ALL Saints’ College had a mixed bag of results from last weekend’s ISA division two rugby union grand finals.
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The 1st XV were unable to overcome Chevalier College in a hard-fought 36-24 defeat but the 15s team claimed back-to-back premierships over Redlands 25-10.
All Saints’ 1st XV fell behind 12-0 in the early stages of their match but fought back for a 14-12 lead.
Chevalier found a try before half-time to take a 17-14 lead into the break and from there they were able to stay a step of All Saints for the remainder of the game.
Coach of the firsts, Brad Allen, was thrilled with the application his team showed throughout both the game and the season.
“They’re a really committed bunch of boys. They’re a team with no real superstars, just boys who enjoy playing for each other,” he said.
“We managed to beat teams who finished higher than us to get in the grand final. We beat Central Coast Grammar in the semi-final 38-26 and they had finished above us on the table.
“The season was full of success for the group. It’s rare for All Saints to make the grand final.”
Meanwhile the 15s side continued their winning ways with victory over familiar opponent.
Not only is it the second year in a row that the All Saints 15s have beaten Redlands in the grand final – they’ve managed to do so with back-to-back undefeated seasons.
All Saints threatened to run away with their grand final when they got themselves out to a 15-0 lead but Redlands put on 10 unanswered points to keep the Bathurst students on their toes.
However, All Saints weren’t going to be denied as an excellent team try was backed up with a penalty give themselves breathing room.
Coach Scott Gardner said the results of his team have been something to behold.
“They’re a really special group of young men. They work hard, they play together as a unit and they really believe in themselves,” he said.
“There’s a great culture in this team and they have a great attitude at training.”
Gardner said Redlands made his team work hard for every point in the grand final.
“We dominated the first 20 minutes but the five minutes before half-time Redlands showed us they weren’t going to let us have it all our way,” he said.
“In the second half we came out strong. We got an opportunity through our back line and we scored a great team try.”
