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Welcome to this quick review of 2009, a year in which School Rugby took some significant leaps forward. Some brief highlights of these were:

A new 1^st XV Head Coach from within the School (Kerry Eynon), with terrific rugby pedigree, great passion and quickly developed Mana, whom with his mgmt team, shaped a very young senior side to outstrip their original goals and come in 3^rd in the 2^nd Div.

Our U15s tasted success in their Grading rounds and for the first time for a few years stepped up to Division 1. Again tribute to the coaching and mgt team and a dedicate core of players when, with numbers lacking, they competed admirably.

The U14’s likewise blew their competition away in Grading to find themselves in Division 1. A series of close games saw them finish near the centre of this high quality draw.

For the first time for many, many years the School sent a rugby team off shore, with a senior boy’s squad of 24 players attending the Southern Skies International tournament in Brisbane in July. This tremendous achievement can be attributable to concerted planning and coordination from the Club, with parents, team mgmt and the School’s strong support.

More of our school leaver’s continue to participate and excel with most going on to play with our aligned club – Hamilton Marist. Talk to most people in the know in that Club and there response is extremely positive about the talent and dedication of the boys that come from Hillcrest – and we have plenty more of that coming through.

On the challenging side is the slip in player numbers this year, particularly evident in the senior ranks where we could not field a 2^nd XV, but ran with an expanded 1sts squad. However we know this is due largely to small numbers in the current Yr 13 bracket and we trust with initiatives like the trip, a developing coaching strength and Strong Club coordination with the School this drain will be reversed.

Our Club prize giving held on the 10^th September is again a focal point to celebrate the successes of the year and to thank the many involved including our TIC Craig Taylor, all the team Coaches and Mgmt and the Club committee.

Best wishes and roll on 2010!

Regards

Danny Farr

On the 15th of August a willing Hillcrest team took on 3rd place St. John’s in a good (though muddy) rugby match. It was close in ability but not in the score line - 34-0 to St. John.
St. Johns kicking was not up to scratch as they missed nearly all of their kicks. Despite stalwart defence from the forwards and some great work in the scrums Hillcrest could not hold out from St. John’s fast number 14 winger who scored four of their six tries. The lads showed a determination and commitment which was commendable – 110% effort but with only one sub and a couple of injured players on the field we were on the back foot before we began. Rikki tackled well as usual and Kendra had a great game at Half Back. Good games too from Jonno, who threw himself at everything and Romain who put his all into his last game in NZ.
It proved to be our last game of the season and despite the score was a good one to finish on. We finished bottom of the table but the lads have had a great experience. We could have opted to stay in the B grade competition but the team decided after the grading games that we would take up the challenge of the A Grade and they have done themselves proud. They certainly don’t lack talent or ability and the games have been hard fought. We need to learn the lessons from this year and go into next year with more commitment to training so that we can perform to our potential.
Well done and see you all at Prizegiving!

In this Finals match, which decided 7th & 8th positions, Hillcrest beat Te Awamutu 32 – 10.
Hillcrest were dominant in most facets of the game and won by 5 tries, 2 conversions and 1 penalty goal to 2 unconverted tries to Te Awamutu.
Try scorers were Connor Brodribb (2), Fergus Schumacher (2) and Sean Rudman. Fergus also was successful with 2 conversions and 1 penalty goal.
We finish the season with a 6 win, 6 loss and 1 draw .scenario since we started.
Our last game is a friendly match against Thames. Thames hosted us pre season at Thames and although it was our first game and we were short of players, it was still a close match. The match will be on Saturday August 29th at 10.30am, at Hillcrest.

Mark Eldridge

What was going to be a huge upset, became a 20 all draw against St Johns in the very last minute.
St Johns were 3rd on the competition ladder and Hillcrest was in 8th out of 10 teams. A last minute change saw Hillcrest playing St Johns at home. Playing up hill during the first half, Hillcrest appeared dominant in most facets of the game and was leading 15 – 10 at the break, after scoring twice, kicking a successful conversion and penalty goal.
Hillcrest scored quickly in the 2nd half but the conversion was unsuccessful. Hillcrest were leading 20 -10 for most of the 2nd half and St Johns then scored an unconverted try in the corner, against the run of play.
With time nearly up St Johns scored a try under the post after some poor tackling by Hillcrest. St Johns missed the conversion which meant that the game ended in a draw.
Try scorers were Sonny Rau (2) and Josh Edwards. Sonny also scored a conversion and penalty goal.

This was definitely the best game that Hillcrest has played over the past few weeks. If they played this well throughout the season, they would have finished in a much higher position on the ladder.
We’re now on a 5 win, I draw and a 6 loss scenario since we started, with a finals game next week to end the competition.
Mark Eldridge

Another change to our fixtures saw us heading to Cambridge an hour earlier than anticipated. It was a bright morning and eventually we scrambled 17 players together. We knew that this was going to be a hard match; Cambridge are unbeaten and have hammered everyone they have played. Damage limitation was the plan! The plan came unstuck less than 2 minutes into the game when Cambridge scored their first try, and that set the tone for the next hour. We had phases of good defensive play, matched them some of the time in the scrums and got some good tackles in, but gave them too much space to run through. We went in to half time 52 – 0 down but the lads rallied in the 2nd half, spurred on by the coaches half-time team talk. We managed to hold them more comfortably and to their credit the lads kept their heads high and never gave up. We played better in the second half, more organised and with a real determination. We nailed some good tackles and special mention has to go to Johnny for a tackle we all felt on the sideline! We also made a few attacks but really couldn’t get enough ball out to the backs. Cambridge had strength in depth and as they rotated their squad to bring on fresh legs we struggled with walking wounded! It was a valiant effort in the 2nd half and there were hopeful moments on the sideline when we thought we might just break through to score but disappointingly Cambridge scored 4 tries in the last 5 minutes. Oh, well, there’s always next week.....!
Anne Robertson

Hillcrest lost 0 – 44 against the undefeated team in our division Hamilton Boys High A.

