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

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FIRST ' FIFTEEN CHARACTERS SMITH Cfull backj -An entertaining full back, whose manner of defence was definitely not for the faint-hearted. Tackled only in emergency, using his considerable powers of contortion and leger-demain to extricate himself from dangerous situations, many of which were self-inflicted. His long kick to touch was used well in defence, while his ability to drop goals and incursive running into tl1e line greatly added to the teamls scoring potential. RAINSFORD Cleft wingj -Lacked real speed, but his sidestep and quick acceleration made him an elusive runner. In defence a safe and determined tackler. DYKES Ccentrej -His loping stride enabled him to cover the ground faster than his awkward movements suggested. Capable of selling a convincing dummy in attack, but still has to master the art of taking and giving a pass at speed. SINGLETON Ccentrej - A hard and straight-running centre. Combined well with Reeves in attack and was quick to take advantage of the loose ball in broken play. An uncompromising tackler in defence. INICDONALD fright wingj - Used his size and powerful stride to telling effect, although apt to run straight at the cover defence when his speed and swerve would have taken him clear. Sound and unruffled in defence. REEVES Cfly halfj -Confident and incisive running, allied to liberal use of a dummy and sidestep, made him the chief threat to the opposition's defence. An accomplished kicker of the ball, towards the end of the season he had begun to use the box-kick with particular skill. In defence effective, but sometimes hesitant to stop his opposite number breaking close to the scrum. BRIGGS Cscrum halfj -Although his pass varied in height and lacked dis- tance, he formed a good understanding with Reeves. Developed a useful break but wasted some of his efforts by put-ins to the set scrum so crooked that even the most myopic of Referees would not have been deceived. MEEKER I Cpropj CCaptainj - His unflustered Captaincy gave a firm meas- ure of stability to a team always liable to fall victim to its own temperament. He set a good example to his team by his own consistent performances on the field, and his reliable place-kicking added the conversion points to many of the season's tries. TUNNICLIFFE fhookerl - Fast-striking in the set and alert to the bouncing ball at the front of the line-out. Compensated for lack of poundage by speed in the loose and a flair for running with the ball. MEEKER II fpropj --A strong and durable forward. Together with his twin formed solid and hard-scrummaging support for the hooker. Thrived on the more rugged aspects of the game and was particularly effective in prising the ball out of loose mauls. SPICER Und. rowl -Without ever enjoying a size advantage over his op- ponents, he still won much useful possession by skilful deflections from the line-out. Hard-working in the loose and a good covering forward, but never fully at ease witlrthe ball in hand. VALLANCE f2nd. rowl - Lacked sufiicient height to be an effective jumper, but gave good support at the line-out. Weak handling never allowed him to make full use of his considerable mobility in the loose. MORGAN Cbreakl -Once he had overcome his weak positional sense, he became a useful member of the back row. Essentially a defensive player, the school line was saved on several occasions by his assiduous covering. STELCK I fno. 8D -On his day the most polished forward in the pack. A strong and elusive runner with the ball, he initiated many attacks by linking cleverly with the halves. A sound coverer, but apt to be casual in defence around the base of the scrum. DADE fbreakl -An outstanding member of the team. His fast breaking and marauding helped stifle opposition attacks, whilst his adroit running and handling in tl1e loose were of the highest calibre. Volubility was his only faultq apart from distracting his fellow-fonvards, his perpetual monologue during matches more than once incurred the referee's displeasure. lNI.VV. 31

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different Finishing. Following the interval Reeves reduced the lead with a well-judged penalty before Hall demonstrated his talents by scoring three rousing tries by fast and intelligent running. Morganls performance at full back fa makeshifti is also worthy of mention, if only for his cavalier incursions into the back division, which unfortu- nately all took place on the wrong side of the touch-line. The tour was completed by a match against Nyenrode, a business School some twenty miles from Amsterdam. The Dutch side began with great elan. but after losing an early lead. lungs and legs failed them and the School romped to a comfortable victory. Undoubtedly the highlight of the game belonged to Keenlyside. whose outrageous flourish in the act of scoring almost cost him his moment of glory, by losing control of the ball. The victory over Nyenrode balanced out the number of games won and lost. and the lavish hospitality enjoyed after the match brought a highly-rewarding tour to a fitting conclusion. Results were as follows: Played 6. Hon 3. Lost 3: Points for 8-1. against 81. School v. Canford. won. 27-3 School v. Harrow. lost. 5-37 School v. Eton. lost. O-8 School v. Epsom. lost 8-21 School v. Atlantic College. won. 21-9 School v. Nyenrode. won. 23-3. M.W. FIRST FIFTEEN Sfamlizzgz M. Briggs. B. Yallance, D. Stelck, C. Dykes, C. Spicer, V. Smith, R. Klorgan. Tunnicliffe. Stated: D. Singleton, A. McDonald, M. Reeves, J. Meeker CCapt.j, R. Dade, Q. Meeker, C. Rainsforcl. 30

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SECOND FIFTEEN At full strength the 2nd. XV were not easily overcome, but were never able to compensate for the loss of McPhee and Fellner I. These two provided the basis of the team, and both produced a number of creditable performances for the senior team. lVIcPhee added solidity and experience to the back division, while Fellner's fiery example among the forwards urged on the rest of the pack to greater effort. Roxburgh and Steuart combined well at half-back, but insufficient speed and hesitancy in defence affiicted the entire back division. Miller I and lXlcCarten I gave Fellner full support in the forwards, and Throne improved rapidly to become a competent hooker. Throughout the season Cosentino, as a Captain, conducted operations successfully and sensibly, and continually strove to bring the best out of his side. Results were: Played 9, Won 3, Lost 6, Points for 71, against 135. M.W. THIRD 81 FOURTH FIFTEENS It is very difficult to put into words one's thoughts concerning a 3rd, and -lth. XV. They inevitably live in the shadow of the 'fcreamn of the school, and injuries and calls to higher levels often left the group depleted. However, with hard training and sweat sessions at the be- ginning of the season the 3rd. XV, particularly, began to show some aptitude for the game. With a full and regular fixture list they showed commendable spirit and determination, particularly against the local junior schools. The three-quarter line proved to be the strong point of the team, and many tries resulted from some fine running, especially against St. George's C29-35 on a dry ground. The Jfth. XV, however, changed from week to week and suffered some heavy losses. Nevertheless, great credit must go to lWcLennan, who never gave up hope that they would win, and there was much joy in the 4th. XV camp when St. George's were beaten 9-3-a well- deserved victory. Boys must learn that this is a team game, and that the basic funda- mentals of passing and receiving a ball and tackling are all-important 4- this was not always the case. Considering that many boys had not touched a rugby ball before, the CB' group managed a fair season, with hopes for the future. My thanks go to Cornwall, Wilder and McLennan, who acted as Captains, and to Mr. Pollard, who refereed many a difhcult match. R.S.H. 32