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ADDED TUESDAY 30/09/2008 DAY ONE, NATIONAL UNDER 16 CHAMPIONSHIPS, NUDGEE COLLEGE. Under the angriest of angry balls in the sky, underdog NSW Country went within a whisker of causing the Under 16 boilover of the last few years. They could have, should have, wanted to, tried to, deserved to, but just failed at the death to put the highly fancied, but undisciplined NSW Schools to the sword. This will be a match that will long be lamented as the one that got away, the one that was let slip by a NSW Country outfit that delivered passion with performance. First though, the weather. Can someone please do something about it. It was that hot yesterday they would have called swimming carnivals and waterpolo matches off. We could have turned iron ore into steel without the need for coal. I am not sure whether climate change is more prevalent in the northern reaches of Brisbane or not, but I think it was the hottest conditions I have viewed rugby in, let alone ever giving a thought to playing. NSW Country certainly looked smaller than the big highly fancied schools outfit, but the warm up heralded some warnings, the schools side struggled to catch a ball in some simple run through drills. Country started the game with all the real estate, and missed two early penalty shots, they were a way out but the kicks were boomers and only just missed. They struck soon after with a nicely constructed try to their right winger, and another booming kick saw 5 become 7. Schools visited the red zone straight after and scored, a worrying defensive sign for Country, unconverted, 7 to 5. After controlling territory for so long, and allowing Schools one visit for one scoring result, Country should have been troubled mentally. Two second half penalties to Country and a second half try saw the Country boys lead 16 to 10, then 16 to 15. Country also had a kick hit the posts, and from where I was sitting, the rebound was touched by a Schools guy then picked up by another Schools guy in front of him, should have gone to another penalty to Country. However, rugby often doesn't work that way, and Schools, in the last 4 or 5 minutes, posted another unconverted try to go up 20 to 16. The last patch, and particularly the 3 or 4 minutes after fulltime when Country were awarded a series of penalties in the attack zone, were all Country. During this series of penalties, Country will see on video they took some bad decisions in attack, and should have scored easily on one occasion with the correct decision. However, it was not to be, and the seeding system stays intact. Most unfortunate for mine, Country winning would have been a great result for the tournament. All the talk was about the NSW Country 10 and 13, the Cox twins, who incidentally will be at TSS in 2009. They are OK, for sure but I am not sure what some people watch. If the NSW Country number 7 and captain, Tom Connor from Kiama, wasn't best on field by one of those NSW Country miles, then I know nothing about the game. If they were/are selecting an Australian side, this guy is in it for mine. They will say he is too small, but he is just what you want in a seven and delivered alot of critical turnovers and tackles, all game. From here the rugby deteriorated somewhat. I understand the Qld Red boys played pretty well in the first half, but I was engaged in some social chit chat and missed most of this game. The second half was pretty ordinary footy, dominated by the refs whistle. Two cards to Qld Red should see them worried about that level of indiscipline. The match finished with a stunning piece of individual brilliance and long range try from young Chris Sautia, who at 15 years of age, showed he is more than comfortable representing his state a year above his age group. This guy will be opening the eyes of many I am sure. The Reds will have to work very hard to beat Sydney Juniors on Wednesday. My Qld Red vs Brumbies Photogallery can be found here: I caught the first half century of points from the National Indigenous side over Tasmania. They play the razzle dazzle style and are always entertaining to watch. They will no doubt easily win division 2, as they seem to each year, and provide plenty of entertainment along the way. I caught most of the first half of Sydney Juniors vs Western Australia, but the game never really got going in that half. Western Australia look alot stronger than they did last year. Qld White looked the most controlled of all the sides running around in division 1, with a pretty good display from their 10, Dion Taumata from Keebra Park, quite a big, robust operator. Lucas Frater at 15 was very strong at 2 in the lineout, as was new rugby player Mitch Carpenter from Pittsworth State High School. Again this game seemed to be over refereed, but players need to take control of what they are doing on the field as well, and change what they do to get the game flowing. The white guys certainly shut Victoria out of the match, and were helped with the awarding of their second try, scored right in front of me, and I thought right beside the ref and TJ, a clear dropped ball. How much that influences each side from there on is an unknown factor. Qld White can certainly beat NSW Schools with a composed performance. Didn't see enough of Sydney Juniors or Qld Red to make any calls on that game coming up on Wednesday. My Qld White vs Vic photogallery can be found here: Look forward to the day, and I will have to try and be a little less sociable during the games, sorry about that folks. Got plenty of good photos of the games, however they are only to help me tell a story in this particular case. The good people from sportography have the sale rights and you can find them at www.sportography.com.au , they have some great gear and do a great job. It might take me a week to get anything up in any case.
A few shots of young Matt Lucas.
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