Match Reports
Senior Rugby Match Reports
All Match Reports will be posted on this page by no later than 5pm on the Tuesday after the game is played. If the match report is missing or not up to date please contatct the person responsible for each report as outlined in the section below
1st Grade Match Report - Shane Carty
2nd Grade Match Report - Dave Sturmer
3rd Grade Match Report - Ryan Morris
4th Grade Match Report - Anthony Salerno
Colts Match Report - Tim Calvert
BARRACLOUGH CUP (1st Grade)
St Ives 19 v Hunters Hill 26
Tries: Chas Bickersteth/Matt Harvey/Ben Cartwright
Cons/Pens: Matt Harvey
Best & Fairest: 3 Matt Harvey 2 The Rest of the Team
Players Player: Matt Harvey
This was always going to be our toughest challenge. Playing against the log leaders, Hunters Hill would be a good test as gauge how far we had progressed our mental approach through the season. As a reminder, HH beat us by 40 points when we last played them. 4 tries were scored in the last 10 minutes of that game because or defensive and structural lapses.
A further reminder that the Saints team were armed with a new combination of backs. Tom Cockburn, James Shaw Taylor, Chuck Bickersteth, Ben Cartwright and James True had not played together as a unit. Added to this, Paul Peterson was a late withdrawal from the team and we had to draft Andrew Every into the team after he had played a full game for the 2nds.
The Saints new positive attitude was prevalent in the warm up. Our plan of attack was to take it to the HH forwards and try and dominate. Once we had settled in we would gradually use our backs to take us forward. The initial plan was well executed through some good driving of the forwards which resulted in a penalty which unfortunately saw Matt Harvey's attempt at goal missed. Good pressure by the Saints continued and after 20 minutes of the game we had more time in the HH 22 metre area than they did. 2 tries were scored by HH penetrating through the middle of ruck and with good hand to hand skills resulted in 2 tries being scored by them. These were disappointing soft tries against the Saints. 14 -0 and the "old" Saints would have hung their heads. Not the new Saints. They bounced back and the forwards again set up good quick ball which resulted in a great try being scored out wide by Chuck Bickersteth. HH came back and scored a good try just before half time to put the score at 21-7 at half time. Again the new positive attitude of the Saints showed itself after the break. HH surged forward and nearly got over the try line but some desperate defence saw Matt Harvey clear the ball back towards the Saints 22 metre line. Great surges by the Saints forwards set up more opportunities at the HH try line. Eventually our applied pressure saw Matt Harvey take a quick tap from a penalty and barge his way over for a good try under the posts. 5 minutes later a good punt downfield was well gathered by Ben Cartwright who stepped passed the HH fulback to score the Saint 3rd try. This was a great reward for Ben who put in some really good worked off the ball pressurising the opposition players whenever the ball came there way. We continued applying pressure for the last 5 minutes of the game, but alas, could not score a try to even the scores. The final score 26-19.
St Ives 0 v Hunters Hill 17
Best & Fairest: 3 Andrew Hill 2 Doug Bennie 1 Sam Gibson/Akshay Masters
Players Player: Askhay Masters
Game three (3) for me as a 2nd grade Coach in a very short space of time and another bunch of fresh faces to take the third step in building our structure that can support 1st Grade. The score was not our objective, yes we halved the first round flogging but what was achieved by all in 2nd Grade for me, was a major step looking squarely at 2012 season.
For the first 15 minutes HH camped on our line and the blue wall did not crack, our defensive structure grew but we forgot about the Refs whistle and allowed two soft tries and our Pillar & Post went missing in action. Towards the end of the first half we gained momentum and camped on their line with plenty of opportunity but failed to capitalise.
The second half again saw the lack of making the first up tackles and those misses cost us again. To the credit and of spirit 2nds Grade they fought back only to be denied the rewards, but that will come.
I’m extremely proud of 2nd Grade today, they really were the real deal again. Given more time we could be world beaters in the knowledge we came from all over to become a competitive team.
Thank you and well done 2nd Grade
St Ives 15 v Hunters Hill 17
Tries: Tom Williams/Tai Haireka
Cons/Pens: Jason Smith
Best & Fairest: 3 Andrew Every 2 Werner Jordaan 1 Tom William
Players Player: Andrew Every
It was an interesting warm up seeing higher grade coaches putting Hunters Hill through their drills before the game and Saints Blunt Cup Squad knew they were up against it and were confident of keeping their unbeaten streak at Fortress Hassall alive.
