Published on: 12 October 2016

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Last year’s inaugural Festival of the Boot saw Old Scotch Collegians clean sweep Christ Church old boys 4-0. The CCGS old boys have been reminded of the poor showing in office corridors and water coolers ever since. Sunday 14 August 2016 could not have come soon enough with the CCGS old boys’ ‘hammies’ feeling relieved and ready for redemption. 

AFL
The AFL team set to work on a rigorous kick-to-kick training regime five minutes before bounce-down. As was the case last year, the CCGS old boys looked dominant in the opening minutes of the match.  Sadly, the ‘run and spread’ the team showed in the first 90 seconds was to be the only run generated by the team for the reminder of the match. Things took a turn for the worst when 2005 Sandover Medallist, Jaxon Crabb (1996) went down with a dislocated collarbone at the five-minute mark.  From this injury, the CCGS old boys never fully recovered.  The Scotch Young Collegians were too strong for the Christ Church old boys, walking away with a convincing win.

Lombardi said, “winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.” With this in mind, the team is already approaching 2017 with renewed vigour, with calls for a ten-minute kick-to-kick regime to be implemented prior to the match.

Hockey
The CCGS old boys brought 20 years of CCGS First XI hockey to the 2016 Festival of the Boot. After an underwhelming showing in 2015, the team was keen to put in a strong performance and make amends. Bolstered by some big name inclusions this year and an impromptu fishing trip by a few of the Old Scotch Collegians, the CCGS team was quietly confident heading into the game.

The pitch, obviously lacking Ray House’s curatorial skills, provided a few challenges for both teams but it was the CCGS team who adapted to the conditions best. Led by some hockey legends (and grass hockey specialists), Chris Webster (1999), Michael Fraser (1996) and Matthew Boyce (2005), and ably supported by the younger brigade, the CCGS team quickly took full advantage of the familiar surroundings and put on a clinic to defeat the old enemy 4-2.

Soccer
The CCGS olds boys came into the match against the Old Scotch Collegians with little preparation but some serious football potential. After the first half, it was clear both teams had played plenty of good football. On the left side of midfield, Max Welton (2011) worked hard up and down the line getting behind his full back regularly. Up front, Hamish St George (2014) and Sam Stone (2012) came out of their usual goal keeping positions and provided a combination of skill, pace and canniness causing problems against a rock solid Scotch defence. Scotch fielded a strong team, giving slick passes and defending well. Midway through the first half they capitalised on a long throw which caught our otherwise competent defense, leading to the games only goal.

The boys surprised themselves in the second half as the tempo of the game increased. The team’s younger players’ fitness levels and attacking flair, provided scoring opportunities, however CCGS were able to do ‘anything but put the ball in the back of the net’ as the game finished 1-0.

‘Daylight robbery’ was the term described by the boys as the Scotch team continued to defend well without conceding. Whilst the boys were gutted, they were happy to have a good kick around and enjoyed a bit of banter.

Rugby
What a game! It could not be more different from the 2015 game, with a major factor being that CCGS actually had enough players to field a full side. Right from the get go, the CCGS veterans showed their individual and team prowess, with it only taking five minutes for Keith Henderson (2011) to cross over for a marvellous try on the wing. With young gun Anthony Hondros (2015) commanding the back line, CCGS were dominating play and before we knew it, it was half time and we held a hefty lead.

The second half unfortunately painted a different picture, with five boys leaving the field in quick succession due to injury. Scotch’s superior numbers got them over the line in the end, winning by two points with a last minute try. 

With the results recorded and securely submitted via Armaguard, the competitors and spectators from both sides relived some of the action with a beer at the CCGS old boys’ clubhouse (Claremont Yacht Club). Wallaby John Welborn (2013) awarded the cup to the Old Scotch Collegians, however, with a solid win in hockey and close defeats in soccer and rugby, the CCGS old boys have high aspirations for 2017, the Centenary Year.

A huge thanks to this year’s sports captains Mark Boyne (2002), Simon Harris (2009), George Haggett (2009) and captain and Festival of the Boot organisers Matt Caddy (2003) and James Balfour (2002).