Rugby vs St. Gregory’s
Trial against St. Gregory’s
Our previous two season have been heavily impacted by sickness and this year we have been hampered by excessive rainfall. So, it seems somewhat appropriate that they combined forces on the weekend to continue causing disruption to the season. The high levels of student illness, along with the closure of grounds saw only the nine fixtures for the young men from Summer Hill. Across the nine fixtures we had a perfect split: four wins, four losses and a draw. It was particularly pleasing to see our 2nd XV clinch their first win of the season, and the continued improvement of the 14C team is truly impressive.
This week’s results were:
| 1st XV | 31-10 | 15B | Fixture Cancelled |
| 2nd XV | 14-0 | 14A | 17-21 |
| 3rd XV | 40-7 | 14B | Fixture Cancelled |
| 4th XV | Fixture Cancelled | 14C | 32-10 |
| 16A | 0-42 | 13A | 7-7 |
| 16B | 7-28 | 13B | Fixture Cancelled |
| 16C | Fixture Cancelled | 13C | Fixture Cancelled |
| 15A | 0-19 | ||
Team of the Week
Our Team of the Week v St. Pius X is:
1. Zac Bachir (7Mu) – 13A
2. George Sarandos (11St) – 2nd XV
3. William Cicinelli (10Ta) – 15A
4. Charlie Teulon (8Wh) – 14A
5. James Merry (7Ho) – 13A
6. George Louizos (10Ke) – 16A
7. Tom Jenkins (12Fo) – 3rd XV
8. Tim Park (8Du) – 14A
9. William Vaughan (10Sc) – 16B
10. Harrison Evans (12La) – 3rd XV
11. William Moir (12Hi) – 2nd XV
12. Zeke Edmed (10Fo) – 16A
13. Angus Mansfield (8Ke) – 14C
14. Ryan Mock (10Du) – 16B
15. Dane Mitchell (11La) – 1st XV – Dane was also selected as the Player of the Day
Leading Point Scorers & Leading Try Scorers
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Another two tries saw Jozef Cluff (8Ar) extend his lead at the top of the list to six tries. 1st XV captain Orly Hatton-Ward’s (11Sc) 11-point haul saw him leapfrog his way into second place with 33 points. A new name on the list this week is Sami Nasr (11Mu) who picked up a double on Saturday and now shares 2nd place on the try-scorers list, and 3rd place on the point-scorers list.
| Leading Point Scorers | |
| 57 | Jozef Cluff (8Ar) |
| 33 | Orly Hatton-Ward (11Sc) |
| 27 |
Alessio Caridi (7Sc) Sami Nasr (11Mu) |
| 26 | Jayden Rodger (7Ta) |
| 25 |
Joel Lim (7Yo) Sam Niulala (11St) |
| 23 | Logan Toohey (9Ke) |
| 20 | Amosia Soatini (10Ho) |
| 17 | Dane Mitchell (11La) |
| Leading Try Scorers | |
| 11 | Jozef Cluff (8Ar) |
| 5 | Joel Lim (7Yo), Sami Nasr (11Mu), Sam Niulala (11St) & Alessio Caridi (7Sc) |
| 4 |
Jayden Rodger (7Ta) Amosia Soatini (10Ho) |
| 3 | Noah Herden (10He), Jamieson Urch (10WH), Oliver Varone (7He), Dane Mitchell (11La), Logan Toohey (9Ke), Charles Williams (10La), Harry Cotton (10 Du), Christos Caridi (8Sc), Xavier Toomalatai (8Ho), Dom Feros (12WJ), Hunter Knight (9WH), Jaiden Timperi (12Hi) & Nelson McEnallay-Mino (12Ke) |
Mick Snowden | Director of Rugby
1st XV Match Report
Trinity’s 1st XV travelled to Campbelltown to take on St. Gregory’s College on what can best be described as an average day. Several players were battling illness and the young men in green and white could have been forgiven for looking for an excuse; thankfully once the whistle sounded, we hit the ground running.
