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Tallebudgera Training Camp 2009 photos now in photo gallery
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Following a very successful training camp at the Tallebudgera Recreation Centre on the Gold Coast over the weekend of 30th January - 1st February, some photos of the players in action at the Camp are now posted in the Photos Gallery on this website. |
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Souths hold out late challenge from Uni.
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Souths clinched their second victory of the Trinity Premier Rugby season with a dramatic 27-26 win over University at Chipsy Wood Oval that went right to the wire.
Uni had a chance to snatch the Round 6 match after the Magpies conceded a try in the last minute following some desperate defence in the closing stages, however the conversion kick was unsuccessful.
The home side was slow to build on the early momentum created by a Chris Johnson try in the first half, with lapses in defence leading to two successive tries from the visitors.
University was looking dangerous when their key play-maker, flyhalf Ryan Gilliman, succumbed to injury and was forced to leave the field.
“I think the turning point of the game was when our five-eighth went off,” said University head coach Nick Leah.
"While Gilliman was on we scored two quick tries, and when he went off we struggled for any fluency in attack we lost all structure.”
Shortly afterwards the visitors lost another player this time to the sin bin - and Souths capitalised to lead 20-14 into the break.
The Red Heavies bounced back after half time with an impressive try by replacement Greg Willmott to lead the home side 21-20.
A yellow card against Souths put the home side on the defensive until a powerful scrum led to a converted try to Albert Vulivuli.
Souths coach Dan McKellar was grateful for the win, which he said owed a lot to the forward effort.
“I thought we were really sluggish early on but did really well to be in front at half time, and then we just scraped home,” he said.
“I was happy that the boys came back with a win under their belts they have been working really hard for a long time now, I am really happy for the players.
“The forwards played really well today, as a unit they scrimmage really well. Last week (against Brothers) it really wasn’t our strong point. It is good to see the guys are back on track.”
Leah said he was pleased his team contested for the whole game.
“The difference from last week (against Norths) is that the guys played the game out, we didn’t give up. They gave up last week,” he said.
Souths 27 (C Johnson, F Manu, N Munro, A Vulivuli tries, R Meredith 2 con, pen) d University 26 (G Willmott, A Connelly, L Morahan, R Bradford tries, L Morahan 2 con, W Tuffley con)
Match report by Anne Lynch |
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Souths post a much needed draw against Brothers
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A slow starting Brothers fought back to claim a 22-22 draw with Souths in round five of Trinity Premier Rugby at Crosby Park.
Souths’ Anthony Ongolea and Filipe Manu both crossed for tries within the opening 20 minutes of the match, belying Brothers’ dominant possession which was finally rewarded with a try by Andrew Shaw near half time.
Leading 15-7 into the second half, Souths converted an early try which was equalled minutes later by Brothers Captain and leading Trinity Premier Rugby point scorer Brendan McKibbin, spurring on Brothers to eventually even the score.
Brothers Coach Rob Murdoch said his team defended well in the second half but needed to be competitive in both halves and take attacking opportunities.
"We do finish well but we seem to start the first 5-10 minutes quite nicely and then go to sleep; we have to get the first 20 minutes right as well - we can’t keep coming from behind," Murdoch said.
"We need more patience in our attack; if we can get past that 4th-5th phase and suck in more numbers then we’ll score more tries. We’re trying to score off a single phase every time," Murdoch said.
Souths Club Skills Coach Jason Gilmore said he was very happy with his team’s first half performance and the focus of this week’s training in reacting well during play paid off.
"The first half was probably the best we’ve executed this year, but in the second half a few missed tackles and some poor options probably put us in the back seat,” Gilmore said.
"Compared with last week we reacted really well and the mindset of the boys was a lot better," Gilmore said.
