Watch 1st Colts Season Highlights here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IipWzW2aKbM
Wet weather is a great leveller in rugby and this has not been clearer than in the 1st Colts Grand Final. Uni and Randwick were ranked 1st and 3rd respectively in attack, averaging a combined 97 points per game over the competition rounds, however it was evident for to all to see that points would be hard to come by. Randwick jumped out to a twelve point lead on the back of two tries inside the opening fifteen minutes before we opened our own scoring account with an individual try to Ben Hughes, who raced through Randwick’s backline down the short side off a mid-field scrum. Callum McIntosh added another five minutes later, being Johnny-on-the-spot after Matt Narracott flew onto a mid-field bomb and put Callum away from twenty meters out. Only a single successful conversion to the ‘Wicks separated the teams at halftime and Uni left our huddle thinking the game was ours for the taking. The conditions underfoot were now appalling and it was becoming almost impossible to identify the teams, let alone the individual players and it was Randwick who adjusted the best, calmly slotting two penalties in front of our posts and taking an eight-point lead into the final ten minutes of the game. The Students were having to throw caution to the wind and were looking to attack at every opportunity, something which has brought points and results for the previous twenty weeks. This proved to work against us when we could least afford it, with Randwick countering a kick through by Matt Narracott, who had made a line break off of our own 22 metre line, and scrambling a try in the corner with seven minutes to spare, seemingly putting the final nail in Uni’s coffin. However, to the Students’ credit, we never gave up hope and scrambled a length of the field try of our own to Christian Yassmin, complete with a crucial conversion from Ben, to trail by six-points with sixty seconds to play. Another line break from deep in our own territory saw Matt Narracott breaking away down the flack for what would have been a try in dryer conditions, before being ankle-tapped and Randwick killing momentum with a penalty as the siren sounded. We took a quick tap thirty meters out, only to spill the ball in the next carry for a shattering loss. Ben Hughes continued his recent run of great form to standout in attack, while Callum McIntosh got through a mountain of tough work and was rewarded with a try. Meanwhile Will Davies threw his body into every collision and was also outstanding. Although this was far from the result we were after, it was still an outstanding year for 1st Colts and everyone who put it throughout the season.
Byron Wicken and Mesake Tagituimua, after four years with SUFC Colts respectively, join 38 other Colts players who will hope to make the transition to Grade in 2015. This was a great day for these players, the Colts and the Club as a whole and I would like to thank the players, coaches, managers, volunteers and the supporters of these players for everything throughout the year.
1st Colts Prizes
Colts Best & Fairest: Ben Hughes
1st Colts XV Best Forward 2014: Matthew Sandell
1st Colts XV Best Back 2014: Matthew Hood
1st Colts XV Best Fresher 2014: Christian Yassmin