The heavy conditions and misting rain made moving the ball difficult, with St. Greg’s early line speed causing some issues for the Trinity attack. After a 15-minute period of to-ing and fro-ing, eventual Man of the Match Dane Mitchell (11La) sliced through the line and crossed for his first try in the 1st XV. Orly Hatton-Ward (11Sc) added the extras for a 7-0 lead. Ashton Frazer (10Mu) continued his promising debut season in the 1st XV, with a massive tackle knocking the ball loose, allowing Dom Feros (12WJ) to sweep on the opportunity and race 70 metres to cross for our second try.
Another promising attacking raid from Trinity was thwarted with a St. Greg’s intercept and 50 metre runaway, bringing the score back to 14-5. Following a Lucas Young (11We) turnover, Sam Niulala (11St) bent the defensive line and got an outrageous offload away to Ashton Frazer who crossed in the corner to extend the lead to 19-5. An error just before halftime allowed St. Greg’s to score and head into the break with Trinity leading 19-10.
By the start of the second half the field had begun to give way and conditions got even tougher. Smart kicking and excellent defence saw the Green and White work their way into the St. Greg’s 22, and a quick tap and tidy footwork allowed Orly Hatton-Ward to score under the posts. The ensuing conversion pushed the score board to 26-10, which allowed the coaching staff to provide our bench players with an opportunity to impress. Mitchell Chen (11Ar), Charles Williams (10La), Jaiden timperi (12Hi), George Sarandos (11St) & Hunter Goldsbrough (12Fo) all made the most of their opportunity and played a key role in closing out the game.
The final say, though, would fall to Alisi Leao (12Mu) who crashed over after another smart piece of handling from Sam Niulala. The referee signalled for full time and Trinity made the trip back along the M7 with a win in hand. This week poses a strong challenge with Trinity at home to a very strong Shore 1st XV.
Final Score: Trinity 31 defeated St. Gregory’s 10.
Tries: Alisi Leao, Orly Hatton-Ward, Dane Mitchell, Ashton Frazer & Dominic Feros
Conversions: Orly Hatton-Ward (3)
Mr. Snowden & Mr. Pay | 1st XV Coaches
2nd XV Match Report
Despite illness and injury hampering this week’s preparations, Saturday’s away fixture against St. Gregory’s saw the Trinity 2nd XV display a spirited performance. Once again, the Lineout proved to be an area of strength for the men in green, and credit must be given to Hooker George Sarandos (11St) and jumpers Bede Dunn (11St) and Ari Nikolakopoulos (12Yo), who never looked troubled in both attacking and defensive set pieces. The three forwards, along with Lock Jacob Johnstone (11Sc), Flanker Rhys Williams (12St) and front rowers William Rule (12Ar), Charlie Naffah (11Du) and Daniel Akpinar (12Ho) also put in a great defensive performance, with excellent tackling and work at the breakdown causing several turnovers. However, despite the team’s dominance, Trinity struggled to put points on the board and both sides went into halftime locked at 0-0. Nevertheless, following instructions at the break, the second half resulted in a much more pleasing and clinical performance from the visitors. With the 9, 10 and 12 combination of Hunter Goldsbrough (12Fo), Cooper Vimpany (12Mu) and Hugo Reed (11Ho) beginning to control the tempo of the game and stretch the St. Gregory’s defence, it wasn’t long before the back three of Hugh Browning (12Du), Will Moir (12Hi) and Kelvin Kong (11Ar) spectacularly broke the line on several occasions. All that attacking pressure eventually took its toll on the home side and it wasn’t long before Trinity capitalised. Firstly, Lock Liam Cavanagh (11Ar) put Centre Jaiden Timperi (12Hi) through a hole to give Trinity a 7-0 lead, only to then score his own try five minutes later and cap off a positive second half performance to give the Trinity 2nds a well-deserved 14-0 victory.
