Lindfield Junior Rugby Tour 2011
Lindfield Junior Rugby Tour 2011
Friday 23rd September to Monday 26th September reports and photos here ...
Tuesday 27th September to Thursday 29th reports and photos here ...
Starbucks! Every second of our 20 minute wait at Shin-Osaka Station was spent loading up on the best coffee you can find in Japan. At 7am we were about to board the Bullet Train for our excursion south to Hiroshima and, later Matsuyama. Today we are honoured to be accompanied by Kawanishi Rugby School President and his wife.
The morning began very early with a 6am rendezvous at Kawanishi Station. All the boys were excited about our trip on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) and soon enough we were racing through the countryside at up to 350kmh. From the train we saw many small villages nestled by the rivers that cut through this mountainous land. Every available piece of flat land (mostly flood plain) is intensively cultivated with rice.
The comfort & quietness of the Shinkansen found many of the boys & most of the dads nodding off and we arrived in Hiroshima under cloudy skies that seemed appropriate to the experience that lay ahead.
The Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park & Museum lye within metres of the 'hypo-centre' (the place where the bomb exploded) of the worlds first atomic bombing. Our party toured the museum & memorial grounds in small groups accompanied by guides, some of whom were survivors of the blast themselves. The Peace Park is one of only two World Heritage listed sites from WW2, the other being Auschwitz. In all some 270,000 souls have died as a result of the attack of the 6th of August 1945. All the boys learned a lot and their perspective on war, the nuclear arms race and even the concept of forgiveness were all sharpened by their time in this scarred yet brave city.
Back on the bus we began our 3 hour drive to Matsuyama. In a very Presidential decision, Mr Yoshioka ordered the only unscheduled stop of the entire tour to date so that he could buy out the entire stock of Asahi Dry from a grateful convenience store owner. Equally grateful, we Lindfield parents happily slurped our little silver sleeping pills & snoozed our way south.
The official reception organized by our Matsuyama hosts was spectacular! The local Mayor welcomed us along with the Director of Tourism & the Club President. A magnificent Japanese Drum performance followed before a huge buffet dinner. The boys then rode a gigantic ferris wheel that sat above our 9 story venue and later we were treated to a cable car ride and a stroll through the old part of town that culminated in an opportunity to watch one of the most amazing animated clocks any of us have ever seen.
Our hotel in Matsuyama was terrific - traditional tatami mat floors & futon beds, hot spring spas, & karaoke late into the evening. Highlights of the day were the boys covering the entire AccaDacca catalog in Karaoke, and, without a doubt, John Sears shiny new set of Princess Balls!
Bullet Train and Hiroshima Photos here ...
Trip to Matsuyama and Opening Dinner here ...
Rugby again finally. The dried pilchards and miso soup didn't prove too popular with the boys for breakfast so a mercy dash to a local shop had the boys buzzing on Oreos and chips.
We had a short bus trip into the mountains to a beautiful oval above Matsuyama which was mostly spent rehashing the night before. James Sutton serenading himself to Air Supply at our karaoke session will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to see it.
Once there George Gardiner and Tai Parata did fine jobs at the opening ceremony as captains for the day.
Lindfield Under 12's v Matsuyama Dolphins
With some important lessons learned from the Kawanishi Gala Day our boys took the field with a strong focus on ensuring we were more effective at the breakdown, getting good clean ball and clearing out quickly. Again our opposition showed their skill at driving low & hard over the loose ball but the scavenging skills of Myles Elston, Ben Gilmore & Sam Spanton gave us the majority of possession.
Our backs took off quickly with Richard Sears stepping off both feet to break the opposition line, scoring 3 quick tries. James Davis added his first before half time sliding down the sideline following some bone crunching defensive work by Ben Clark leaving Matsuyama reeling.
The second 1/2 was a more even contest. Matsuyama scored 3 tries, Sears added 1 to take his total to 4, Davis pushed through for another 2 and James Penfold broke through the centers for his first of the day.
Game Captain, Ben Gilmore, interviewed after the match said "it was a challenging game. Matsuyama came at us hard at the breakdown and really got it together in the second half"
Lindfield 40 - Matsuyama 15 (Sears 4, Davis 3, Penfold 1)
Opening Ceremony and Match Photos here ...
Under 11s vs Hoyjo
The Hoyjo boys had some big timber, with a few players that may not have passed an age check, and they played their largest Sonny-Bill Williams style in the centres.
The game started with a fine team try from the first phase completed by Sutton in the corner. The 11s continued with some fine backline play throughout the match directed by Dudley, Chapman then Sutton.
Other tries in the first half went to Stockwell through the middle, Chapman in the corner after a good backline move, and Parata with a barging run up the sideline.
Hoyjo scored early in the second half with one of their big forwards steaming over the line. The game was then much tighter until the very end when Chapman caught them napping from a penalty, Stockwell scored down the line and then Parata went through the middle. Rocks went down with a knock in a lineout near the end; copious medical attention followed but he recovered in time for the bowing ceremony. The final score was 35-5. Stockwell, Parata and Chapman scored 2 tries each and Sutton 1.
Lindfield All Stars v Ehine All Stars
Led by Game Captain George Gardiner, our boys kicked off but 3 quick penalties against us saw the Ehine team going forward before Gardiner regathered & loped over for our first try. The restart led to an Ehine knock on & Sears barged over from the base of the scrum for our second.
Under pressure on their line Ehine tried a clearing kick that was charged down by Henry Chapman allowing ODonohue to score his first. Moments later Jack Sharp grabbed the loose ball & made the line for his first. Matty Wedlock scored out wide following some great hands through the centres and Gardiner went in again before Max Evans, ODonohue & Gardiner again scored in quick succession just before half time. Luke Reimer showed his toughness following a nasty ankle injury that unfortunately sidelined him for the rest of the match.
Receiving the ball from the second half restart the first few minutes were close fought before Penfold made a break that nearly got him to the line, handing off to Gardiner who scored. Max Evans came inside stepping cleverly to score his second. Bryn Thompson and James Penfold came up hard on the Ehine defence, Penfold stole the ball & crossed for his first. Hugh Rocks scored following a great effort to regain from the kick off, some great running from James Davis then Gardiner managed to clean up & score another.
Ehine broke wide on our wing scoring their first late in the second half to open their account.
Lindfields' swan-song was a great individual try to ODonohue who stole the ball on our line, chased down his own clearing kick then kept it on the toe till he could scoop it up & finish the match with his 3rd of the game.
Lindfield 75 - Ehine 5 (Gardiner 5, ODonahue 3, Evans 2, Sears 1, Sharpe 1, Wedlock 1, Penfold 1, Rocks 1)
Match Photos and Closing Ceremony here ...
Touring Photos from Matsuyama here...
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.