Brothers 22 (B Hunt, A Shaw, B McKibbin tries, B McKibbin 2 con, pen) v Souths 22 (A Ongolea, M Bennett, F Manu tries, J Tabrett 2 con, pen)
Match report by Alice McCarthy |
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Souths fall just short of fantastic comeback
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GPS came out firing on all cylinders in round three of Trinity Premier Rugby, to set up a thrilling 27-24 win over Souths at Chipsy Wood Oval.
Souths scored all the points in the second half to come close to claiming victory, but had conceded too many in the first half to a GPS side desperate to prove a point after their heavy loss to Sunnybank last week.
Souths scored a late try in the first half in response to three in succession by GPS, but the visitors claimed their bonus point fourth try to lead 27-5 at half time.
GPS began the second half one player down due to a yellow card, which gave the Magpies the encouragement they needed, hooker Anthony Ongolea scoring two converted tries to bring them within striking distance at 27-19.
A bit of ingenuity from scrum half, Nathan Munro, in taking a quick tap to score set up a barnstorming finish but GPS’ defence held out with Souths continually threatening their line.
Souths coach Dan McKellar said it was the clichι of a game being played in two halves.
“During the second half (our) effort was great,” he said.
“We have to look at the positives. We played the best football we have played in a couple of years up here in the last 40 minutes, but the same again, just that last pass and our option taking let us down.
“It was a good effort (with) plenty of fire. (It) is just the basics (of) dropping the ball in a try-scoring position.”
GPS coach Mick Heenan said his team would gladly accept the victory.
“We needed to get on the scoreboard today. We are very disappointed with the way we played last week and we wanted to turn that around,” he said.
“We did in the first half, we were under pressure but our defence held out in the second. We showed a lot of character to hold on in the last 10 minutes.
“Souths were really coming at us. They are a big, physical side and they are a good side, but we managed to make the tackles when they counted.”
GPS 27 (M Donaldson, G Ingram, M Perkins, S Satui, D Slade tries, D Slade con) def Souths 24 (A Ongolea 3, N Munro tries, J Vosuqa 2 con)
Match report by Anne Lynch
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Souths claim Inaugural Alec Evans Cup from Wests
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Souths recorded their first win of the season in round two of Trinity Premier Rugby, with a nail biting 13-12 defeat of Wests at Chipsy Wood Oval to claim the inaugural Alec Evans Cup.
The first half was dominated by handling errors, missed tackles and ill-discipline, resulting in the sidelining of a Wests player after a dangerous tackle.
The teams returned after the break with the visitors ahead 7-0 following a Geoff Abram try. The Magpies responded with two unconverted tries and a penalty to set up a dramatic finish.
Abram scored his second try of the match in the closing minutes, but the missed conversion meant victory eluded the visitors.
QRU Vice President Tom McVeigh presented the Alec Evans Cup to Souths captain Dan Draper, who promised their best was yet to come.
“We have pretty high hopes for our season this year,” he said.
“It was disappointing to lose to Norths (in round one) but the way we came back (today) was excellent."
Souths coach Dan McKellar echoed he was also optimistic about the Magpies' chances for the remainder of the season.
“I am really happy with the urgency and enthusiasm of the performance,” he said.
“We have been working really hard on our defensive shape and our line speed.
“Full credit to Wests they threw everything at us but overall there was a distinct improvement in our urgency all around the park today.
“Our focus for next week is on getting our injured guys back on the field. We look forward to GPS on Saturday.”
Wests coach Dave Witt blamed a lack of cohesion in his team for the disappointing performance by last year's semi-finalists.
“I don’t mind being beaten because Souths were better,” he said.
“It would have been an injustice if we won the game. If we play like that again we are going to run last.”
Souths 13 (A Gilbert, N Munro tries, J Vosuqa pen) def Wests 12 (G Abram 2 tries, P Nelson con)
QRU website Report
Match report by Anne Lynch |
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Match Report Souths v Norths 29th March 2008
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Young Eagles "out-enthuse" Souths
A young and spirited Norths outfit have won their opening Trinity Premier Rugby clash, defeating Souths 29-15 at Shaw Park.
