St Michaels University School - Black Red and Blue Yearbook (Victoria, British Columbia Canada)

Page 28 text:

Stir Qnd. XV Standing: G. lN'ay, J. Duthie, J. lNIcDonald, P. Salmon, D. Stelck, Hughes, P. Mc.-Xrthur, D. Goorevitch II. Seated: W. Mackay, R. Miller, D. Goorevitch I, G. Tolman CCapt.j, C. Rainsford, J. Roxburgh, D. Seibert. 3rd. XV Standing: D. Carson, XV. Hemphill, Steuart, D. Harding, R. Neal, M. Fellner, J. Sladen. Seated: J. Turmicliffe, A. Niven, D. Brinton, R. Morgan CCapt.J, VV. Cosentino, Johanson, P. Hfilder.

Page 27 text:

LAUDER ffly halfj - Possessed a good pair of hands and did well to catch many of Conduit's erratic passes. Before Christmas he had begun to develop a useful break, but an injury early in the following term restricted his activi- ties to providing a link to the centres. KEIL ffull backj -A whole-hearted performer, whether at full back or on the wing. His diminutive stature belied his ability to stop players almost twice his size. His penchant for catching the ball under pressure, and dodging past several opponents to launch a counter-attack, was one of the highlights of the season. GRUMBACH Qhookerj - Not a particularly fast striker of the ball, but scrum- maged well, and combined with his props to gain an adequate supply from the scrum. Although hesitant with the ball in hand, he was mobile in loose play and possessed one of the best tackles in the team. MEEKER I Cpropl - By the end of the season he had developed into one of the outstanding members of the pack. A solid scrummager, he moved his ample figure round the field with surprising adroitness. Excelled in receiving the tapped pass from the back of the line-out, and in prising the ball out of the loose mauls. MEEKER II Cpropj -Improved steadily after his arrival in the lst. XV. He gave considerable support to the hooker, and revelled in the thick of the loose mauls. HARTMAN Csecond rowj -A stolid member of the pack. A supporting for- ward rather than a jumping specialist, he lacked the agility to make many clean catches in the line-out. Sometimes clumsy, he nevertheless worked tire- lessly to win the ball from set and loose scrums. LEMA Csecond rowj - His lack of height was a disadvantage, but his sense of timing and co-ordination enabled him to win useful possession at the front of the line-out. Despite a lack of speed, his powerful bursts in broken play were difiiicult to stop. DOBSON Qwing forwardj -His sense of anticipation was cleverly used both in attack and defence, but he sometimes lacked the necessary stamina to maintain his effort throughout the game. Several admirable tries were scored as a direct result of his persistent backing up. GROVE CNO. 85 - Led the pack with verve and skill. His ability at the back of the line-out was invaluable, and his acute tactical sense was usefully em- ployed in cover defence and launching attacks from the base of the scrum. DADE Cwing forwardj -A fast-breaking wing forward, he covered the field with surprising speed and agility. His cover defence was outstanding and his only fault lay in a tendency to run across the field when in possession. M.W. 25

Page 29 text:

SECOND FIFTEEN As a result of an abnormally high rate of injuries amongst members of the lst. XV, the 2nd. XV was seldom able to field a team at full strength. The pack, under Tolman's leadership, strove manfully to ob- tain an adequate supply of possession, but were frequently dominated by heavier and more skilful opposition. Outside the scrum there was general reluctance to tackle, and poor defensive work led to a number of high-scoring defeats. Goorevitch II and Rainsford were the most consistent of the three-quarters, while Smith, at full back, proved a useful asset when he had overcome the nervousness which had plagued his performances in the lst. XV. Eleven matches were played, of which two were won, one drawn and eight lost fpoints for 59, against 2l6j. M.W. THIRD FIFTEEN The victory against the seconds at the beginning of the season may not be spoken of with bated breath in future years, nor will posterity Q and particularly the secondsj care to remember the score. What was ably demonstrated was one cheering fact--we had a nucleus of players who were experienced enough to promise much for the forth- coming session. Unfortunately, the evil eyes of various talent scouts were upon us during this match, and the covetous ones spirited away at least half-a- dozen of our better players, leaving a sadly-depleted B group. Such is the price of brilliance. It would now be logical to record that we never recovered from this blow, and that we proceeded to lose all our matches with varying de- grees of ignominy. This was not so. True, we did lose our first three major encounters, but in the second term we remained undefeated. It would be quite unrealistic to say that we played good', rugby, for we lacked that blending of experience which is normally essential to a team, and I do think that we had, per- haps, more than our share of good luck. However, none of this detracts from the outstanding feature of the thirds, this year, --good team spirit and discipline. There were both in ample measure. My thanks go to Brinton and Morgan for their dual captaincies. S.J.H.W. 27