SCOTCH RUGBY NEWSLETTER 1

RUGBY NEWS 15 May 2020

From the Teacher in Charge of Rugby – Dylan Coleman It is with real excitement that I can announce that when the Y11’s and the Y12's start back at school on May 26th and that they will also start training on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons – this is great news! There will be protocols in place, groups of 10, hygiene, social distancing, no contact until the end of term etc. and I will have the exact details to share with the boys asap. There is an announcement pending on the Y7 – 10 boys and as soon as I have this information, I will be delighted to share it with the rugby community. Anyway, it's all very promising! Time to think about your fitness level boys. Be sure to look at the streams on Canvas. Great message from Jason Jones and some training program ideas from Eric Tom. There is also a great message from our Captain Max Pendlebury – the new hairstyle is interesting and in itself worth a look! To find these, logon to the parent section of the school website, go to Canvas> Dashboard, > Scotch Streams > Pages > Winter Sport: Rugby. Let’s continue on with our rugby lessons …. The Dark Arts! It is often the unseen work of others on the field that result in a try, the strong tackle, the putting your body on the line, the backing up of a teammate, the “you shall not pass me” mentality, the reading of the play, the holding of your position – these are called the dark arts and they begin in every ruck and a maul and are very important whenever play breaks down – this is the time for “the pack” to shine! Using the Rugby Union for Dummies book as my guide, a ruck takes place after a tackle has been made or when the ball is loose on the ground. When the ruck is formed, the prime aim is to remove the ball. Players are not allowed to handle the ball but are allowed to use their feet to shuffle the ball into the hands of the scrum half. The quicker this move can be done, the better and your coach will probably prefer the “pick and go” method! A maul is formed when a player who is carrying the ball and who is still on his feet is held up by one or more of his opponents – sounds confusing, but the difference between the two is that it is a ruck when the ball is on the ground and a maul when in the hands of the player – and these are important moves as it is all about possession of the ball which is the basic premise in winning a game of rugby! Scrums are different again and involve the eight forwards from each team. This is pure power to watch and enjoy and it is said, that if a team dominates the scrum then they will win the match. The scrum half feeds the ball into the scrum and it must be feed in straight (!!), the power is then turned up by the forwards, the ball is channelled out and then scooped up by the scrum half, passed to the inside centre, passed to right wing who sprints down the wing – TRY!! Love it - Rugby!!!! Lots of great clips on YouTube etc – there is the “Battle of the Scrums” between Australia and the All Blacks which is amazing to watch – just pure power. The Melbourne Rebels have also released some amazing online drills and power plays which will get the blood flowing again.

Term 2 Training Times

1XV, 2XV (Years 11 & 12) Tuesday & Thursdays – 3:30pm – 5:00pm U16’s (Year 10) TBA U15’s (Year 9) TBA U13’s and U14’s (Years 7 & 8) TBA

SCOTCH RUGBY NEWSLETTER 2

CAMERON MACKENZIE Cam started rugby when he was three years old, while we were based in Prague. A small contingent of English-speaking families interested in rugby would meet up every Sunday for their kids (boys and girls from aged 3-15 years) to learn and play. Being three Cam was naturally the smallest and slowest on the field (at the time), but this did not hold him back, as he was determined to take part. When we moved to Australia, he signed up with the Wahroonga Tigers, where he played for 5 years while simultaneously playing rugby for his primary school for Saturday sport. When moving to Melbourne, Cam did not hesitate to sign up to Scotch rugby in year 7 and has played every year since. Written by Annabel Mackenzie

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Annabel Mackenzie for all her amazing photos week in / week out for the last six years. Thank you for giving up your Saturdays Annabel, not only to take the pictures but for all the hours of editing, posting and sharing also. The quality of the images and the way Annabel has been able to capture the intensity and passion of the game will be an enduring legacy left by Annabel to the Scotch Rugby community. Thank you, Annabel, you are the embodiment of everything that is wonderful about the rugby community!