The match opened at a cracking pace with both sides displaying good ball movement, but it was Australian Sevens representative Blair Connor who opened the scoring with a 30 metre dash to the try line.
Souths' Anthony Ongolea put the visitors on the board with a try under the posts but the conversion was unsuccessful, leaving Souths trailing 10-5 at the break.
A piece of individual brilliance from Connor, a QAS Reds Academy player who shone in last year's Australian Rugby Championship, led to Jesse Mogg scoring in the corner off a well-executed scrum play to increase Norths' lead to 20-8.
Souths struck back minutes later with a try to debutant fullback Rhys Meredith to set the game up for an exciting finish, but ill-discipline and missed opportunities haunted the visitors, with Norths' Matt Petersen slotting three long range penalty goals to secure the win.
Norths Coach Chris Roche was delighted with the victory against what he describes as a very good Souths team.
“We had a particular style that we wanted to play and the boys seemed to achieve that with what was a real team effort,” Roche said.
“We have had a bunch of guys come up from the colts that are real competitors individually and collectively, where in the past we have had positions where we have been really light, but now we can put out a team across the park that is competitive.
“It’s been a five year plan and it seems to be, touch wood, at this point going okay.”
Roche was delighted with the team effort shown throughout the match.
“I don’t want to single anybody out as that was a real team effort. You couldn’t beat that Souths outfit any other way,” Roche said.
Souths Coach Dan McKellar said his side was out-enthused from the opening whistle and tipped Norths to win more games than they lose in 2008.
"We put a plan together to try and nullify how they play, but we just didn’t put it into action, unfortunately,” McKellar said.
“When we build pressure and maintain pressure we are as good a football team as any, but we aren’t maintaining possession or building pressure for any long period of time.
“In patches we showed what we can do, but patches just aren’t good enough.”
Norths 29 (B Connor, J Mogg tries, M Petersen 2 con, 5 pen) def Souths 15 (A Ongolea, R Meredith tries, R Meredith con, pen)
QRU Website Report
Reporting by Brendan Altadonna |
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Souths start 2009 strongly!
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Souths began their 2009 Premier Rugby campaign with a come from behind 26-12 win over Norths at the Hugh Courtney Oval.
Both teams had their chances in a seesawing affair but with the game poised and Norths leading early in the second half it was the Magpies who grabbed theirs, finishing over the top of their opponents and running in 19 unanswered points through tries to David Feao, Albert Vulivuli and Kelemedi Vosuqa.
Souths coach Dan McKellar was impressed with the way his side lifted intensity when required and the tenacity they showed in their second half performance.
“The boys really dug in and worked hard for each other,” said McKellar.
"The way our forwards stood up at the breakdown and won us some turnovers was outstanding, it really swung the momentum of the match our way.”
McKellar was particularly impressed with the spark his side gained from the reserves when they came on.
“Our bench needs a big pat on the back,” McKellar said.
“They made a massive impact for us when we needed them today.”
Crucial errors at pivotal moments and turnover ball cost the Eagles dearly, leaving Norths coach Chris Roche left to rue what might have been.
“Our concentration really let us down today, in this competition you can’t afford to relax - especially after you score - and that’s what we did, which allowed them to get back into the game and eventually get on top of us,” said Roche.
However he's confident Norths can turn it around next week against Sunnybank.
“It’s only a bump in the road and we’ll perform a lot better next week," Roche said.”
Souths 26 (A Vulivuli 2, D Feao, K Vosuqa tries, K Vosuqa 2 convs, C Field 1 conv) bt Norths 12 (M Bond 2 Tries, L Samoa 1 conv)
Match report by Tim Braban from QRU website |
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So Very Close!!!
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Souths drop out of finals race
A try by Caxton Cup defenders Sunnybank close to fulltime in their Rd 16 match ended Souths last hopes of a semi-final berth in Trinity Premier Rugby for 2008.
