Appleby College - Argus Yearbook (Oakville, Ontario Canada)

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• » perience ot many players stood out, particularly in defense where the habit of throwing the ball away under pressure resulted in both of S.A.C. ' s tries. Following the S.A.C. defeat, the first in league competition for two years, Appleby managed to win the remainder of its games against U.C.C., Lakefield and Ridley. The final standings show Appleby and S.A.C. tied for first place as the latter lost one of their league games during the season. It was a good season with much credit going to the leadership of Paul Crosbie, our captain, and Jim Slattery our Vice-Captain. With a number of players likely to remain at this level next year, we should once again look forward to an enjoyable and, we hope, successful season. 114

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The Under 17 Rugger Team FRONT ROW: Wright I, Jackson II, McBride I, Bourne, Crosbie II, Slattery II, Withey, Moffat, McCarter. BACK ROW: Jennings II, Hall, Johnson I, Bloemen I, Keates I, VanTighem II, Graham, Thomson II, Kingsley, Kacan, Mr. Stuart. This season proved to be the toughest experience by the U-17 team since the school started playing fifteen-a-side. The op- position showed that they are im- proving each year and that easy wins are becoming a thing of the past. The opening exhibition game against Ridley took place in a fifty mile an hour wind, but despite a ball which was hard to handle, the side won 20-0. The first real test came in the second game when a much strengthened U.C.C. side allowed only the narrowest of wins to Appleby. It was then that we knew the op- position was stronger! The first league game was against T.C.S. and by this time the team was playing as a cohesive unit with a number of new players setting the pace for some of the old hands. The T.C.S. game was hardly a test as the score of 42-0 for Appleby would indicate. The real test came when we played S.A.C., narrowly losing by a score of 8-6. In this particular game the inex- v r ? % 113

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The Bantam Rugger Team FRONT ROW: VanTighem III, Woolley, Richards I, Kishino, Merrill, Green III, Bateman, Leggat. BACK ROW: Stacey, Thompson III, Logan II, Keates II, Marsh, Hubner, Stott, Sell, Halliday, Piatt, Mr. Day. Bantams are rather small birds usually. This Bantam team belied its name in possessing several big forwards, but, whatever their size, all team members played forceful, at- tacking rugger at all times, even when tactical discretion should have dictated otherwise. Basic drills for line-out and scrummaging were well executed, whilst the whole for- ward line possessed a promising ability both to run the ball and to provide good defensive covering. It is not surprising therefore that the forwards scored a number of tries. George Stott, David Keates and Alasdair Halliday, showed up well in line-out play and scrum- maging; Charles Stacey led a number of determined rushes in open play; the back row trio of John Van Tighem, John Piatt and Danny Sell showed tremendous drive in attack and performed some fine feats of covering and following-up. Thanks to the hard wo rk of the pack, including hooker Ashley Kishino, there was an ample supply of the ball for the three quarters. Frank Merrill, Greg Marsh, Colin Richards and Paul Hubner ran and handled well, while full-back Paul Bateman joined regularly in the attack. They will score more tries when they refine their passing, give the ball on a little sooner so as not to be caught in possession, and make greater use of the kick-ahead. Other boys appeared in one or two games - Peter Logan, Chris Thompson, Richard Woolley, Ian Fisher and Segundo Mariz - and still others did not manage to gain a place in the side. However, without them and the spirited opposition they provided in practices, the team would not have been so successful. Linking the pack and the backs was Graham Leggat, who is developing into a thoughtful and very promising scrum-half. He provided a good service to his fly-half, Don Green, whose powerful, elusive running was a decisive feature of our attack, despite his tendency to swing wide and restrict the movements of his three-quarters. He scored in every game, n tries in all. Graham Leggat added goal- kicking of great accuracy, covering 19 tries - 4 of which he scored - and kicking 5 penalty goals. This half-back pair ac- cumulated 116 points between them, a tremendous per- formance. And yet, despite individual skill, success was due to excellent team - spirit, team - work, and an eagerness to play open, at- tacking rugger. The game cer- tainly came alive with them. Un- der the captaincy of Frank Merrill they have had a memorable season: to score 146 points without a single one against is no mean feat. I thank them for the pleasure I have had in coaching them and for their excellent sport- smanship. Philip Day 115