The U/15s Rugby League team from Edmund Rice College travelled to Cootamundra last week to compete in the Semi Finals of the Country Cup Rugby League Competition. This side earnt this privilege by winning the Illawarra / South Coast qualification carnival.

Unfortunately, in the two 40 minute games that Edmund Rice College played in they were narrowly defeated by St John’s College, Dubbo and Hennessy College, Young.

The following is a report on each game:

Game 1 v St John’s College, Dubbo – 16 – 6 Loss.

Almost the whole first half of this game was played with Edmund Rice resolutely defending their try line. This was on the back of St John’s receiving a series of penalties putting them in dominant field positions. Courageously, Edmund Rice only conceded one try in this half, going in at halftime down 4-0.

As the second half commenced, and clearly struggling with the toll of defence from the first half, St John’s scored two tries to lead 16-0. In the final 10 minutes, Edmund Rice looked a lot more fluent with the ball, scoring a great team try with Bayden Reh crashing over the line. Equally impressive was Creighton Meafou’s sideline conversion.

Game 2 v Hennessy College, Young – 12 – 4 Loss.

At the conclusion of this game the entire Edmund Rice squad was disappointed with the final result as this simply was a game that, ‘got away,’ despite the best efforts of everyone. The majority of the first half proved to be a torrid defensive encounter, with Edmund Rice effectively defending consecutive defensive sets on their try line. Towards the end of the first half, Hennessy scored a good rugby league try which involved a chip kick under the post which was converted.

Edmund Rice managed to hit back just after the break with a brilliant try scored by Jake Cunningham following a series of powerful runs and ball movement. Whilst it appeared that we were gaining the upper hand, the game slid back into a very even battle with both sides going set for set with little to no errors. With two minutes to go, Chase Grant defused a towering bomb, only 5 metres out from the Edmund Rice line, to then run 50 metres up field. Unfortunately, the last line of defence managed to pull Chase Grant down and in the ensuing play the ball was dropped meaning Hennessy would hold on to their 6-4 lead.

With heads down, knowing that victory was no longer within reach, Hennessy College took advantage of what was previously almost impenetrable defence to score in the dying seconds.

All members of the U/15 Rugby League side are to be commended for their outstanding sportsmanship and the respect that they showed members of the public in Cootamundra. Representatives from the hotel that we stayed at, staff at the restaurant we visited for dinner the night before the carnival and volunteers from Cootamundra Junior Rugby League commended all the boys from Edmund Rice for their politeness and the respect that they showed.

Edmund Rice – U/15’s Rugby League Team:
Backrow: Creighton Meafou, Yousef Chaaban, Cooper Atkins, Jake Cunningham, Lachlan Eastley, Ruben Mayers, Cooper Morrison, Tom Voase, Khye Forrester, Kai Wilson, Jake Brown
Frontrow: Daniel Wainwright, Kobe O’Brien, Chase Grant, Peter Pantsos, Bayden Reh, Cruz Steyger, Max Fyfe, Cameron Pope.

It has been a pleasure to coach such an enthusiastic team.

Andrew Marsh
U/15’s Rugby League Coach