With Souths desperately clinging to a 21-20 lead after a see-sawing game at Ballymore, Sunnybank No 8 Sua Lilomaeava powered over for the match winning try a few minutes from fulltime.
The win kept the Dragons in third place, leaving them to fend off Sunshine Coast and University in the last two rounds to sew up a semi-final berth and win the Caxton Cup for 2008.
Sunnybank scrumhalf Sean Armstrong had opened the scoring for the Dragons with a smart chip and regather to score the first try of their four tries, but Souths struck back immediately with a loping run by fullback John Tabrett through poor midfield defence in the 22 that ended with a try under the posts.
Souths wing Matt Coupar backed himself to get around his opposite number when he had support inside after a break and it paid off, giving Souths the lead.
Sunnybank captain John Dart, moving up from fullback to flyhalf to replace Ben Gollings who had been drafted into the Barbarians side for the following match, scored a neat try to pull back the deficit and centre Richard Kingi slotted a valuable penalty to put the Dragons in front at halftime.
When Souths scrumhalf Nathan Munro scored after halftime to regain the lead, the crowd sensed an upset. However tries to Sunnybank's J Sovala and Lilomaeava snatched the victory the defending Premiers needed.
Sunnybank 25 (S Lilomaeava, S Armstrong, J Dart, J Sovala tries, R Kingi con, pen) d Souths 21 (N Munro, M Coupar, J Tabrett tries, A Vuliuli 3 con)
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Cooper takes charge at St. Lucia
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It was the “Quade Cooper” show at St Lucia as Souths easily accounted for University in Round 15 of the Trinity Premier Rugby competition.
In conditions that had the field resembling a mud pit, the Magpies routed the Red Heavies 43-7 with the dynamic QR Reds’ playmaker contributing 23 points in a blistering individual display.
The victory kept Souths within striking distance of the finals, while the luckless University once again head back to the drawing board.
Souths’ coach Dan McKellar said the win was vital at the business end of the season.
“We said at the start of the week that there’s 20 competition points left,” McKellar said.
“We’ve got five today, we’ll try to get 15 more, and if we’ve got a bit of luck we’ll scrape in.
“I think if we can get into the four we’re as good a chance as anyone.”
Despite the greasy conditions, Souths turned up the heat from the opening kick off.
They opened the scoring in just the second minute when a deft Cooper grubber into the UQ in-goal was pounced on by inside centre Maase Faatoe.
Ten minutes later a lapse in concentration from the Uni defence allowed Flipper Manu to cross.
Cooper then added to the home side’s misery when he crashed over for the first of his two tries to give the visitors a 24-0 lead at the break.
McKellar said the opening stanza set up Souths’ win.
“We played some of the best footy we’ve played this year out there today, especially in that first half hour,” he said.
“We stuck to our game plan, we wanted to play territory and make them work out of their 22.
“We definitely knew we had to get good field position and we did that.”
Things only got worse for University in the second half as the Magpies crossed a further three times to put the result beyond doubt.
Cooper was once again the architect, netting another five-pointer and setting up tries for Albert VuliVuli and Willy Tilagucaguca.
A late try to UQ replacement winger Luke Morahan gave the home crowd something to cheer about but it was definitely a day to forget for the Uni faithful.
McKellar said the presence of Cooper was a huge bonus to the side.
“He’s just a fantastic footballer, he sees things out there that most guys don’t see,” he said.
“He sees opportunities and he’s got the ability to be able to execute them as well.
“He’s great to have around, he gives all the other players confidence, they want to play well with him, so he’s very valuable to us.”
But while McKellar lauded the skilful flyhalf, he was also full of praise for the Magpie forward pack.
“We knew we had to play fairly tight early on and just go for the advantage line.
“The forwards played really well, I thought our line out was good, and our scrum as always was good.
“They created room for guys like Quade and Albert and John Tabrett.”
University head coach Nick Leah also alluded to Souths’ physicality, with several Uni attacking raids stunted by the disruptive menace of the Magpie forward pack.
