With the Wallabies returning to the Sunshine Coast for the first time since the 1999 Rugby World Cup preparation, it is our job as the Sunshine Coast community to roll out the welcome mat.

Join the welcoming committee for the QANTAS Wallabies as they prepare for the upcoming tour of the British and Irish Lions.

The night will be MC’s by ex Wallaby and current Fox Sports presenter Brendan Cannon.

Special Guests, Head Coach Robbie Deans and Coaching Co-ordinator Tony McGahan and plenty of others will be talking about the challenge the Wallabies face. The Mayor’s Rugby Dinner will be held at the Caloundra Events Centre on Tuesday 11th June 2013. Come and enjoy a special event that does not happen very often.

Download the booking form below or contact 07 5452 7045 for more information.

mayorsrugbydinner

As an endorsement of our growing reputation as an emerging junior rugby region the request for trial games from Brisbane and Sydney GPS School have been flooding in since late last year. Most of the premier Brisbane schools now see the Sunshine Coast Junior Stingrays and Schoolboy teams as valuable tests for their pre-season GPS programs, and know that they will be provided with quality opposition.

The Junior Stingray Head Coaches are also keen to test their squads against against the best from the Brisbane schools, as the more challenging rugby our players get to play the more they will improve. Against Nudgee last year, two of the four age groups were successful over the strong Nudgee teams and the U17 Stingrays also went down narrowly to Toowoomba Grammar.

Last weekend BBC tested themselves against our Sunshine Coast Open Schoolboys at Stockland. Brisbane Boys College picked up some early tries out wide and tested the Coast’s defensive structures, but the local boys game back strongly in the last 20 minutes scoring four unanswered tries, with three of those going to livewire halfback, Harry Masters.

This year, during the June/July holidays and break in club rugby, four GPS schools will play games against our Jnr Stingray squads:

Tuesday 25 June: Sydney Grammar U16A & 1st XV v Jnr Stingray U16 & U17s

Wednesday 10 July: Nudgee U13As to 1st XV v Jnr Stingray U13s to U17s

Saturday 13 July: Churchie U16As & 1st XV v Jnr Stingray U16 & U17s – Curtain Raisers to Premier Rugby Heritage Round at Stockland

Sunday 14 July: The Southport School U16A v Jnr Stingray U16s

These games will be used as part of the final selection process for the 2013 Jnr Stingray teams, with the extended Jnr Stingray squads that will be announced during the week commencing 17 June taking part in these games. Saturday 13 July will also include the Possibles v Probables trials for the U13 & U14 Jnr Stingrays and a Jnr Stingray U15 Invitation XV to play the Sunshine Coast u15 Schoolboys.

Directions: Take a left at first roundabout (Ridgeview Dr) straight through next two roundabout and fields are on your right.

Last weekend’s junior games took place at Kawana and Maroochydore, and there was much to get excited about, with tries aplenty and committed defence from the Coast’s young rugby stars.

With four games now behind them, players from the younger grades are quickly learning more about the game and its values, while the older boys are settling into the season nicely and displaying great teamwork and camaraderie.

As always, the most important thing is that the players are enjoying themselves, and it is obvious from the enthusiasm found in every game that our juniors show the same love for the game as their elders, if not more, and promises a great future for the game on the Coast.

This week’s games start on Friday night with games in the Under 14s, Under 15s and Under 16s/17s being held at Noosa, while the younger grades will be split between Noosa and Peregian Springs on Saturday.

The Under 15s clash between Sunshine Coast Grammar and Maroochydore will take place at Grammar on Saturday.

The full schedule can be found here.

Good luck to all SCRU juniors this week, and thanks to all of the parents, officials and volunteers who make it all possible.

The Palmwoods Hotel Sunshine Coast Stingrays will be out for redemption this week when they take on the in-form Easts Tigers at Bottomley Park on Saturday.

After a series of commendable displays in last month’s four-game home stand, the Rays suffered a letdown last week as they were hammered 58-12 by an admittedly strong Brothers side.

Although the Stingrays have had more than their share of injuries and personal commitments to contend with, their performance lacked the quality of their earlier ones and they were well-beaten in all facets of the game by the undefeated Brethren.

Of particular concern would be the second-half capitulation, as the defence has been the side’s biggest strength so far this season, and the boys know they will need to lift against an Easts side that currently occupies third place on the back of several excellent performances.

While coach John Rangihuna has acknowledged the club’s mounting injury list has made life difficult for his troops, he has not allowed it to be used as an excuse for subpar efforts, and will be firmly focused on lifting the side’s commitment and discipline this week.

After a brutal run of games to start the season, the Rays will be looking for a return to form ahead of winnable matches against Wests and Norths in the coming weeks, and an upset win here would give the side a huge momentum boost going in to those games.

Week 8 of the Palmwoods Hotel Cup provided three intriguing matchups, and although the favourites prevailed each game offered plenty of excitement and drama. At Dolphin Oval, Noosa maintained its undefeated status but had to withstand a late surge from Caboolture, holding on 21-14 in slippery conditions.

