Lindfield Junior Rugby Tour 2011
Lindfield Junior Rugby Tour 2011
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It was an early start on the bus to Todai-Ji Temple in Nara where we exchanged tales of Sake from the night before and were entertained with narration by our guide Shegru-San.
Highlights from the temple were the rambling deer that chased the boys in search of food, the giggling Japanese school girls, and the primary school students that interviewed us for a school project. Tour leader John Sears almost caused a diplomatic incident by buying gifts with Korean Won but Greg Thompson managed to placate the animated stallholders before the police were called. The boys also enjoyed crawling through a 37 cm square pylon to "enter paradise".
The bus then headed to the Asahi brewery so the adults could enter a different paradise. We would have been quite happy to be told that Asahi was "made from beer" and be shown the opening sequence from Laverne and Shirley. Instead we endured a corporate propaganda video and had to wait an hour before being given our allocated three beers. At least the anticipation did make them taste all the nicer.
The all-you-can-eat buffet at the World Buffet restaurant saw more wooing of Japanese schoolgirls and a regrettable incident with the soft-serve machine before an early night for most.
Under 11s: Game One
A pre-game shock for the 11s as Anthony Sutton was ruled out of the game with a knock in the warm up. But despite playing a man down and with no reserves it was a comfortable 35-0 win in the 15 minute game against Takarazuka.
Luke Reimer set the tone early with a barge over try with his first touch and went on to score two more despite being pushed out to the wing. Other highlights were Nimmi's blind side try, Richard Sears dive for the corner and some good tackles from Jack Dudley. Seven tries in total: Reimer 3. Sears 2, Stockwell 1 and Spanton 1. Stand out players were Reimer, Sears and Dudley.
Under 11s: Game Two
The second match against Nishinomiya-Koto got off to a fast start with tries to Dudley and Stockwell in the first minute. Next came Rocks with a barge over try from a penalty. Nishinomiya-Koto then started to make some breaks and were finally rewarded with a try in the corner to one of their props. The final score was 45-5 with tries to Sears 3, Dudley, Stockwell, Spanton, Rocks, Parata and Reimer. Stand out players were Stockwell and Rocks.
Under 11s: Game Three
Next came our hosts, Kawanishi. Sears and Reimer both scored early but both had to come off with injuries after some spirited tackles from Kawanishi. Match highlights were a strip and try from Spanton and the return of Anthony Sutton who made an immediate impact at half back. A great finish to the match with Kawanishi scoring a try on full time. The final score was 30-5 with tries to Sears, Reimer, Stockwell, Spanton 2 and Dudley. Stand out players were Spanton and Sutton.
Photos here ...
Final vs Takarazuka
Captain Hugh Rocks got us off to a good start in the final with the most tense contest of scissors, paper, rock to determine the kick-off, finally winning round 5 by sticking with scissors. The match started like many of the others as Sears scored in the first play of the game followed by a great try to Sutton in the corner.
After Sears and Reimer succumbed to injures again, the 8 remaining players really stood up. Parata in particular had an outstanding game with many great tackles and was my pick for best player. Price, Sutton, Dudley and Gilmore also shone.
The 11s played their best rugby of the day in the second play with real intensity in the forwards and some flashy backline moves. Nishinomiya-Koto kept on the pressure to the end but Lindfield kept them tryless and won 25-0. Tries to Spanton 2, Sears 2 and Sutton
Photos here ...
Well done to Lindfield 11s. Tournament Champions with an overall tally of 27 tries to 2, and contributions from every player particularly in the final. Player of the day was Jack Dudley. Total try tally was Sears 8, Spanton 6, Reimer 5, Stockwell 3, Dudley 2, Sutton 1, Rocks 1 and Parata 1.
Under 12s Game 1
Under 12s Game 2
The 12s met furious opposition in the form of Nishinomiya - Koto in the second game of the morning. Kotos hard charging forwards broke our line twice in quick succession before the boys regathered and began their fight-back.
Good cominations and some faster ball got the Lindfield team within the 22 and a quick penalty tap close to the line saw Matty Wedlock put our first points on the board.
Our forwards continued to drive the Koto team with some terrific mauls allowing good clean ball to be fed out to Nick ODonohue who made the line with following a great cleanout again from Matty Wedlock.
Ben Clark made a great tackle to save another certain Koto try only for their very fast back line to break us wide and again take the lead. In the dying moments of the match Lindfield gained great ball from a lineout right after the restart which looked like Nick might go in for his 2nd try to level the match. But the ball was ruled held-up and the final whistle sounded with Lindfield recording a narrow loss to the strong Koto squad.