“Unfortunately we weren’t as accurate at the breakdown as we normally are, and as a result you’re committing more to the breakdown and you’re not getting guys out as running options,” Leah said.
“When you’ve only got one or two options, it’s easy to defend and they (Souths) defended pretty well.
“We couldn’t get clean ball from the set piece, the pass from the breakdown in particular was poor and that upset any rhythm we had in the backs.”
Souths 43 (Q Cooper 2, F Manu, M Faatoe, A Vulivuli, W Tilagucaguca tries, Q Cooper 5 con, pen) d University 7 (L Morahan try, J Lance con)
Match report by Chris Hartley |
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Finals Hopes in Jeopardy
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Brothers continued their domination of the Trinity Premier Rugby competition with a resounding 40-15 win over Souths at Chipsy Wood Oval in Round 14.
The visitors scored six tries to two, consolidating their position at the top of the table and putting the home side's finals hopes in severe jeopardy.
Brothers lost a player to the sin bin during the first half, but the deficit did not affect their performance with the visitors earning a bonus point to lead by 26-8 at half time.
The Magpies managed to regroup after the four-try blitz of the first half and contained Brothers for the first quarter of the second, before conceding another try.
The home side scored a converted try through A J Gilbert in the second half, but Brothers sealed their fate running in a late try to finish the match.
Returning flanker David Croft had his first starting run for the club in 2008 and was thrilled with the performance.
“The good thing is that we were very consistent throughout the course of the game, we were scoring in the 80th minute as well as the start of the game. Normally, we have a few peaks and troughs but we were very consistent, playing against a very good side,” he said.
“Last round we drew with them and now we have beaten them. We can take a fair bit of confidence out of that as we have a few tough games ahead.”
Brothers head coach Rob Murdoch said he had expected a very physical encounter.
“Their (Souths) strength lies up front in their forward pack, especially in their pick and drive, but I think we competed very well - there was a lot of parity around the breakdown today.”
Souths coach Dan McKellar gave full credit to the opposition.
“You have to give credit to Brothers, they are not on top of the table and undefeated for no reason,” he said.
“We have to take our opportunities. Today we just didn’t take them."
Brothers 40 (J Mclaughlin, D Croft, D Murphy, A Pyers, J Harvey, P Doneley tries, B McKibbin 5 con) d Souths 15 (AJ Gilbert, M Coupar tries, A Vulivuli con, pen)
Match report by Anne Lynch |
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Great Birthday but no Cake!!!
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Walker spoils Souths party
Former Wallaby Andrew Walker blew out the candles at Souths birthday celebrations when he steered his side to a convincing 2310 win at Chipsy Wood Oval in Round 13 of Trinity Premier Rugby.
The Magpies, wearing their traditional rugby jerseys to mark the 60th anniversary of Souths Rugby Club, were spirited in their attack during the low-scoring first half.
The sides were evenly matched during the half, scoring a try each to go into the break deadlocked at 7-7.
The second half was marred by ill-discipline, with two players from Souths and one from Easts sidelined with yellow cards, but this was overshadowed by an impressive display by QR Red Walker.
Walker scored all of the points for the visitors during the half to secure the win and cement Easts' second placing on the competition ladder.
Easts coach Pat Richards said Walker’s composure kept the Tigers on course.
“He is cool and calm and helps keep the young blokes heads focused,” he said.
Souths coach Dan McKellar said the team would concentrate on converting their possession to points in the upcoming weeks.
“It is the little things that we have to do to improve as a rugby club. If we want to be a team that threatens the competition we have to play a bit smarter,” he said.
“When we get in front we really have to put the pressure on and make the opposition work instead of little errors or turnovers that put us under pressure.
“Our focus is to start playing a little bit smarter as a team and doing what we practice really well.”
Richards attributed the win to his team's determination.
“It was a good win, it was the tough game that we thought it was going to be so we are pleased with the result,” he said.
“Souths played really hard at the breakdown but when we did retain possession we knew we had the go forward with the backs to get through their backline.