At Cotton Tree Oval, Maroochydore honoured veteran Brad James’s 200^th appearance with a convincing 35-15 win over old rivals Caloundra, while University made it back-to-back wins with a scrappy 17-7 triumph over the improved Nambour Toads.

In reserve grade, newcomers Maleny recorded their most impressive win yet as they crushed the Fraser Coast Mariners 62-5 at Witta Sports Field.

Week Nine will feature games at Caboolture, Noosa and Urangan. Here’s a look at what’s on offer…

Caboolture Snakes v Caloundra Lighthouses, Kevin Kaeser Oval, 3:15 pm

Caboolture were outstanding in the second half against the Dolphins and are looking more and more like the side that stormed to the title last year. The trip to Noosa is a demanding one, however, and the Snakes will do well to back up against the dangerous Lighthouses. Caloundra have struggled for consistency this season but have what it takes to beat anyone on their day. If they’re on their game this should be a beauty.

Noosa Dolphins v University Barbarians, Dolphin Oval, 3:15 pm

The Dolphins continue to produce the goods when their backs are against the wall and this spirit has carried them now to seven straight wins. Their first half against Caboolture was near-perfect and they looked on course for a dominant win before falling apart in the second half, and that fadeout will have opposition sides believing they are vulnerable. Uni have won two straight but narrow victories over strugglers Fraser Coast and Nambour suggest they haven’t quite turned the corner just yet. If they can expose some cracks in the Dolphins they are more than capable of an upset so this looks an intriguing contest.

Fraser Coast Mariners v Maroochydore Swans, Walkers Road Oval (Urangan), 3:15 pm

The Mariners had the bye last weekend, but their Week 7 match against University almost produced a big upset. After a heavy loss to the Swans earlier this season, the Mariners will be looking to show the same fight again this week in front of their home fans. The Swans continue to play inspired rugby and they will be looking to ensure that complacency does not set in this week. While this shapes as a mismatch on paper the Mariners are always a better team at home and would love to upset the apple cart with a win here.

Nambour Toads Reserves v Maleny Bushrangers, Victory Park, 1:45 pm

Maleny continue to impress in their debut season, currently sitting in third place after their dominant win over the Mariners last week. Earlier this season they rolled Nambour 27-7 at this venue so the Toads will be hoping to exact revenge on Saturday.

Brothers demonstrated their attacking flair from the onset, scoring three tries in the first ten minutes of the game.

Sunshine Coast coach John Rangihuna was disappointed by his team’s start to the game “we played poorly in the first twenty minutes and that basically set us up for the rest of the game”.

Reacting to Brothers’ strong start, the Stingrays centre Mathew Macaulay scored a try off the boot of a team mate. Halfback Cameron Mead tried to follow suit by attempting a runaway try but a slight fumble was intercepted by Brothers fullback Damon Murphy.

The end of the first half saw an improvement in the Sunshine Coast’s defence and the Brethren found it difficult to gain ground during this time.

Rangihuna said “we played our best rugby in the second part of the first half but we just couldn’t maintain that.

“We have quite a few injuries and the conditions weren’t great but there’s no excuse for us to lose by 50 points.”

The Brethren’s Michael Bond had a solid game by showcasing his speed work and scoring two tries.

Damon Murphy also had a characteristically good game, scoring a try and providing a chip kick to set up one of the final tries of the match.

Brothers capitalised on a lag in the Stingrays’ defence in the final twenty minutes by scoring four easy tries.

Brothers coach Matt Kaye said “they proved to be tough opponents in parts but we reacted well. We’ve got a tough few weeks coming up so it was good to get the bonus point.”

The Brethren will continue their campaign to remain undefeated against GPS next week while the Sunshine Coast play another away game against Easts at Bottomley Park.

Brothers 58 (M Bond 2 tries D Henegan A Dixon J Colvin T Postal P FitzGerald N Gendle Damon Murphy M Blair tries Dallan Murphy 4 cons)

Sunshine Coast Rugby Union 12 (M Macaulay J Forrester tries P Boland con)

By Rebecca Thompson

]]> http://www.scru.com.au/2013/05/14/stingrays-go-down-at-crosby-park/feed/ 0 http://www.scru.com.au/2013/05/13/mayhew-the-hero-as-dolphins-juggernaut-rolls-on/ http://www.scru.com.au/2013/05/13/mayhew-the-hero-as-dolphins-juggernaut-rolls-on/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 04:45:58 +0000 Nick Fray http://www.scru.com.au/?p=3487 Continue reading →]]>

The Noosa Dolphins have maintained their unbeaten start to the Palmwoods Hotel Cup, but not before a massive scare with a 21-14 win over the Caboolture Snakes at Dolphin Oval on Saturday.

Having already beaten the Snakes back in Round One, the Dolphins looked to be cruising to another comfortable victory over the side that bested them in last year’s grand final, building up a 16-0 lead midway through the second half.

