Last weekend the Football and Rugby season picked up a gear as we played a full school trial against Villanova College. For many of the teams this was their first proper hit out of the season. Whilst we struggled in a number of the junior games, particularly in the lower grade teams, it was great to see the students out in force on a beautiful autumn day.

St Pat’s teams have a tendency to start slowly and improve rapidly as the season progresses and I’m confident that we will see a dramatic improvement in terms of team performance and cohesiveness over the coming season.

In the Football there were some very close games across all age groups. There were a number of coaches who commented to me that their team dominated the match but somehow came out on the wrong side of the ledger. With some more training behind them I am sure that we will be able to turn around these results when we play Villanova again in Rnd 4.

In the Rugby there were some big scores recorded against some of our teams. However, credit to the boys, they never gave up and they kept playing for the full duration. It is worth noting that a number of our players are playing Rugby for the first time, so it is understandable that it will take them some time to learn the game.

In the Yr 8s and 9s there were some close losses. As with the Football, I expect the return matches to be very evenly contested once our teams are better drilled and have found their feet.

The 1st XV showed some glimpses of their potential when they fought back to draw their game 24-24 after conceding two early tries.

The team of the day award goes to the 10As Rugby team. As a junior side this team struggled to win a game and were often conceding huge scores each week to their opponents. Last year they turned the corner in terms of their understanding of the game and commitment to training. This season, they have started strongly culminating with an emphatic 19-0 win over a much-fancied Villanova team, a side that beat them by 40 points the last time they played. This is a great example of what can happen in terms of performance when the team commits to training as a group.  

Round one this weekend sees us up against St Edmund’s. There is an air of excitement and anticipation from the boys, and I know that they are keen to start the AIC season on Saturday.

Best of luck to all teams and Fight the Good Fight.

Mr Jim Potts - Director of Sport

Live Streaming of 1st XI Football and 1st XV Rugby

If you are unable to make it to the games each week you can tune in and watch the matches live. Every round will be streamed live. There is a link to the feed on the Sports Realm homepage.

School Sport vs Club sport

One frustration that we have every year, particularly during the Term 2 season, is the constant clash between School sport and Club sport commitments. We are very supportive of students doing as much sport as they can and indeed many students are involved in extra sports and teams outside of school. However, if there is a clash between a School sporting commitment and a Club commitment (whether it be training or a match) the expectation is that School sport comes first.

If your son is in an A team, he needs to make every effort to attend all of the training sessions for his team each week. If he is consistently unable to attend all of the sessions, it is inhibiting the development of the team and it is unfair on the rest of the squad. If you have a clash, I would ask that you speak to the coach first and give them as much notice as possible. Ultimately, if you cannot make a firm commitment to the school, then it is unlikely that you will be able to maintain a position in an A or B team.

TRIMESTER 1 COCURRICULAR AWARDS

At the conclusion of Term 1, AIC season coaches and staff select the recipients of the awards for each team and sport. The list of the award winners can be found attached below or on the board in the gym.

These awards will be presented at the 2021 CoCurricular awards assembly or House assembly during Term 4.

PRE-SEASON TENNIS 

No need to sign up YET, just turn up to train, if interested.  Term 3 sign up will open mid-term.

Term Two Tennis Pre-season Training – Starts Week 3 (Monday 3 May)

Mondays   Years 9 and 10                7.00 am to 8.10 am Morven Courts

Tuesdays       Years 7 and 8                      7.00 am to 8.10 am Morven Courts

Wednesdays Years 10, 11 and 12             3.10 pm to 4.30 pm Gym session with Luke Stutter

Thursdays     Years 11 and 12                  7.00 am to 8.10 am Morven Courts

Any questions, please see Br Chris Pritchard

Useful Sporting Links

• Weekly Draw – Weekly sports draw published by Thursday morning each week.
• Sponsorship Proposal - Why not consider supporting SPC sport and benefit your organisation at the same time.
• Strength and Conditioning – To keep up to date with all that is happening in the gym and the ADP program.
• Representative Sport – For all Bramble Bay, North Independent and Met North District Sports information.
• Sporting Journey Pod casts - To listen to some sporting chat with sporting greats.
• COVID safe plans can be viewed in the files section here