Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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The 1982 Colts Rugby team enjoyed a successful season, finishing with a 9-4-1 record, placing 2nd in the Independent Schools competition to SMU, and comfortably capturing the Mid-Island tournament. The team was led by a lively, tough pack of forwards who were never outplayed by any opponent. The backs, though not in the same class as a unit, were nonetheless capable, and, when they concentrated on their positional play, occasionally looked very strong, especially defensively. As. are most seasons, this one contained several low and high points. The high points included three comfortable wins over Brentwood, who had been our nemesis the previous year, one of which was a four try 19-4 affair in the Mid-Island tournament, and another a 28-0 away win, in which we produced our best twenty minutes of the season in opening the match with another four tries. Our best overall performance was a 17-7 midseason win over a strong Hillside team whom we never let get untracked through a combination of sound scrummaging and very aggressive tackling. Other highlights were a 6-3 win at home against St. George ' s, and a 15-15 away draw against the same school, in a game which saw us battle back from 9-0 and 15-9 deficits, and not at full strength, with several key players missing due to injury. Now for some of the disappointments. We opened the season against SMU, losing 19-3, despite easily winning the forward battle. Our backs were a bundle of nerves, and we were unable to match the tactical superiority and kicking ability of SMU outhalf, Gareth Rees. Still, we felt that some more ga mes might narrow this deficiency, and we thus looked eagerly forward to the return match, at Shawnigan. We lost 14-12, in a match which they certainly deserved to win, but which, at the same time, we could have won. A try count of 3-1 in their favour suggests superiority, yet one of the tallies was a soft giveaway by us, and as the match wore on, we had gained the upper hand. The fact that our outhalf, Paul Wilcox, who had not played in the first meeting shaved the post with both a penalty and a drop goal, also did not help our spirits. The final disappointment of the season was losing 8-7 to Claremont in an unofficial Saanich-Mid-Island championship. The game was a tragedy for the pack, who, on a frozen field, won 85% of the ball in every department, only to see the game slip away due to two bad mistakes by the pack. It was the pack who laid the groundwork for the team ' s success, and a formidable group it was. The front row of Doug Haaland, Dave Merry, and Dan Beer were never outplayed and inevitably succeeded in ensuring a tight head count in our favour. Beer especially was a model of consistency until hurt late in the season. Haaland and Merry were more erratic, though on their days were the best forwards on the field. Doug will need to concentrate more on his propping technique in senior school rugby, while David will need to play with more of a cool head and less pure emotion, though his aggressive, fearless style of play was often just the tonic we needed. The second row of Scot Zens and Drew Swanson, though not big, did everything required; Zens as the solid grafter, Swanson simply the best tight forward I have ever coached, one who performs the basic skills very well and who never knows when he is beaten. If he keeps growing, he will carve his own niche in the 1 st XV, of that I am sure. The back row of Mashi Akiyama, Roland Brakop, and Mike Kobus were also not big, but more than held their own against bigger opponents. All were solid tacklers and harriers, none more so than Brakop, who with his equally direct running style was much in evidence every match. He even allowed us to compensate for lack of height in the lineout by consistently grovelling for the ball on throws over the end. Though a No. 8 in the Colts, he will un- doubtedly enjoy two successful seasons as a tearaway flanker in the 1st XV. Akiyama though somewhat overshadowed by Brakop, was in many ways just as good - consistent and reliable, and a very courageous and solid tackier. Only lack of size will keep him off the 1st XV - though I wouldn ' t bet on it!! As for the threequarters, inexperience more than anything did not allow them to operate on the same level as the forwards. Mick Loew, a converted flanker at scrumhalf improved with each outing, but found the tactical demands of this difficult position often beyond his grasp. Still, he is a good footballer with an eye for the gap, a strong tackle, and a useful boot. He has three years of senior rugby left and will be a better player in the future. At flyhalf, Paul Wilcox, when not injured, improved with each game, and is a placekicker of match winning ability, something a Shawnigan 1st XV has not had for many years. The centres were Drew Thomson and Curtis Sigfstead, as different a pair as one could imagine. The former was a hardrock, a strong runner and big hitter, who only needs to polish some of the rough edges in his game to become a very forceful player indeed. Sigfstead was the opposite, a smooth passer and runner, yet still capable in defence and at gathering and setting up the loose ball. Matt Atkinson, Jim McCordic and Jay Bannister manned the wing positions, and were adequate 24

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THE COLTS A XV Back Row: (L. to R.) Mr. I. A. Hyde- Lay, M. Kobus, S. Zens, D. Haaland, J. Bannister, M. Atkinson, D. Beer, J. McCordic, P. Wilcox, D. Merry Seated: (L. to R.) M. Akiyama, M. Loew, R. Brakop, A. Harke (Captain), D. Swanson, D. Thomson, C. Sigfstead THE COLTS B XV Back Row (L. to R.) Mr. I. A. Hyde-Lay, D. Shulman, P. Smallwood, A. Pilling, M. Atkinson, M. Hamilton, S. Zens, J. McCordic, A. Deane Seated: (L. toR.) D. Hunter, N. Attrill, B. Northcote, C. Kramer (Captain), R. Nelson, Y. Soetaniman, B. Gough 23

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without being brilliant. Bannister was the most elusive runner and best all-round footballer, Mc- Cordic was a hard-hitter, but inexperienced, while Atkinson was also inexperienced but had a ghosting running style which made him strangely difficult to mark. As the last line of defence, fullback and captain, Andrew Harke, had a fine season. He is a fine tackier and a direct, slashing runner, whose only real weakness was suspect punting. If he can improve this area of his game, he too will be a 1st XV candidate next season. Others who played in various roles throughout the season were Bud Patel at outhalf, and Cam Kramer, Rory Malcolm, and Brent Gough in the pack. All could be relied on to play well when called on. The Colts ' B ' did not win many of their games, but, happily saved their best performance for near the end of the season when they lost only 0-4 away to St. George ' s, having been on the wrong end of a large score in an earlier encounter. When not on ' A ' team duty, Kramer, Gough, Patel, and Malcolm were the best players. In thanking the players on a successful season, may I make two observations. Firstly, as with any boys of their age, they definitely preferred playing matches to practising. This is understandable, and probably commendable. Yet, at the same time, to be able to play well depends entirely on being able to think and then perform basic fundamental skills quickly and well. Unfortunately, on those days when v e did have to practise, not all the players were committed to really making the effort to work on skills and necessary set pieces. Thus, it was only a matter of time before we would make an unnecessary mistake and give a game away. This we did on at least two occasions, and what could have been a super season was only successful. Food for thought as next season approaches. I. A. Hyde-Lay 25