On Monday the 12th both the northern and southern class clusters met at Park 17, otherwise known as the City Touch Football Ground to finish our multiple weeklong Touch Rugby assignments and school carnival. Throughout the past month, the SEDA Classes have been playing and learning touch rugby with the goal of seeing genuine improvement in the player’s skills and understanding of game strategies.
The assignment allocates students to coaching roles such as tactical coach, motivational coach, fitness coach, or technical coach. Depending on the job they take on, they must then arrange touch football training sessions in order to increase their team’s performance or participation. Then, perhaps, they would observe an improvement as a result of the techniques they employed. For example, if someone chooses the tactical coach job, they must then devise plans to increase their team’s ability to apply tactics, which should improve their overall performance.
The final test of how much the teams had progressed came at the Carnival on Monday, where every team joined together at the football grounds to play, compete, and share ideas. There were multiple teams from each class, all of which were sorted into ‘pools’ to best sort out the schedule.
Games took 15 – 20 minutes, separated into two halves. The games were scored in a win/draw/loss points system. A win counted as 4, a draw was 2, and a loss was 0. 4 Games were played before the finals and every team was going all out trying to win and show their skills. Across the park, on every rugby pitch, players were communicating, passing, and running plays right through the match.
After the 4 pre-finals games were played, the top two teams from each pool entered the finals bracket. These games were just one half, the winner staying in with no loser’s bracket. It was a great sight to see, with a nearly even number of teams from each class making the finals. Teams were playing much faster and with more seriousness during these games, and while the competition was intense and some tempers rose, everyone stayed respectful and always ended the games by congratulating the other team. After the short playoffs of two fast-paced games just two teams remained – BSA’s Tweaklings, wearing white, and South Adelaide, wearing dark blue. Tweaklings were coming off a near-undefeated streak, only drawing in one match. South Adelaide was going just as well, going truly undefeated the whole way through. The two teams were given a break to discuss game strategy and drink/eat before the match.
The game was played in the centre of the field, with all students not playing standing on the borders and watching the match. South Adelaide won the rock-off, choosing to start on offence. The teams lined up, the offence pointing and gesturing to signify plays to one another, while the defence spreads out and discuss defensive rotations. The referees blow the starting whistle and everyone dropped further into their stances, the air of anxiety and nerves slowly drifting into anticipation and excitement. The game started slow, with Tweaklings playing tight, systematic defence. However, on the fourth touch, South Adelaide saw something that no one on defence had noticed – a weak gap in our rotation. The offence starts their run, moving left sharply and drawing the defence across until there was a tight, yet plausible gap for the right-side player to squeeze through. The team makes a fast, long-range pass down to the right side, moving fast enough for the defence to be behind, and the players rushed down to the end zone, scoring the first tri of the game. The Tweaklings get the ball for offence, starting from halfway up the field, but unfortunately, they were unable to find any gaps, South Adelaide hiding any weak spots if there were any. The team turns the ball over and South Adelaide goes back on offence. They run a quick pass on the first play, and use a nifty juke move, creating a gap for them to rush through, making the score 2-0.
The Tweaklings drew in together, cheering one another up and discussing their plan. Unfortunately, their ideas were not enough, and a dropped pass resulted in another turnover. South Adelaide goes back on the offensive, but at the time they were too obvious with their plans. They started with a short pass before lining a long pass to the outside player, but the pass was read easily, and a Tweaklings player rushes through and steals the ball out of mid-air. He takes the ball all the way to the endzone, speeding away from all the other players. This tri ends the half, giving the Tweaklings a solid feeling of hope and desire.
The second half begins, and South Adelaide begins with the ball again. South Adelaide used the same long passing technique to find yet another gap, dragging the score up to 3-1. The Tweaklings once again missed an opportunity, taking all their opportunities but not making the distance. South Adelaide started with the ball a few feet away from their end zone, but they showed their plans yet again, and Tweaklings picked off the pass yet again. They were able to make it straight into the end zone, bringing the score to 3 – 2.
Unfortunately, neither team scored any later than that, but the game was great to watch the whole way through, and it was amazing to see the two teams congratulate each other. Every class came out and participated the whole way through, showing plenty of respect towards each other, it’s always a treat to have all the classes gathered together. We hope for more exciting cross-class activities in the future. Thanks to all the referees, players, spectators and helpers around the pitch on the day, everyone appreciates the energy and enthusiasm everyone showed.
