Waratah Shield 2013

[Schools Rugby Tribune]

There is a match report on Schools Rugby Tribune.

First half even, but Auggies were superb in the second half.

 

[Lee Grant]

Is that the final score ? Thanks for your updates, Wood Rat. When you get some time, any chance for a report ? Myself and others would love it. Cheers

I did a blog on the match here Rock:

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/st-augustines-win-waratah-shield-for-fifth-time/
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[The Rock]

I did a blog on the match here Rock:

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/st-augustines-win-waratah-shield-for-fifth-time/
.

Cheers Lee, great Post.

 

[Quick Hands]

They can't.

Surely you do not want a three game four team Waratah Shield Competition that starts at Semis with Scots v Augies and NEW v Barker with the winners playing off for the shield.

The same philosophy would see a RWC with only the top 4 ranked nations participating. I mean what hope does Japan, Scotland, Italy or Ireland really have of winning? Why do they bother wasting their time and effort to show up when they have no chance of winning?

The Shute Shield would start and finish in August with only Manly, Woodies, the Hobbits and the Students playing. None of the rest have any chance.

Sport is about participation and development, both personally and as a team. Winning is nice but it isn't everything, and many people participate in sporting events knowing that they have no realistic chance of winning the premiership.

It's not about what I want or don't want, it's just the reality.

I don't think it's realistic to compare semi-professional adults in Shute Shield or semi-professional adults representing their country, with amateur boys in a school competition.

It's not about winning or losing - it's about being competitive. There is a difference between going out against a strong team, playing your best and losing 35-12 and going out in a complete mis-match and losing 80 or 100 nil and getting physically belted in the process, particularly when rugby isn't your main sport and you have school and other issues to worry about.

Students, schools and parents are voting with their feet and not entering.

I'm extremely fortunate to have played at a time when most games were quite close, and scores over 30 were a rarity. I know when I was refereeing juniors, once the score got above 60, I'd call full-time.

 

[Quick Hands]

They might just have fun in the process

Fun getting belted 80-100 nil by boys twice your size and strength??

That's what was happening in the early rounds and so the next year, the school either didn't enter or as soon as they came up against a big rugby school they forfeited.

It might sound fun, but it's not - particularly if someone is seriously hurt in one of these mismatches.

 

[Quick Hands]

I did a blog on the match here Rock:

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/st-augustines-win-waratah-shield-for-fifth-time/
.

St. Augustine's are a class team. To beat that Oakhill side by 42 points - wow!

 

[RugbyTears]

Gee, wonder why they cut St Edmund's out of the comp. ?!

Officially Eddies was banned from playing in the Waratah Shield for a couple of years because they are based in the ACT -- what they really should do is banned any team coached by Papahatzis to make it a more even comp His record at Eddies was sensational, and now what he has done at Auggies is even more remarkable. Not just 1st XV but right across the board.

 

[Runner]

So that would include the successful ISA reps and NSW. Sounds like a plot from Qld.

 

[Quick Hands]

Officially Eddies was banned from playing in the Waratah Shield for a couple of years because they are based in the ACT -- what they really should do is banned any team coached by Papahatzis to make it a more even comp His record at Eddies was sensational, and now what he has done at Auggies is even more remarkable. Not just 1st XV but right across the board.

It's not ony his win/loss record, but the way his teams play the game. High speed, high skill. He played for Randwick and still has that philosphy.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

There can't be too many John Papahatzis about.

While looking for something completely different, I stumbled across a reference to a John Papahatzis playing second row for Easts in the ACT (around July 1978).

Others have said he was a Randwick Junior. Was he teaching at Eddies (or studying at ANU or the like) and playing for Easts ACT in 78?

 

[Wood Rat]

Fun getting belted 80-100 nil by boys twice your size and strength??

That's what was happening in the early rounds and so the next year, the school either didn't enter or as soon as they came up against a big rugby school they forfeited.

