news_2011_10

31/10/2011

2011 State U12 Tour Report - 2-6 October 2011

Touring Party:

Manager: Conrad Groenewald

Assistant Manager: Adam Priestly

Head Coach: Jay Brown

Assistant Coach: Scott Dalgleish

Players:

Colin Carzo, Tupu-Jonty Maualaivao, Eamon Lambert, Joshua Watson, Tayne Schoeman, Oliver Horne, Jack Butler, William Shelton, William Deck, Tyson Brown, Ta'ne Watson, Kai Lackner, Keanu Eliepa, Max Priestly, Lewis Powley, Keegan Groenewald, Connor McCarty, Douglas Bailey, Tyson Daszkowski, Patrick Sharkey, Ryan Hanks, Clifton Prior

Itinerary / Trip Details (Detailed Itinerary at end of report):

Left for Sydney on Sunday 2nd October 2011, returned to Adelaide on Thursday 6th October 2011.

Transport in Sydney was by mini-bus.

Accommodation was at the Sydney Central Youth Hostel, in the Sydney CBD.

Key Activities:

Watched the NRL Grand Final on the big screen at Brookvale Oval in Manly
Visited Darling Harbour and met up with families
Training Run at St Lukes Oval at Concord
Visit to Sydney Aquatic Centre
Visit to Games arcade and shopping in the Sydney CBD
Team dinner with parents

Matches and Results:

Match versus Victoria (Day 1):

The result of the match was 46-0 to Victoria.

All players had game time, and there were no injuries.

While the nerves of being at the event were apparent in the first game, the team scrapped well, and defended the centre of the field very well. The forwards held their own against a reasonably large opposition pack, and dominated the scrums, line outs and loose play. The Victoria backs were very good, probably the best in the tournament and had some players with great speed and evasive running skills. The tries they scored where predominantly out wide, where their backs were able to use their superior speed to their benefit, and get the ball out wide with enough room to get around our wings and make cross cover very difficult.

Our MVP for the match was William Shelton, who played exceptionally well in all facets of play.

Match versus NSW (Day 1):

The result of the match was 57-0 to NSW.

All players had game time, and there was a slight elbow injury to Jack Butler, and Eamon Lambert was having trouble breathing early in the second half, but recovered to go back on the field later in the game.

The NSW team has dominated this tournament in past years, and did so again in this tournament, beating Victoria 37-7 in the final, to remain unbeaten.

Their forward pack was very strong, with some big boys with excellent speed to the break down, and great cleaning out techniques. Our forwards fought valiantly, with some very brave rugby on display. The last 10 minutes of the first half was some of the best defense seen by the South Australian team, who managed to keep out a NSW team with all of the possession and fiercely on the attack. The half time score was 17-0, which was a fantastic result.

Unfortunately towards the end of the second half, the relentless attack of the NSW team took its toll, and the score line blew out to 57-0 with 2 tries in the last 5 minutes of the game.

Our MVP was once again William Shelton, who not only held his own, but actually dominated some of the forward exchanges.

Match versus ACT (Day2):

The result of the match was 15-14 to SA

Two players did not have any game time, and Eamon Lambert again had some trouble breathing easily in the first half.

Once again, the team were not at their best early in the game, and allowed the ACT to cross the line for two converted tries in the first half, with SA unable to score any points.

The boys then played their best rugby of the tournament in the second half, with some excellent forward work laying the foundation for Will Shelton to score 3 fantastic tries, none of which were converted, leaving SA ahead by 15-14 with about 7 minutes to play. ACT attacked hard, and once again it was the SA teams’ defensive capabilities which managed to keep the exciting ACT backs from crossing the line. The celebrations when the referee blew the final whistle were something to be remembered by this team for a very long time!