Vikings Rugby eNews February 2009
New Rugby Development Officer
Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club is proud to announce the appointment of Emile Wessels as the new Rugby Development Officer. Emile brings a wealth of knowledge to this position as he had a short stint in the position in 2007 before heading off to France to play for Namibia in the World Cup.
As well as being heavily involved with junior rugby development in the Tuggeranong Valley, Emile is also the point of contact between the junior and senior Rugby Clubs and he will continue the interaction between both.
You can contact Emile by email on emile.wessels@vikings.com.au.
Vikings Pre-Season 2009
Vikings Rugby players have been working hard at Pre-season training during February in preparation for their NZ Tour in early March and the Vodafone preseason competition which starts in April.
Head Coach Glen Christini and his committed support staff have ensured the players have been getting the right mix of fitness, core skills and contact work to ensure the Vikings teams of 2009 will be ready. Coach Cristini has been impressed by the attitude shown throughout the Club and can see the enthusiasm created by all the players on a weekly basis.
The Club invited all players, coaches and support staff to a "Values Day" in early February to plan the 2009 season. Attendees were asked to add input to THEIR Club and a very honest day was had by all.
Trainings will continue at Viking Park on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting at 6pm. New players are welcome to come down and be a part of a successful 2009 campaign. Registration for 2009 is $80 and can be paid at training on either night.
Vikings Inter Squad 10's
As a curtain raiser to the Vikings 1st XV v Central West on Friday 27th of February, Coach Christini nominated players to play in a inter squad tens game which ran over four ten minute quarters. It was quite obvious from the start of the game that defence wasn't the priority and what the spectators were left with was a very entertaining game of 10's rugby. Tries from all parts of the field were on display as was some great individual brilliance. Coach Christini stated after the game, "It was necessary for all the guys to get a run this weekend. Whether it was in the 10's tonight, the trial later or in the 7's tomorrow. The boys will be better for it as they needed to play after six hard weeks of training"
So at the end of the game it was fair to say that there was some great entertaining rugby, both teams scored great tries and there were no injuries of concern.
Vikings 1st XV v Central West
Tuggeranong Vikings 1st XV had their first trial game on Friday night following the internal 10s game against a very determined Central West outfit that were using this weekend as a trial for the Country Week tournament in late March. The game was played out over four twenty minute quarters.
Both teams looked pretty tentative in the first quarter but it was enough to encourage the crowd to grab a steak sandwich and hang around for what would become a very physical encounter. This was a trial which had some very heavy hits in contact yet some silky smooth hands in attack. Needless to say the pace of the game was pretty high and the boys from both teams where looking for a bit of water after the first twenty minutes.
The second twenty minutes for the Vikings looked a lot better structure wise both in defence and attack. It would be fair to say that Vikings got more ball in the second quarter and used it to their advantage. The first Viking try was awarded to Salesi Toumoua, following up from a strong charge from Wellington Tu'ulakitau. The second try was scored by Pete Conroy finishing off a well structured backs move and the third try of the quarter was from a beautiful chip and chase and follow through grubber from little Snaky Knight.
The third quarter started much the same as the second with some strong defence resulting in a sneaky little try to Micheal Henry, but those things happen when a hooker is sea gulling in the backs. Needless to say he claimed it and this lifted his confidence immensely as every lineout throw after that was spot on!
Entering the last quarter we saw some very tired players. As expected the conditioning we had done on Thursday night had maybe caught up to us a wee bit. Although the effort was there the same intensity wasn't on show as at the start of the game and this lead to a Central West comeback and eventually victory in the game. But all in all there where some very good signs to come out of the game, from a player's point of view the game were well needed more as a measuring block to see where we were at. But by no means are we going to rest there. We will continue to improve and advance towards a successful season for the men in red.
Kiama 7's
On Saturday the 28th of February, Vikings entered the Kiama 7's. In what is traditionally a very highly contested tournament, the Red Men did not disappoint and made it through to the quarter finals, eventually losing to the winners of the comp, West Harbour.
The day started well for the Vikings with a 26 - 5 win over Camden in the first game and that was followed up with a convincing 17-7 win over a more fancied Southern Districts team.
Game 3 was against St Pats from Strathfield and the Vikings gave them an early exit up the highway with a 19-0 performance which lead them to face off with West Harbour in the Finals. West Harbour won the game 28 - 7 but by no means were the Vikings disgraced.
Two players that stood out on the day where Tim Tuala and newly registered player Jeremy Te Huia.
The Boags Bullet
Simon French represented Vikings in the Boags Bullet during half time at the Brumbies on Saturday night. The Boags Bullet was a half time sponsored event by Tooheys with the winner taking home $1000 worth of Boags product for their Club. This involved a 100m sprint with all seven Premier Clubs being represented. After a restart Frenchy came in a close 4th. Well done Frenchy but no beer!
Up Coming Events March/April
March
7th - Queanbeyan 7's at Campese Oval, Queanbeyan
8th - Vikings Pre Season NZ Tour Departs
13th - ACT Brumbies v NSW Waratahs, Bruce Stadium
14th - Batemans Bay XV Knockout Comp, Batemans Bay
28th - Vikings 1st XV v Brumbies Academy, Viking Park
April
4th - Vodafone Shield Round 1, venue TBC
11th - ACT Brumbies v Stormers, Bruce Stadium
17th - ACT Brumbies v Bulls, Bruce Stadium
18th - Vodafone Shield Round 2, venue TBC