It might sound fun, but it's not - particularly if someone is seriously hurt in one of these mismatches.

as far as I can see this has been addressed by providing qualifying rounds for "minnows" and calling it the Warratah cup. This was discussed during the presentation speeches and results, or links to result lists, have been posted sporadically in this thread. both finalists in the cup have the opportunity to play in the Warratah shield

Epping Boys High were one of the teams that qualified for "The Shield" in this manner and were unlucky enough to draw St Augustines in the 1/4 final. Their result against Augies was not significantly worse than any other team in this competition, and would possibly have given the other three semi-finalists a good run.

the other mechanism used to quarentine less qualified competitors from disasters was to provide last years finalist with buy rounds at the start of the shield comp. This was questioned by some posters earlier in this thread but results and the post by Quick Hands quoted, give explanation for this option.

Funnily enough the cup was spoken of as something new, but I thought I recall teams qualifying for the shield quarter finals by winning the cup 30 years ago

 

[Wood Rat]

The difficulty of having to play through the qualifiers is the time and game commitment this requires. And the commitment of School staff and/or parent volunteers in amongst a possibly/probably full schooling and sporting program. This was demonstrated again by the lads from Epping having to play in two competitions in the same day.

Extreme examples could see players from a different association playing e.g. Warratah Cup Tuesday MCS league Thursday CCC rep Rugby Saturday Club rugby Sunday if you are still standing. Include Training and rediscovering brain cell for learning.

being with one of the "super powers" doesn't reduce the commitment much but on an overfull plate any relief if valuable

 

[Wood Rat]

Is there a story around the team named on the back of the shield
a team from the 1920s
the squad is named and their win/draw loss ratio noted

 

[Quick Hands]

There can't be too many John Papahatzis about.

While looking for something completely different, I stumbled across a reference to a John Papahatzis playing second row for Easts in the ACT (around July 1978).

Others have said he was a Randwick Junior. Was he teaching at Eddies (or studying at ANU or the like) and playing for Easts ACT in 78?

He was in Canberra before he went to Augustines, I assume he moved there about that time.

 

[The Rock]

Give Papahatzis a go with the Wallabies and watch a fast entertaining game with less kicking and how he utilise his backline on speed and moves.
I have watch a lot of coaches over the years and he is the Best. The facts speak for themselves.

 

[Lee Grant]

They hardly kicked a ball from hand yesterday Rock.

Part of that was their predilection for running the ball at all times, but another part was that the star player of their opponents was Ben Cotton, a considerable fullback in a year of excellent NSW Schools fullbacks.

They didn't want him to run the ball back.

Pappa has his detractors and we all remember what he did a couple of years ago as NSW I coach and selector, and the reasons he did what he did.

I said at the time when people pilloried him: Australian Schools rugby needed more Pappas - not fewer.

We need more rugby missionaries who do good works.
.

 

[Quick Hands]

as far as I can see this has been addressed by providing qualifying rounds for "minnows" and calling it the Warratah cup. This was discussed during the presentation speeches and results, or links to result lists, have been posted sporadically in this thread. both finalists in the cup have the opportunity to play in the Warratah shield

Epping Boys High were one of the teams that qualified for "The Shield" in this manner and were unlucky enough to draw St Augustines in the 1/4 final. Their result against Augies was not significantly worse than any other team in this competition, and would possibly have given the other three semi-finalists a good run.

the other mechanism used to quarentine less qualified competitors from disasters was to provide last years finalist with buy rounds at the start of the shield comp. This was questioned by some posters earlier in this thread but results and the post by Quick Hands quoted, give explanation for this option.

Funnily enough the cup was spoken of as something new, but I thought I recall teams qualifying for the shield quarter finals by winning the cup 30 years ago

The Waratah Cup is a great initiative as it gives schools without a full-time rugby programme the chance to compete against like schools and have a realistic chance of winning the thing.

Full marks to whoever thought of it.