It is not all that often that we get the opportunity to take a large number of boys out to a Super Rugby match. For this to coincide with the rare occasion that the Waratahs win a game made the evening all the more worthwhile!
So Year 11 and Year 10 joined forces and took three bus loads of boys out to the game hoping to see a great display of rugby.
The weather during the day had not been all that wondeful and this appeared to scare off many spectators, meaning that the boys had the opportunity to sit in some excellent seats. Some boys still chose to sit behind the posts – either way, as always at the Football Stadium, we were close to the action and got a good view of the match and fantastic sense of atmosphere, especially when the Waratah’s took the lead.
Joeys is well-renowned for the large numbers of ex-students to go on and represent their state and country. The player line-ups for this game was no exception with Peter Betham, Damien Fitzpatrick, Pat McCutcheon, Paddy Ryan, Jeremy Tilse, Kurtley Beale, Jarrod Saffy and Laurie Weeks all young old boys who were in the squads for the match. Eight players is not a representation of players who used to wear the “Cerise and Blue”.
It was great seeing the boys enjoying the atmosphere both during the match as well as at the half-time entertainment. Even though it is quite different to NFL, it was wonderful witnessing Jordan Kennedy (Seattle) getting excited as the game became close during the second half.
After the Waratahs victory we decided that we would wait a short while before trying to get 150 boys out of the stadium. Our wait was rewarded when many of the players came over to where the boys were waiting and our guys were able to get some autographs and have some photos with a few of the players.
It has become tradition at Waratahs matches for the players to throw mini-footies into the crowed and the enthusiasm I saw from some boys to catch one of these somewhat cheap novelty gifts was a little concerning concerning and you didn’t want to get in their way! Although, unlike other members of the public, our boys walked away from the “scab-grab” unscathed with no blood drawn.
Taking a large number of boys out like this is always a little stressful, however, their behaviour and cooperation was second-to-none and certainly allows for us to try similar outings in the future.
Photo 1: Jordan Kennedy (Seattle) enjoys seeing the Waratahs head towards victory alongside Jordan Goren (Balmain), Benn Spillane (Hunters Hill) and Andy Cameron (Longueville).
Photo 2: Willo McDonnell (Narrabri) and Hugh Spencer (Barraba) catch up with Tatfu Polota-Nau.