Strong emotions are inevitable at the close of a season which, for our boys, has been characterised by hard-fought battles to win over oneself and think as a team. There will be well-earned and profuse amounts of pride, joy, awe & satisfaction as the curtain falls on a truncated but intense ten-round season. Relief, I am quite certain, is not going to be one of these emotions! Yes, we are grateful that none of our squad suffered any harm, neither from seasonal viruses nor hard tackles, but we are all going to miss doing what we do best: instilling courage in our boys, emboldening their gameplay and improving their minds with the finer points of the game at after school training. The coaches & managers, under the auspices of Redfield Rugby Club Committee and with the imprimatur of the school principal are incredibly grateful to have progressed this far.

Rugby is a game played with the head and the heart, subsidised by the body. One former president of the Club told me that Rugby suits all body types. True that. The pathognomonic mark of a quality player is certainly the depth of his courage and the quality of his committment. This has proven to be the case for the diminuitive hooker Oscar Do, who secured man of the match in our last round for his dogged involvement in the tackle and doing the little things right. Furthermore, on the back of an excellent season and technical skill, it was only fitting that Raphael Sahni be awarded Breakdown King for excellent understanding of how to press the advantage in attack by sealing and thereby creating an offside line. There were times that this ruck discipline paid off in what could otherwise have been called a rout by Hills Rugby. It was on the back of the efforts of notable ruck champions Xavier Kenndey (c, replacing a depleted & febrile Geoffrey Smith) & Alex Siau that Rusty Mandla was able to pounce on the ball and bring up two tries in the first half.

As a squad, we have been working on half back passing left & right out of the ruck. Despite a one-sided scoreboard, there were glimmers of brillance here. Mason & Noah Sahyoun were both prolific after their own fashion. With no little motivation by way of a jersey pull, the nuggety full back and experienced winger were able to position themselves well for defence and ran great meters for the team. The irrepressable Oliver ‘Twinkletoes’ Twyford scored the sole try for Redfield in the second half stepping between two Hills defenders who were by this stage exhausted by too-many-to-keep-count field-length runs. It was a slight repreive for the Reds who, like speedsters Joshua Yi and Daniel Sarina, were either chasing down wingers or having the ball stripped off them. This can be coached out of the boys, but it will require our sqaud to stop seeing getting tackled as a negative thing.

Harry Florence returned to the sqaud this week to play out a role in prop. It was good to see him getting into the tackle, lineout & scrum. Joining him were Logan Sarina and Dominic Jaucian. Though the day was long, their boots were soaked and the humidty soared, both these boys gave their best in the tackle, the chase and helped progress the ball forward when possession went our way.

For our beloved parents who donate both their time & energy to realise the vision of Redfield Rugby, the Club is ever beholden. Year after year, the seeds sown in younger grades builds the future of a Club that has always punched above its weight. We remain hopeful that there will plenty of rugby for the Club in 2021.

WIth our warmest wishes for a safe summer sporting season,
- Adam, Kevin, Marie-Claude & Michael

Location

24 Britannia St, Pennant Hills NSW 2120, Australia