BALLYMORE BEAT … By Jim Tucker
Brisbane Boys’ College will bus the First XV direct from Lennox Head to give their three-day rugby camp an ideal climax at the Ballymore Cup.
Head coach Dan Leo is shrewd enough to know that training can take a team just so far before you have to test the gains where it matters…in the cut-and-thrust of full-on games.
South Pine Sports Complex, home of Albany Creek Rugby Club, will be abuzz with action over Thursday, Friday and Saturday with U18s, U16s and U14s divisions.
“The Ballymore Cup will be an excellent culmination of three tough days at our rugby camp,” Leo said.
“The format is going to test our mental resilience, force us to deal with different defences against unfamiliar schools, build match fitness and get some continuity into new combinations.
“We have ambitions this year so it’s a good time to be tested.”
For BBC, powerhouse Queensland U18s forward Harrison Asi will play time at prop, lock and No.8 at the tournament which opens for them against St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe.
Jonah Wylde will be in the playmaking positions and dynamic Cooper Murray will bring his X-factor to wing and fullback.
It is one of the great endorsements of the Ballymore Cup over the past two decades that leading schools are drawn to the value of bonding and improving in a tournament format.
A team making it all the way to the final of the 16-team Under-18s division could play six 40-minute games across three days.
The make-up of the U18s division is an attraction in itself now there is far less interaction between GPS and AIC rugby teams than there was years ago.
Leading GPS schools BBC and Ipswich Grammar will mix it with AIC schools St Laurence’s College, Marist College Ashgrove, Iona College, St Patrick’s College and St Edmund’s College at this tournament.
On top of that, Sydney rugby powerhouse Scots College has flown north with two teams while Marist College Canberra will also compete.
More than 40 boys from Scots College visited Ballymore today to watch Queensland Reds training. They were led by former Red and Wallaby Brian Smith, the college's Director of Rugby.
Mixing with the group was Joe Brial, the Reds backrower who was schooled at Scots College.
Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and country-based sides add an extra dimension to the U18s. Rockhampton Grammar, winners of the U16s division last year, are joined by Marist College Emerald, St Brendan’s College (Yeppoon) , Matthew Flinders Anglican College (Sunshine Coast), King’s Christian College (Gold Coast) and Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School (Gold Coast).
Marist College Ashgrove are a new entrant in the U18s this year and Head of Rugby Richard Graham explained why.
“For us, it is going to give us an opportunity to play against teams we know little about. It’s stimulating to play against different styles of footy and adapt,” Graham said.
“Tournament rugby is very different. It’s natural to be up for your first game but in this format we have to mentally prepare for a second game on the same day four hours later.
“It’s only going to benefit us for the AIC season which starts in the first week of May.”
Marist College Ashgrove will face Scots College (2) and Ipswich Grammar on Thursday before a Friday clash against King's Christian College.
Flyhalf Daniel Londema will direct play for Marist College Ashgrove who are developing a young side with only captain/flanker James Johnston and Henry Robinson returning in the pack from 2025.