Unfortunately a try to Hunters straight from the kickoff saw them jump to an early 5 nil lead before Jay Smith kicked a penalty to put Saints on the board. Confusion in the Hunters backline saw Tom Williams swoop and score under the posts and at half time Saints led 10-5.
We spoke at the break about patience and discipline and how if we maintained our composure we could see the other team off. Unfortunately it was execution that let us down in the 2nd half.
2 quick tries to Hunters saw them jump out to a 17-10 lead - one of them because of poor defence where JL was doing his best turnstile impersonation. Many 3rd grade teams of years gone past would have hung their heads and let the opposition run away with the game but the 2011 edition of Blunties are made of sterner stuff.
JL somewhat made up for his error with a good break and pass to Tom who streaked down the field and passed to Tai who scored in the corner. 17 -15 was to be the fulltime score with neither team looking likely to score in the last 5 minutes.
Best on the day was Evers and Werner with Tom Williams and full marks to Rev and Jimmy in the engine room to stand up to basically a 1st grade front row.
Silly errors and a couple of bad reads in defence cost us in the end but 3rds know they are a premiership threat.
St Ives 7 v Hunters Hill 27
Tries: Rohan Williams
Cons/Pens: Matt Hughes
Best & Fairest: 3 Dan Morton 2 Werner Jordaan 1 Tom Williams
Players Player: Matt Lloyd
In the penultimate game of the season, Richo’s took on top of the table Hunters Hill. Firstly, however, the team would like to congratulate Chris Mark and Mitch Quinn
who both played their 100th game.
The team would specially like to congratulate Matt Lloyd who played his 300th game for the club. This achievement puts Matt in some very elite company.
As has been the case so often this season, we got off to a very slow start. In fact it appeared as if we were not interested in playing football. We allowed hunters Hill in for 4 tries in the first half. Fortunately only one conversion was successful and we found ourselves down 22-0 at halftime.
The message at halftime was let’s make the most of it in the second half and try to bring a bit of respectability to the score. In the second half we improved our defence dramatically and allowed our opponents only one try. Towards the end of the game we got on the board with a good try to Rohan Williams. Matt Hughes added the extras to make the final score 27-7. The most notable thing about this game was the fact that we outscored Hunters Hill 7-5 in the second half. This really shows what we have been capable of all year. To outscore a top team like Hunters Hill is quite an achievement.
In the last game of the season we play Newport at Newport. They are always tough at home and next week will be no exception.
ROBERTSON CUP (COLTS)
St Ives 41 v Hunters Hill 45
Tries: Tim Drayton/Michael Howden/Stewart Beck/Tai Smith
Cons/Pens: Tai Smith
Best & Fairest: 3 Jack Sedgwick 2 Tim Drayton/Josh Partridge 1 Stewart Beck
Players Player: Jack Sedgwick
Let's not mince words. The last time the Saints took on Hunters Hill they out muscled, out fought and out manoeuvred our somewhat green colts side. But 9 weeks is a long time in rugby and after over coming Forest 2 weeks previously and coming unstuck against KOBs last Sunday, the real test would be how much the colties had improved since their previous encounter against the Hunters side.
The nervous energy in the change room pre match was palpable. The boys knew that this match was a catalyst for the finals series, as Hunters were to be our opponents in the first round of the semis
Hunters took control of the match early and dominated possession. They crossed for the first try of the contest and it appeared that the game had begun in the same manner as the previous encounter. But to their credit, the Saints parked themselves in the Hunters 22 and applied the pressure. Whilst only a penalty goal resulted, the colties got themselves into the battle and started to batter the Hills boys. Before too long, the boys chalked up a few 5 pointers and at one stage stretched their lead to 14 points. Yet with 1 minute to go in the half, some careless play let Hunters in for a converted try and the match hung in the balance.
The second half was a flamboyant affair of tit for tat rugby. Hunters scored the first try (again) only to see the Saints retaliate with another score. And so it went until the final whistle. 45 - 41 we went down, but what a match
There are several important lessons to learn from the game. Number 1, the Saints need to tackle better - from set prices, at the break down and in broken play. Let those big boys run and we are going to have problems. Guess what we will be focussing on at training this week? Number 2, we have to start the halves better. Nervous energy or not, it is mind over matter and we need to take the game to the opposition from the moment the whistle blows. Number 3, we need to use our heads and play smart rugby. Elementary mistakes and poor decisions cost us dearly in this match - at least 4 points worth. 1 point is enough to lose a grand final.
All in all though, a great performance that would have put the fear of Jeepers into the Hunters boys. If the colts had any doubts previously, they must now believe that they can knock off the unbeaten minor premiers. Bring on the semi finals (oh, and Newport next week).