But with injuries to key players and tiring legs after last week’s epic clash with Maroochydore, the Dolphins allowed the Snakes back into the game and almost had victory ripped from their grasp in a frenetic finish.

Noosa looked every bit the premiership favourite in the first half with a clinical display of possession-based football backed by relentless defence, with tries to Queensland Country prop Tom Kearney and standout fullback Brandon Mayhew helping the Dolphins to a 13-0 lead at the break.

However the loss of Kearney’s representative teammate Matty George to injury shortly before the break gave the Snakes a glimmer of hope as the Dolphins struggled to maintain their cohesion in the second half.

The big boot of fly half Tom Aldridge helped the Snakes dominate field position, and it finally paid off after 60 minutes when prop Andrew Gibbs muscled his way over to put them back in the contest at 16-7.

A Tore Shaw try against the run of play five minutes later looked to put the game out of Caboolture’s reach, but Sam Forrest’s missed conversion kept the Snakes within two converted tries.

Caboolture responded quickly, with impressive winger Akuila Cakacaka held up over the line before Aldridge broke through to set up an exciting finish at 21-14 with 10 minutes remaining.

The Snakes looked well on top at that stage, and Aldridge looked certain to level the scores just two minutes later when he found open space on the right edge.

The Dolphins, however, have a habit of producing the big play just when it’s needed most, and this time it was Mayhew with a superb try-saving tackle, bundling Aldridge into touch to maintain the lead and give his side possession at a crucial moment.

The Snakes had one last opportunity to force a draw in the final minutes, but despite going close a number of times, including centre Adam Keene being held up over the line, just couldn’t find the equaliser.

There were no such worries for the Dolphins in reserve grade, bouncing back from last week’s shock loss with a 65-0 whitewash.

The Dolphins can extend their winning streak to eight next week when they host University at Dolphin Oval, while Caboolture return home to face Caloundra.

The USC Barbarians stole a win from the Nambour Toads in Saturday’s Palmwoods Hotel Cup fixture with a 17-7 scoreline.

With Nambour coming off the back of strong performances from last week and the Barbarians getting back into the winners circle, it was set to be a tight game for round 8 of the Palmwoods Hotel Cup.

In the first stanza, the Barbarians scored a try through Anthony Struik which was converted.

At the 15 minute mark University were forced to reshuffle when an ankle injury to Dean Werchon saw him carried off.

Nambour used the change to the Barbarian cohesion to their advantage and scored a converted try through Horsey, levelling the scores.

University struck back when Jason Capello scored a long range tryto put it down under the posts.

With University’s Alex Millington following through with the conversion, the Barbarians took the lead to 7 points.

The second half of the game saw plenty of action with Nambour’s Clinton Fullagar being sent to the sin bin for foul play.

The Barbarians used the penalty to extend their lead to 10 points, leaving Nambour with a bigger lead to claw back with 14 men.

The remainder of the second half saw a few great hits and some impressive attack as Nambour desperately tried to score some points.

Both teams played well even in the wet weather and Nambour certainly put up a fight right through until the end minutes of the game. It was University however, who took the points and will be happy to return to training with the win under their belts.

It was all Noosa in the first half with the Dolphins starting the game well through controlled attacking play.

Prop Tom Carney opened the scoring with a try in the fifth minute after his fellow forwards strung several phases together.

Noosa did well to keep their momentum going after losing halfback Matt George through injury in the 25th minute.

Replacement Shaun Payne filled in admirably to steer the side around, setting up a try for lock Tory Shore in the 30th minute.

Payne kicked a penalty conversion soon after to give the Dolphins a 13-0 lead before the players headed to the sheds.

Caboolture’s ill discipline cost the side as it gave away consistent penalties to gift Noosa good field position throughout the second half.

George kicked another penalty goal before Sam Forest found the line to give the home side a 21-0 lead.

The final 15 minutes was all Caboolture, as the visitors rallied to give the home side a scare with two quick converted tries to Tom Aldridge and Andrew Gibbs.

The reigning premier nearly snatched it at the death, with Noosa defending several sets on their line to hold on for the win.

Noosa coach Mick Phelan said he was happy with the composure his side showed in getting the victory.

“It was a good, tough win and they showed why they were the premiers last year,” he said.

“In the end we had to make a few replacements early on and the reserves came on and we didn’t miss a beat. The last 10 minutes in defence was superb.”

Caboolture Coach Jason Dekock said too many handling errors cost his side dearly.

“We made silly mistakes and our first half was riddled with mistakes that you wouldn’t expect an A grade team to make,” he said.

“We still played smart rugby and I think our defensive patterns were good at stages, but this team’s got more guts and talent than they know.”

Noosa sits at the top of the table and will face University at home next week. Fourth-placed Caboolture will host Caloundra.

NOOSA 21

(T Carney, T Shore, S Forest tries, S Payne two penalty goals and one conversion)

CABOOLTURE 14

(T Aldridge, A Gibbs tries, T Aldridge two conversions)

University defeated Nambour 17-7

Maroochydore defeated Caloundra 35-15

By Anthony Brand