OTML Schoolboys lose in Scots 7s Plate Final

The OTML Cats Schoolboys rugby sevens team have returned to Tabubil after losing to Canberra Grammar School 14-36 in the Plate Final of the Scots College Rugby Sevens tournament, held on Saturday 5th April in Sydney, Australia.
 

A photo session before the matches - Photo by J. Schulze

A total of twelve teams competed in the fifth annual international schoolboy rugby sevens tournament hosted by the college.

Teams from around Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Singapore, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea converged onto the Scots College rugby oval to vie for the cup.

The tournament structure ensured that teams competed in four finals divisions: Shield; Bowl; Plate; and Cup.

The Cats team were drawn in Pool A with St. Kevins College of Melbourne, Victoria and Palmerston North Boys State High School of New Zealand. With victory in game one against St. Kevins  (22-5) and a loss in game two against the boys from PNBS (7-22), the team finished second in the pool hence qualifying for the Cup Quarter Final.

POOLS

POOL A	POOL  B	POOL C	POOL  D
PNBSHS	WESTFIELDS	LLOYD MCD	SCOTS
OTML PNG	BRISBANE STATE	CANBERRA GRAM	ERINDALE
ST KEVIN's	ST TERESA'S	TAS	AIS, SINGAPORE

Unfortunately, the boys lost game three - Cup Quarter Fnal match - (5-28) to a much spirited side in the form of Brisbane State High with an only try to Nudgee College student, Jim Gissua. Losing the game meant the boys had a Plate Semi Final showdown against Pool D second-place-getters Erindale College of Canberra.

POOL RESULTS

POOL A	POOL  B	POOL C	POOL  D
1. PNBSHS	1. BRISBANE STATE	1. LLOYD MCD	1. SCOTS
2. OTML PNG	2. WESTFIELDS	2. CANBERRA GRAM	2. ERINDALE
3. ST KEVIN's	3. ST TERESA'S	3. TAS	3. AIS, SINGAPORE

Game four was a stellar performance by the boys: Tabubil Secondary School student, David Iveho scored eighteen points (two tries and four conversions); St. Theresa's Abergowrie College student, Benaiah Kambanei crossed over the line with two tries; and a try each from Scots College helpers, students John Beith and George Shannon ensured a trouncing. The team played with more structure and ball control eventually beating Erindale College 38-7. This victory qualified the team into the Plate Final.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Sydney with clear blue sky and the smells of body sweat, stale socks and scrumptuous barbeque filling the air amidst laughter and chatter from the young and the old. Game commentary and music blared from the huge speakers and spectators watched the live game on huge screen projectors aided by two on-field camera-men and one in-house camera high up in a building. Lunch consisted of Subway 7-inch subs provided to players and officials. The games were disrupted briefly when promising young Mt. Hagen boy and Scots College student, Napilla Koroka was involved in a collision that left him sidelined for the rest of the day. The team enjoyed the support of the public and the handful of Papua New Guineans who flocked the grounds in numbers. Under the OTML tent sat players and officials as well as an unexpected guest with his beautifully hand-woven bilum - Andrew Strang, managing director of OTML contractor company, Strang Tradex Group.

The finals started off at 3:20pm with St. Kevin's thrashing Australian International School of Singapore 41-7 taking home the Shield. In the Bowl Final, the Armidale School beat St. Teresa's College 17-5 in a close encounter.

A photo before the Plate Final. The OTML Schoolboys lost to Canberra
Grammar School  14-36 - Photo by A. Strang

Game five for the Cats - the Plate Final - was played against Pool C second-place-getters Canberra Grammar School. Wawin Secondary School student, Karl Wanjiman put the first points on the board with a try forty seconds into the first half, which was converted by Iveho. The Canberra boys replied with an unconverted try a minute later. In the third minute, Gissua sprinted forty meters to score another try which Iveho also converted. However, the ACT boys ran in two converted tries and one unconverted in the final four minutes resulting in a half-time score line of 14-24. The second half of the Plate Final saw Canberra Grammar pile on another twelve points to win 14-36.

After a very entertaining twenty minutes Girls Exhibition Touch Game, the much-anticipated Cup Final between host Scots College and Brisbane State High began at 4:30pm. The match was played with sheer class and both teams showcased a very high level of rugby, that which is the calibre of a Super Rugby match. In the end, the Scots College boys outclassed the boys from Brisbane to win 17-12 and become first-time Cup winners.

 The day ended with the issuing of category prizes and a Haka by the boys from the Land of the Long White Cloud.