Koto 15 - Lindfield 10 (Wedlock 1, ODonohue 1)
Under 12s Game 3
The shock of a loss in game 2 had the boys focussed on saving the tournament in game 3, however the Takarazuka Rugby School team again managed to draw firts blood from a Lindfield turnover directly after the kick-off.
With the opposition taking first points in two games the Lindfield boys seemed to find their feet and a massive turnaround in their game saw better phase play with Nick and Matty repeating their game 2 performance to make our first 2 trys. A strong drive from James Penfold saw him set up James Gardiner for a break and quick hands between he, Richard Sears and finally Luke Reimer took the boys out to 3.
Nick went on with another 2 tries in the second half of the game, Richard Sears added to his tally, and Max Evans made a great try following some excellent work cleaning out from the breakdown.
Lindfield 35 - TRS 5. (ODonohue 3, Wedlock 1, Reimer 1, Sears 1, Evans 1)
Photos here ...
Under 12s Final
Jack Sharpe was named Man of the Day for the Lindfield 12s for his strong work at the breakdown all day and some great efforts from our Penalty Taps that set up later point scoring phases. Well Done to all the boys.
Saturday was our first full day in Japan and it started with a bleary eyed arrival for most at the Kawanishi High School ground for our one and only training session. After 17 hours of travel, greetings and present exchanges, Sydney seemed a long time ago.
There was not a single blade of grass on the playing surface, but the boys drank a can of Toughen Up and quickly learnt the art of not getting tackled.
Kawanashi impressed with the discipline of their greeting and then their training drills. The Lindfield parents were also impressed with the players' thanking of the coaching staff at the end of the session. You don't see that at Tryon.
Lunch and afternoons were spent with host families, with several meeting up for Sushi Train, shopping or calligraphy. For many parents this become a search for coffee. For others the search continued for the missing bag (which was found). For the boys it started an obsession with vending machines that sell everything from model bullet trains to Rubik's cubes and watches.
The evening saw the official opening ceremony with opening addresses by the President of the Kawanishi Rugby School, Kazuo Yosioka, and our own John Sears. The special guest was Japanese rugby legend, Takeomi Ito, who is the third most capped Japanese player with 62 caps.
The Lindfield boys also held their own in the cultural presentation, with inspired performances by Jack Dudley as the Squattor and Nimmi Stockwell as the jumbuck in Waltzing Matilda. Less inspired was the incident with the bidet. Kawanishi impressed with a finely choreographed traditional dance.
An early night for most before the first games tomorrow.
Saturday Practice Photos are here ...
Opening Ceremony Photos are here ...
The 2011 LJRC Japan Tour Squad woke to a beautiful Sydney Sunrise this morning as we all made our way to the Group Check-In Desk at Macquarie Bank Shopping Centre on the site of the old Charles Kingsford-Smith Airport.
Peter O'Donohue took control from the start ensuring that our crew made the obstacle course through customs, security & duty free with minimal losses - mostly sustained at the electronics concession of DFS. Meanwhile, James Sutton, tasked as the Squads' 'Human Auditor' began his journey to perfect the art of counting to 22... We stalled on 20 for a few terrifying moments, but just as our party was welcomed to the check in counter, our final 2 fellow travellers arrived & James relaxed confident that, having reached his goal at the first attempt, he could sustain his performance over the 10 gruelling days ahead. Only time will tell.
Once in the air, with the boys loving the teriyaki chicken breakfast served by Korean Airlines, the focus of the Squad turned to frivolity as we all joined to celebrate the first birthday of the Tour! None other than our Translator/Medic, Zena Gardiner - Otanjyubi Omedetou Zena!!!
Our stopover in Seoul provided the boys an opportunity to refresh at Subway & Gloria Jeans before a quick hop into Osaka where we were met by our hosts advance party comprising Tour Leader Kunitaka Eto & Club President Kazuo & Junko Yosioka. At 10pm local time we were on the coach to Kawanishi, and by 12 midnight we were each ensconced in our billet family homes, exchanging gifts & tucking into sake :-).
Clubs we are visiting:
Kawanishi
http://2802005.team.jrfu-members.com/
Nishinomiyakoto
http://sports.geocities.jp/nkjrc15/index.html
Takarazuka
http://trs.d2.r-cms.jp/
Nishinomiya
http://homepage2.nifty.com/nrs/toppage.htm
Hirakata
http://2702021.team.jrfu-members.com/
The Kawanishi and Lindfield Rugby Exchange and Tour Project is supported by the Commonwealth through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