“The difference in the end was our ability to get across the line when we went wide.”
Easts 23 (C Ladewig, A Walker tries, A Walker 2 con, 3 pen) d Souths 10 (pen try, A Vulivuli, con, pen)
Match report by Anne Woodin
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Another Win Gets Away from the Magpies
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Souths scored four tries to two but were pipped at the post 21-20 by GPS in Round 12 of Trinity Premier Rugby.
The Magpies were unable to take full advantage of their attacking efforts, with Willy Tilagucaguca and Michael Zovko both failing to kick a goal.
GPS were behind for most of the first half but tries to energetic flanker Liam Ferguson on either side of halftime set up the win, sealed by wing Doug Hutton's three penalties and a conversion.
Souths dominated the early play and disrupted Jeeps' ball at the breakdown, but allowed the Gallopers into the game when their big forwards began to tire late in the first half.
The smaller GPS pack kept themselves in the game by being faster to the breakdown, forcing penalties and relieving pressure at critical times.
GPS captain and No 8 Steve Miller again led from the front, while giant centre James Kite caused Souths problems in midfield.
Souths' captain and No 8 Flipper Manu also led by example, with flanker Bruce Kolio backing him up.
GPS 21 (Liam Feguson 2 tries, Doug Hutton 3 pen, con) d Souths 20 (John Tabrett, Bruce Kolio, Albert Vulivuli, Willy Tilagucaguca tries) |
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Souths retain Alec Evans Cup
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Souths retained the Alec Evans Cup with a spirited comeback to win 22-19 when Wests looked to have the match in their keeping.
In a high standard match despite heavy conditions, Wests led 14-5 at halftime and were ahead with the clock ticking down.
However Souths played controlled rugby to take the lead and then repel a last ditch Wests' attack.
Centre Albert Vulivuli was outstanding for the Magpies but it was the forward pack led by locks Matt Bennett and young James Turner, along with QR Reds prop Ben Coutts, who laid the foundations for the win.
Souths 22 (J Turner, N Munro, A Vulivuli, A J Gilbert tries, W Tilagucaguca con) d Wests 19 (R Leilua, G Abram, H McMeniman tries, P Nelson 2 con)
Report by Peter Ascough |
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Souths pip Breakers in final minute
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Souths clinched a dramatic 24-17 victory over the Gold Coast Breakers in a last-minute try at Chipsy Wood oval in Round 8 of Trinity Premier Rugby.
Magpies’ Adney Anitema broke the deadlock to secure the victory against the 2007 grand finalists.
The visitors dominated during the first half through QR Reds centre and former Wallaby Lloyd Johansson, in his final appearance for the club.
Gold Coast head coach John Boe said Johansson was a player deserving of special mention.
“He played well today, he has always played well for us and we will miss him,” he said.
The Breakers Marshall Milroy scored all of the visitors’ points, including a 50-metre penalty, to level the scores after halftime.
The Magpies retained the majority of possession in the low scoring second half, with the scores locked at 17-17 until the final minute.
Souths coach Dan McKellar said he was pleased his side was able to turn around last week's heavy loss to Sunnybank.
“It is really pleasing that we maintained pressure which is something that we have been working on,” he said.
“They had a scrum on our line two minutes before full time and we managed to put ourselves in a position to win. I’m really happy with lots of aspects, after last week it was good to get a win.”
Boe said his team played well, particularly in the first half and should be proud of their performance.
“They showed a lot of courage, but, unfortunately in the second half we played without the ball and Souths retained the possession really well,” he said.
“I thought we won the first half and Souths won the second, but overall Souths were the better team, so we will learn from that. Well done to Souths, they deserve their win.”
Souths 24 (A Anitema, A Vulli Vulli, J Hartigan tries, R Meredith 2 con, W Tilagucaguca 1 con, 1 pen) d Gold Coast 17 (M Milroy try, 4 pen)
Match report by Anne Lynch |
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