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St Andrews vs Burnside – 1 May 2010

4 May 2010

My first experience of 1^st XV rugby, and what a great introduction.

From the sound of the school song emanating from the changing room, the pipes, the guard of honour and the haka, it was obvious this was going to be a spectacle, and the boys didn’t disappoint.

Conditions were good with the threatened showers gone and a moderate southwest breeze.

StAC had the kickoff, and within a minute, Burnside had infringed, one of their players was yellow carded, and Richie Mo’unga kicked the penalty to put StAC in the lead 3-0.

It was evident shortly after that StAC had the upper hand in this game, and they went close to scoring 3 times in the next 10 minutes with only desperate defence from Burnside preventing it.
Burnside, on their only time into their half in the 1^st 15 minutes, levelled the score with a good penalty from close to the touchline.

Shortly after, the floodgates opened and StAC scored 3 tries, 2 of which were converted, virtually from the kickoff each time.

Burnside got a 2^nd chance in their half after a long kickoff, and a series of penalties and rucks close to their line, saw them score a try after close to 5 minutes camped inside their 10m, and dogged defence from StAC. This was unconverted.
Another yellow card to Burnside and StAC scored a converted try after a drive from the resulting lineout. Half time score 27-8.

The 2^nd half gave no respite to Burnside with StAC scoring from the kickoff and adding a further 5 tries to their half time score, 3 of which were converted. All of the tries in the 2^nd half were scored by the backs, 4 from penalty kicks to touch, good lineout wins and slick passing and fancy footwork from the backline.

The penalty count, for both teams, seemed rather excessive, and in the 2^nd half, in particular, stopped the flow of the game, if not the rate of scoring.

Tries                                                                                                  Conversions

Hector Roose-Clark               2                                                    Richie Mo’unga     5

Martin Solofua                       1                                                   

Matt Brabazon                        1                                                    Penalties

James Fairbairn                      1                                                    Richie Mo’unga     1

Harry Railton                            1

Connor McKay                       1

Ash McConville                      1

Junior Sitigata                          1

Final Score 58-8

This was a true team effort, with the forwards dominating set pieces, driving through the rucks and backing up well, to provide a platform for the backs to show their skills. Every player out there, from the new boys having their first start, to the seasoned pros, contributed to make this a wonderful spectacle.

As an aside, I was told after the game by one of last year’s parents that StAC have now scored more points in these first 2 games, than for the whole of last season.

Keep up the good work StAC, 2 great wins now, with signs there are plenty more to come.

Juliet Brabazon

Parent