Final Score: Trinity 14 defeated St. Gregory’s 0.
Tries: Jaiden Timperi and Liam Cavanagh
Conversions: Hugo Reed (2)
Mr. M Kearsley and Mr. M Di Paola
3rd XV Match Report
Braving wet conditions and down on troops, the combined might of the 3s/4s squad journeyed to Campbelltown to take on St. Gregory’s. The boys were keen to turn around their narrow loss last week and started strong in the muddy conditions. The first 15 minutes of the match saw St. Greg’s throw some big bodies at our men, but the green and white wall held strong.
Through stout defence from Rory Clunas (12Yo) and strong runs from Elias Sidiropoulos (12Yo), Trinity opened the scoring out wide through Sami Nasr (11Mu). St. Greg’s responded quickly with a try from a kick and it was soon locked at 7-all. Shortly before half-time Eden Taouk (12WJ) made a herculean run and scored his first-ever rugby try to give Trinity a 14-7 lead at the break. Spirits were high and the coaches were pleased that the team was sticking to the game plan and showing that structure beats strength.
Receiving the ball in the second half, captain Tom Jenkins (12Fo) set the tone with an immense charge and Blake Hui (12Ta) crossed over to extend the lead. This had the bench up and cheering, none more so than Joshua Lee (11Ar) who was chomping at the bit to get back on the field.
Liam Clayton (12Fo) and Hugh Macmaster (12Sc) managed the game well through their kicking game and when Harrison Evans (12La) wasn’t busy breaking tackles, he was putting his outside backs into space. Further tries to Eden Taouk, Sami Nasr and Nelson McEnallay-Mino (12Ke) lead the team to a comprehensive 40–7 victory.
Overall, the boys played with terrific team spirit and displayed humility in victory. This was their greatest win of the trial games so far and sets high hopes leading into the CAS rounds.
Final Score: Trinity 40 defeated St. Gregory’s 7.
Tries: Sami Nasr (2), Eden Taouk (2), Blake Hui and Nelson McEnallay-Mino
Conversions: Sami Nasr (2), Harrison Evans (2) and Eden Taouk (1)
Mr. Finch | 3rd XV Coach
14C Match Report
On Saturday (21/5), Trinity 14Cs rugby were given the hard task of playing St Gregory’s 14Cs on their home turf. The conditions were against the students, with constant rain creating a mud-bowl for a rugby field. However, the students were prepared. The start of the game showed some great runs down the middle from Isaac Sandroussi (8We) and Matthew Nada (8Sc). Eli Campbell (8Sc) showed some great growth in his ruck control and Angus Mansfield (8Ke) lead the team into the half-time with a great try and assist. The second-half was a fierce battle due to St Gregory’s making some tactical changes to their line-up, but the students, led by Hudson Myliotis (8Yo) were able to hold control of the game and solidify their first win of the season. It was a fantastic game by the students that featured some excellent individual and team growth.
Final Score: Trinity 32 defeated St. Gregory’s 10.
Tries: Hunter Knight (3), Angus Mansfield (2) and Hugo France (1)
Conversions: Angus Mansfield
Mr. McKee | 16B Coach
13A Match Report
The team arrived to a playing surface of dreams – a muddy St Greg’s paddock. In the weather we’ve been having every game we can play counts, and there was plenty the team could take from the experience. In the first half Trinity had forward momentum and Zac Bachir (7Mu) capitalised with a try. As the game went on the opposition were persistent in putting pressure on our defence with direct running. Scores levelled and remained that way until the final whistle. Christopher McAuley (7WH) was a terrier in defence and James Merry (7Ho) showed great improvement in his running game. The team looks forward to our next fixture and to continue improving each week.
Final Score: Trinity 7 drew with St. Gregory’s 7.
Tries: Zac Bachir
Conversions: Marcus Prideaux
Mr. Miller | 13A Coach