With the loss of 2 key backline players before the match started, made organisation difficult and was disruptive.

Played on a very sunny day, Hillcrest played uphill in the first half and were down 0 – 27 at the end of the half. HBHS A, who although had 3 or 4 players off sick appeared to be a well organised team. Hillcrest never gave up and had territory advantage when the game was called off.
Unfortunately the game had to finish 20 minutes early, because our number 8, Josh Edwards sustained what was first thought as a serious injury and we had to wait for the ambulance to take him off the field. Fortunately Josh’s only injury was nerve damage and he will recover with the aid of physiotherapy. As the 1st 15 was playing not long after our game, it was decided to call the game off early.

Standout players were Sean Rudman, Matt Watkins and Fergus Schumacher.
We’re now on a 5 win 6 loss scenario since we started, with one game left in the competition. After the next game, there will be a finals match, our last to decide where in the competition we finish. The game is against St Johns, at St Johns next Saturday, August 15th at 9.30am.

Mark Eldridge

This was a match that Hillcrest should have won, but lost against Tokoroa 5 – 34. We looked to be the fitter team, only failing score when close to the oppositions try line on many occasions and some poor tackling saw us lose.

Playing downhill in the first half, Hillcrest had most of the possession and spent a large amount of the time in the oppositions 22, but could not score. Even the 2 tries that Tokoroa scored in the first half was against the run of play and because of poor tackling. Hillcrest was the dominant team throughout the first half and was unlucky not to score. Tokoroa were leading 10 – nil at the end of the first half.

The job got harder as Hillcrest played up hill during the 2nd half. Again it was mainly due to poor tackling that saw Tokoroa score another 24 points. Hillcrest scored an unconverted try and missed scoring on other occasions when close to the line.

Hillcrest’s try, which was unconverted was scored by Shaun Nicholson.

Standout players were Matt Watkins, Huw Elias and Reyne Graham.

The next game is against Hamilton Boys High A, at Hillcrest on Saturday August 8th at 9.30am. Boys High A are the top team and have not been beaten this season. If our team play’s to its full potential, I’m sure that we could go close to beating them.

Mark Eldridge

A home draw at last but Te Awamutu are top of the table so it promised to be a tough match. However we came out strong and we played extremely well even though in the end we lost. The first half ws really tight and we had l;ots of possession but just couldn’t get the ball out to the backs. We defended really well, and managed to go into half time just one converted try down. Hopes were high for a come back in the second half but we spent a lot of the time defending. We played well and did go on attack sometimes almost scoring several times - we thought Matt had managed to get over the line but the ball was held up. Other times we were pushed into touch. A well organised looking outfit, they had a couple of big lads who made the difference, ran at us and broke down our defence to score three times in the second half. A couple of conversions and the final score was a “close” 24-0!
Romain played well for his first game in New Zealand and we look forward to his performance next time out. Tom also had a good return game after his wrist injury. Carl had a cracker of a game as did our whole team in the first half but ran out of steam in the second half. Scrums, mauls and rucks went well and we pushed them hard. Line-outs didn’t go too well though!

The referee commented on what a good team spirit we had and how well disciplined we were and that it was the best game he’d refereed for a long time. KEEP IT UP!
We have a Bye next week so time for some great training sessions before we head to Cambridge! Get fit boys!

Anne & Lachlan Robertson

Back to a winning feeling, Hillcrest beat Te Awamutu 26 - 24
Playing downhill in the first half, Hillcrest got off to a good start and was up 14 – 12 at the end of the half. This week the team were more committed and played as a team.
Hillcrest were the dominant team throughout the first half and were unlucky not to score on other occasions. Connor Brodribb scored 3 tries and he was always in support around the field.
Throughout the game, Hillcrest would score first but Te Awamutu would follow suit by also scoring. Try scorers were Connor Brodribb (3) and Sonny Rau. Sonny also was successful with 2 conversions and Fergus Schumacher kicked 1 conversion. In the end it was the extra conversion that saw Hillcrest the winners.
Standout players were Connor Brodribb, Matt Watkins and Fergus Schumacher.
The next game is against Tokoroa, at Hillcrest on Saturday August 1st at 10.40am. Tokoroa are just above Hillcrest on the ladder, so now that the team are fully fit, it should be a good match.
Mark Eldridge

Finally a home game and a chance for a lie in!
Our boys got away to a flying start and looked dangerous in the first 10 minutes but good defence from Hamilton Boys kept us from scoring. Then we succumbed to a sustained attacked and despite some good tackling and solid scrums we let them in to the try line twice in quick succession. HBHS kicked well to convert and, despite a great, well worked try from Tahi, at half time we were 21-5 down.
Once again we worked hard in the second half; determination and focus in good measure, heads and hearts in the right place as well as plenty of good skills. Jason and Tahi both showed their strength and speed to score off the back of some organised passing. Good team tries but they were unfortunately matched by the opposition. Final score 29 – 15. Still making progress – a good hard match to finish the term and a couple of weeks for the injured and bruised to recover!
Anne Robertson

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