusted up so badly in 2015 as they did last year, where they conceded 141 points in their first three games against Trinity, Knox and Cranbrook and had their chances for the season dashed early.

Aloys were extremely plucky last year and I'm really looking forward to seeing them play.

Trinity isn't just getting a few kids who were blooded last year back, they have retained most of their stronger performers from 2014 (eg McClennan, Rasch, Longville, Morris, Wayland).

All of Waverley, Trinity, Barker and Aloys got badly dusted up at times last year, so will be looking to their defensive efforts early in the season.

Obviously Aloys and Trinity don't appear to have the depth of the likes of Knox and Waves, but their 1st XV sides look competitive and with some luck on the injury front I'd expect them to be capable of some surprising results this year.

Time will tell...

 

[oldandslow]

Does anyone know the draw?

 

[Elfster]

Does anyone know the draw?

I think the draw is the same as last year, but with the home sides switched. So the draw would be the same as 2013, which probably makes more sense than the first line. The season starts on the first weekend of May.

 

[Rover]

Wayland captained the South Harbour side in the NSW Junior Gold Cup (wearing 1 but playing 8) and the responsibility appears to sit well with him. He displayed a more mature approach which exhibited by him remaining a powerful ball runner and heavy hitter in defence, but without any of the silly stuff or ill discipline. His fitness and work rate also look up.

It is early days, and pre-season results count for nothing at the end of the season, but I don't think there is any reason why Knox wouldn't be going is as the team to beat again this year.

Waverley may give them a run and are unlikely to get dusted up so badly in 2015 as they did last year, where they conceded 141 points in their first three games against Trinity, Knox and Cranbrook and had their chances for the season dashed early.

Aloys were extremely plucky last year and I'm really looking forward to seeing them play.

Trinity isn't just getting a few kids who were blooded last year back, they have retained most of their stronger performers from 2014 (eg McClennan, Rasch, Longville, Morris, Wayland).

All of Waverley, Trinity, Barker and Aloys got badly dusted up at times last year, so will be looking to their defensive efforts early in the season.

Obviously Aloys and Trinity don't appear to have the depth of the likes of Knox and Waves, but their 1st XV sides look competitive and with some luck on the injury front I'd expect them to be capable of some surprising results this year.

Time will tell.

I agree and if alloys have a stellar season then I will take my hat off to them . Although Knox appear the strongest I believe a strong and raring alloys and trinity side could really shake this season up .

 

[Elfster]

Knox play their now traditional away trial fixture against St Pats on the 18th. As St Pats also play against Trinity and maybe one other CAS school it should give some indication of relative strengths.

It should be an interesting competition this year with the 'young' sides of last year: Waverley, Trinity and Aloys beingfar more competitive. Though Knox has also retained a strong core of their 1sts.

Though Knox may be warm favourites, from what I have seen they may have depth issues as well. There was a gap between the 1sts and 2nds in their outings against St Augustines and Joeys. There were also some defensive and scrummage issues, notably against Augustines (who looked quite a formidable side). However there was also an improvement in Knox's plat from Augustines to Joeys.

I think depth may play a big role this year, with all sides potentially having issues. In all schools other codes have made their mark or schools allow the kids greater ability to play other sports. Even in one could be considered some the traditional Rugby nurseries, the ARU have dropped the ball a bit.

 

[Lineup14]

7/4/15 - Waves travelling to Christchurch where they play St Thomas of Canterbury College

9/4/15 - Waves in Dunedin where they play Kings High School (same as Alloys?)

11/4/15 - Waves in Invercargill, playing Gore High School

Few days before and after the respective games for travelling, training, leisure, sightseeing etc.

It appears Waves have decided to play the least maori schools NZ has to offer

 

[SonnyDillWilliams]

Probably sensible decision I'd suggest ...

any word on how the various touring parties are going? Including Cranners et al

Did that Zac Casadarilis not go on the Waverley tour? If not, hopefully not an injury ?

I reckon Cooper Murphy is one to watch ... his old man apparently played 1st Grade for Roosters ... and while I always thought the youngest of the litter was the "star", it looks like Cooper is coming good, and could be a key part of what is shaping up as a very good (IMHO) Waverley backline

Any info on where and when Trinity is playing this weekend?

 

[Inside Shoulder]

My spies tell me Cranners got a bit of a touch up in Pukekohe last weekend.
Trinity are playing Grammar next Friday, I think, and Grammar and Cranbrook are playing some time after that.

 

[oldandslow]

My spies tell me Cranners got a bit of a touch up in Pukekohe last weekend.
Trinity are playing Grammar next Friday, I think, and Grammar and Cranbrook are playing some time after that.

I think Trinity plays Southern Districts U18s at Woolahra Oval at 11am Saturday.