MGS SESQUICENTENARY RUGBY TOURNAMENT
Sesquicentenary International Rugby Tournament
After two years in the planning, the rugby carnival happened and it was a raging success. Melbourne Grammar and rugby were thrust onto the international stage and a week of rugby, activities and friendships was enjoyed by all. Participating schools were Christchurch Boys’ High School(New Zealand), Tamagawa Academy(Japan), St Thomas’ College(Sri Lanka), Oundle School(England), Shore(NSW), Hutchins(TAS), Scotch(VIC) and Melbourne Grammar. The MGS parents did a wonderful job with billeting and I would like to thank the Scotch College community for assisting with the billeting and hosting pool games on Tuesday 8th July. There cannot be many times in our history when both the main ovals at Scotch and MGS have had a set of rugby posts up! Both schools were very accommodating and the grounds staff did a great job setting and maintaining the ground for a week of rugby in wet conditions. Likewise, the MGS parents for the tireless hours spent planning, coordinating, cooking and caring for our visitors. It was a real team effort and I thank them for their hard work. The carnival was generously sponsored by HSBC and the oval was set up with the HSBC Waratahs field posts and hoarding to give it a professional look. Our opening ceremony turned into a major production with spot lights, cheerleaders and fireworks to make it a memorable event. Wani Wall and the FOG hosted a superb evening that set the standard for the week. Tuesday night we enjoyed a cultural evening in the memorial hall where each team performed an act. Henry Hooper, Captain of Rugby 15 in 2006, was our MC and Uncle Herb was our guest and treated us to some indigenous entertainment, including his brilliant gum leaf performances. MGS was the first act with a stirring rendition of ‘The Man From Snowy River’ while the Sri Lankans danced a traditional folk dance and Hutchins gave a humorous ‘History of Tasmania’. The Scotch boys did not disappoint with a bag pipe number and the Shore boys a ‘History of Australian Music’. The night would not have been complete without the English singing Jerusalem and the Christchurch boys giving their Haka. The highlight for the evening was the Tamagawa team dressed in costume doing a traditional fishing dance. It was a brilliant night. Our Carnival Dinner was at the Camberwell Centre where 460 people enjoyed the memories of the week and our MC Fletcher Dyson giving the Tasmanians so much grief that the New Zealanders felt sorry for them! Our guest speaker Luke Burgess was a welcome guest, after making his Wallaby debut in Melbourne last month. We enjoyed an extremely busy week and good crowds came to watch some excellent rugby and taste our MGS hospitality. The rugby was of a high standard and played in the true spirit of the game. The competition was arranged some that pool games would seed the teams into two pools of four that would then play each other we enjoyed some strong competition and every team went home pleased with their efforts. The coaches and managers from all teams would be proud of how their players represented their schools on and off the field. To view some imahes from the matches click here. Results: Tuesday 8 July
Thursday 10 July
Friday 11 July
MGS scorers: St Thomas: Tries – Matt Ridgeway(2), Freddie
Grimwade, Nick Perry Rob Shields, Head of Rugby
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