Kiama Sevens
48 sides contested the 2008 Kiama sevens and Southern Districts sent 3 teams down to the sevens this year with some mixed results.
The B side, lead by Greg Thomas, was a mixture of colts and grade players and while hey recorded two losses, they performed very well.
Their first match was against Engadine and a number of missed opportunities saw then go down 0-10. The second match they played a very strong Eastern Suburbs side and again, a couple of missed opportunities saw a loss recorded, thus ending their day. However, it was very pleasing to see the young guys perform so well. Bryant Hall, Rob James and Ben Connolly all played very well while Greg Thomas and Israel Stephens worked hard all day
The old Boys, lead by the Long brothers had a better run of things in their pool matches.
Their first game was against Manly B and they were unlucky to lose right on the bell. A better effort against the Catchy Events (invitational team) swung a great result SDRC way and they moved on to the plate draw. In the first round of the plate they were up against the Shamrocks from south coast and were again more unlucky to lose a close match. The old boys had some great stars on the day, but none more impressive that CJ Sullivan, Ben Long and young Luke Noakes as the real stars of the day.
The A Side started the day in great fashion, winning both pool matches fairly easily (Kiama A 38-nil and Leichardt Juniors 31-7) to advance to the cup draw for the first time in many years.
The first opponents in the cup draw were the Free Roamers (an indigenous team made up of players like Arthur Little and other 1st grade players.) This was a very close game where we won, after the bell 19-14 after being down 14-12 as the bell sounded. The boys knew they had got out of jail and were determined to ensure they played much better in the quarter final. The next game was against Sydney Uni and again another slow start saw the boys down 17-7 with only 2 minutes remaining. But as was the spirit on the day SDRC rallied and came from a long way back to record a 21-17 win and move into the semi finals.
The semis were Parramatta (who defeated Easts in ¼ final) vs. Gordon Black (who defeated Gordon White in ¼ final) and South’s (over Sydney Uni) vs. Manly A (over Warringah).
The semi final was heading into disaster territory as Manly got out to a very handy 19-nil lead after SDRC played some silly rugby. But again the true spirit came out and the boys stormed back into the match and were the stronger side in the last part, but time beat us and we were eliminated 19-14. An outstanding effort by this side to go so far in what is such a prestigious carnival. The last two matches were also made more special as the squad was without two of its quickest players in Craig Richards and Jackson Mullane, who both had to withdraw due to minor injuries. However, we were very fortunate to bring Ben Long into the side and his experience and genuine true talent aided the boys through the rest of the day. Ben also showed the true spirit of the Rebels 2008 and his efforts were greatly appreciated by all.
Finally a big thanks to our support staff on the day; Michael Ryan and Allysa were awesome as usual as managers; Menekse was great as physio and Ian James, Mark Smith, Matt Trouville, Zac Mullane and Andrew Long all provided great assistance to all teams during a very long day.
A list of each team is provided for your interest.
A Side
Terry Autagavia, Michael Black(c), Peter Lawevuso, Luke Milton, Jackson Mullane, Craig Richards, Ben Rigon, Matt Barakat, Tim Small, Luke Smart and Grant Trouville. Ben Long joined the team for ¼ finals onwards
B Side
Kevin Bradfield, Ben Connolly, Bryant Hall, Rob James, Vili Ranatori, Israel Stephens, Greg Thomas( C) Brendan Tynan – Davey, Frank Waqa and Anthony Yeo.
The Old Boys
Ben Long, Andrew Long ( C), Chris Gray, Eric Henare, Tim Kolln, Luke Noakes, Dom Parinihi, Evan Parinihi , Simon Pene, CJ Sullivan
Thanks
Craig Hawkings
Sevens coach 2008. |