& match report vs Christ's College U15 "A" lost 10-41

Lejorben Lutters: My name is Lejorben Lutters, I am one of the managers of the SBC U15 Red team and proud mum of Bram and Stijn. Over the years I have managed many of our boys’ rugby teams and it has always been a privilege to do this. It’s a wonderful way to get to know people and to give back to the community which our boys receive so much from.

Our team this year is a great bunch of boys who share a true passion for the game, work hard, but also enjoy having fun together while doing this. Unfortunately, they’ve had bad luck injury-wise, which caused some disruption for our team during the season. But they’ve managed to push through this and pulled off some great wins over the last couple of weeks. Most important is that they learned to keep going while taking setbacks in their stride.

I would like to thank or coaches Mr Gray, Mr Malone and Charles Simpson for their ongoing dedication to the team. They are very committed to bring out the best in our boys and to make sure they learn and grow in their sport. Charles especially  is setting the boys a good example of an Old Boy giving back to the college. I would also like to thank my colleague manager Peter Simpson and his wife Mandy. They’re always there to help and have a great eye to detail for what needs to be done. We are very lucky to have them with us! And of course, many thanks to Hans Lutters and Adriana Silvestre for their first aid side-line support and expertise. Many rolls of tape have prevented our boys from getting injuries or protected existing injuries from getting worse!

Last but certainly not least I would like to thank all the players who started the season with our team but had to give up playing because of their injuries. Unfortunately, from experience I know how difficult and heart-breaking this can be. But for these boys to stay loyal to our team and to be there every Saturday to help their teammates where they can and to cheer them on, is simply amazing! And a great example of true comradery and sportsmanship. Please know your actions have not gone unnoticed and are very much appreciated by us all!

Pete and Charles Simpson:

Pre-season:

We had a very good pre-season with a number of trial games so all the young men could show their talents before the team was selected.

Injuries:

We have had a large number of injuries throughout the season which has added some complexity when the coaches were selecting a team.

Myself and Charles have never seen this amount of injuries before in one season. Full credit to the boys as they had to step up when others were injured and carry the additional load, and it is a testament to the courage, strength and passion the boys have.

Results:

We have had a mixed bag of results with some very good wins and narrow losses. The key thing about this group is they never give up and continue to play to the best of their ability for 70 minutes. The key thing is that each week the boys are able to build and improve off the previous week’s performance and learn from previous mistakes.

Highlight of the season so far:

The highlight so far would be our two back to back one-point victories over Christ’s College and St Thomas. Both teams had beaten us previously, and we were able to put together two of the best team performances of the year. What was special for me out of these two performances was the way the boys played for each other and played as a brotherhood, something we have been working on hard throughout the season.

U15 Tournament:

The coaches are continuing to develop the young men’s skills and fitness in anticipation of putting themselves in the best possible position for St Bede's to win this tournament.

The planning includes new calls and options for lineouts, as well as developing different calls and strategies for the backs. The keys will be how we change our attack depending on our opposition.

We go into camp on Sunday 29 August until Friday 3 September.

Thank you to the parents, family and friends who have supported us throughout the season, keep up the great work.

2022

I believe the coaches are doing some great work with these young men and at the end of the season will leave the boys and the jersey in a good place.

Comments from

Charles & Peter Simpson