Gday gday it’s another Oysters Circ today! Week 6 was the official halfway mark of the season and would round out the first leg of fixtures as we travelled over to Ryde to take on the Old Ignatians. The mood was BIIIIG at training in the week as Coach Wiv took no prisoners and ran the group through their paces across the pads of doom, some sprints and various other drills.
He also eloquently introduced our new spirit animal: the Mongrel Dog, encapsulating each and every Oyster. Though we are mollusc in build, we are canine at heart and there was a real call to arms to bring this out in each and every game. A mongrel, mutt or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized breed and includes those that are the result of intentional breeding. Although the term mixed-breed dog is sometimes preferred, many mongrels have no known purebred ancestors. Crossbreed dogs, and "designer dogs", while also a mix of breeds, differ from mongrels in being intentionally bred.
Although mongrels are viewed as of less commercial value than intentionally bred dogs, they are thought to be less susceptible to genetic health problems associated with inbreeding (based on the theory of heterosis), and have enthusiasts and defenders who prefer them to intentionally bred dogs. And it was clear from the outset that Wiv was an enthusiast of the mongrel dog, who is resilient, hardy and fights for every inch! And to no-one's surprise Eddie Jones was referencing the mongrel dog mere days later, hoping to see some of this in his Wallabies chasing the RWC later this year.
Exhibit A: Coach Wiv's favourite dog breed
Match Report
Saturday is a rugby day and this week in particular quite the stunning one.
- The ENSO Outlook remains at El Nino WATCH.
- The Indian Ocean Dipole is currently neutral.
- A moderately strong Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Pulse is moving over the West Pacific and indicating that conditions will continue to warm.
As I’m sure you’ve gathered already it was an absolute PEARLER of an afternoon in the Greater Sydney region that had us appropriately hungry for some running Oyster footy.
Exhibit B: Canadian center B.Henderson going hard and direct
The beautiful natural amphitheatre of Ryde Park only further got our mollusc juices flowing, as we hopped off our Plan B Ferrari and soaked in the day.
A strong forward pack and consistency in our backline resulted in some healthy predictions from betting markets globally for the Oysties. The directive in particular was to make a better start inside the first ten minutes than we have the past couple of outings. Halfback Roy Harrison took this advice onboard, throwing a beautiful long spiral try assist to the Ignatians winger, who went 60m to score the opener inside five minutes.
But that’s where we wanted them - lulled into a false sense of security and superiority. The Oystie coaching staff's blood pressures were too low in any case! And who was to be our hero but the man himself Roy Harrison, who scooted from the base of a midfield scrum and tore downfield. With one man to beat and a screaming Gus McClleland on his outside, Roy executed a lovely show and go okey dokey artichoke put down the glasses manoeuvre for a crisp solo five-pointer to kick off our campaign at the 6min mark.
Sam ‘Brennos’ Brennan then crossed the line twice inside of ten minutes, both tries carbon copy stretching efforts from short range on the left hand side of the field.
Exhibit C: Prop G.Hudd dancing with the sideline hurdling the Old Iggies defence
We were quickly now up 21 - 7 inside 20 minutes and looked to capitalise. A few highlights as we ran up a big win included:
- A pushover scrum try?!?! If you watched a game from 2020 you would seriously understand what a feat this is.
- Sharpshooter fullback James Read kicking them from allll over the park
- Roy Harrison scootin’ and bootin’ to bag his double
- Flyhalf Jackson Garrells scoring his second and third tries in four years
- A long range tiptoe down the sideline from Gus McClelland that resulted in a nice try
- A beautiful length of the field screamer on the right side that included Gus - Lach the Croc - Whacko Jacko
Exhibit D: The Oyster scrum getting ready to push over for a try
All in all a fantastic display from the Oysties as we ran out 59 - 21 victors. Many thanks to Old Iggies for a great afternoon out.
Big day this weekend with Sponsor’s Day at the beautiful Woollahra Oval No. 1. See y’all there!!
Nick Stace - Manager
Epilogue
Well needless to say the bus was back in a big way! Some Oystermen were still reeling and rolling from their ways of the week before but alas we did not return to such fine establishments. But rather kicked things off with a beer or two and a delightful steak sanga at the Iggies canteen, thankyou for the hospitality there lads. And then we waltzed on up to the Royal Hotel Ryde, a fine mix of antiques roadshow, Irish bar and operators that wouldn’t look out of place on the NRL360 panel nor the retirement village. Anywho they certainly gave us their two bobs worth across some Tooheys Olds (served with a straw wtf) and one particular unit who provided a thesis on the state of rugba leegs vs union. The conclusion: Harry Tate is a smug youngster who doesn’t respect his elders and bloody millennials these days just don’t get how the world works and are burning it to the ground…- oh anyway you get the picture.
Exhibit F: Smug Millennial and Oysters Second Rower H.Tate in space
After we had exchanged TikToks with old mate it was time to get on the frog and toad, RBT means you need a Plan B and so we got one! The big bus was like a Six Flags rollercoaster on the way back, slamming and jamming, slippin’ and dippin’ and sloshin and boshin. It was great to have the conductor/manager Staceman back who went full Knight Bus and bellowed at the top of his lungs “take it away Ern.” Yeah - take it away Ernie!! And Ernie hit the gas, causing our club captain to tumble arse over apex and jolt the rest of the molluscs into the back of their seats. After a tactical stop in front of the Golden Sheaf to admire the sights of double bay for 15mins or so, we finally arrived at the LBH for a few more sherbets. Some (Bundy Rum) were enjoyed more than others (JD & Soda). A great evening all round!!
Next Up
Sponsors Day: Saturday June 3rd v Harlequins at Woollahra #1 Oval
Save the date LADIES DAY: July 22nd at Woollahra #1 Oval
SPONSORS