SCOTCH RUGBY NEWSLETTER 3

NED HARRISON When Ned was 7, he went to a Try Rugby day as he was bored standing in lines at Auskick waiting for your turn to have a handpass or a kick. By swapping to rugby he quickly moved to playing proper games, could tackle and get plenty of action – both when in defence or attack. He played both codes of footy until year 10, when he chose rugby as his preferred code (…perhaps also influenced by the unending weekly enjoyment of being a Demon supporter!). Ned (with Max Pendlebury) played all through his primary school years at Boroondara Rugby Club (now Kiwi Hawthorn), then also at Melbourne RFC Unicorns, while playing in the early years for Scotch. He has always played somewhere along the back line ranging anywhere from #’s 9 to 15, with the combined enjoyment of defensive tackling (which has been required a fair bit playing Scotch rugby in recent years) and then swapping to attacking play (which hopefully will be the main game this season). He also still has a neck and both ears, so clearly is not a forward. Ned has played Scotch 1st XV in both years 10 and 11, and after this year’s final rowing season (all trending towards a solid result, with racing frustratingly cut short in the last 2 weeks of the season due to CV-19), and is very keen for the rugby to get going again for a quick hard successful rugby season to beat some of the old foes. Written by Adam Harrison

SCOTCH RUGBY NEWSLETTER 4

SAM SMEDLEY Sam started playing Rugby in year 10 when he moved to Scotch, so very late to the sport. He absolutely loves all aspects of it, the training, team culture and playing, we wish that he applied the same dedication to his schoolwork! He plays as a winger, highlights have been his first try, playing his first game with the Seniors / Firsts and travelling to Tasmania for the pre-season development camp in 2019. Lowlight was missing multiple games after he got concussed and no unfortunately it didn’t knock any sense into him. He’s hoping to play again this year and can’t wait to get back to it. Written by Sam’s Mum, Melinda Erickson

SCOTCH RUGBY NEWSLETTER 5

Scrum Club – Presidents Message – Tom O’Brien The Scrum Club are here to encourage and support the boys, staff, coaches and the parents to try to ensure the most successful and enjoyable rugby season possible. When possible (and fingers crossed for Term 3) the Scrum Club host parent functions through the year and communicate as much as we can of what is going on in the world of rugby as it pertains to Scotch and its pupils for your interest and information. Newsletter & Communications

TeamApp – Scotch College Rugby Facebook – Scotch Scrum Club Rugby Xplorer (Rugby Union Australia App) Robyn Argus is in charge of the Scrum Club social media. To maintain and protect everyone’s security, both sites are closed groups – just send a request to Robyn via the site, answer a simple question and you are in. Any queries relating to social media, please contact Robyn on saphfamily@bigpond.com Liz Haldane is the Scrum Club Newsletter Editor, if you have any pictures or stories that you would like to share with the wider rugby community then please contact Liz at haldane@bigpond.net.au

Scrum Club Committee for the 2020 Season Position Sub Committee Name Email President Torch Submissions Tom O’Brien tomobrien955@gmail.com Vice President TeamApp & Facebook Robyn Argus saphfamily@bigpond.com Junior Vice President Year 8 Team Rep Tim Scarborough tscarborough@optusnet.com.au Treasurer Spiros Livadaras spirosl@stantins.com.au Secretary Newsletter

Merchandise Year 12 Team Rep

Liz Haldane haldane@bigpond.net.au

Committee Year 9 Team Rep Penny Dimitroulis pennyarowlands@gmail.com Training Liaison Scott Pendlebury scottpendlebury@bigpond.com Promotion & Events Charlie Heerey cheerey@baillieu.com.au Fiona Finster fi@finsterfam.com Year 8 Team Rep Louisa Vass jandlvass@bigpond.com Team Reps Year 12 (Opens) Liz Haldane haldane@bigpond.net.au Year 11 (Opens) Yolanda Uys Yolanda.uys@coles.com.au Year 10 (U16’s) TBA Year 9 (U15’s) Penny Dimitroulis

Lousie Siddalls pennyarowlands@gmail.com louiseandstuart@bigpond.com

Year 8 (U14’s) Charlie Heerey Tim Scarborough Louisa Vass

cheerey@baillieu.com.au tscarborough@optusnet.com.au jandlvass@bigpond.com

Year 7 (U13’s) TBA