Round 4 vs Balmain – Ladies Day

This Saturday the Blue Giants take on Balmain on the most distinguished and famed event day of the annual Australian sporting calendar, the Colleagues Rugby Ladies Day.

And as the Rugby gods would have it, the forecast is a sunny 25 degrees and the Colleagues and Balmain Kentwell Cup teams are on top of the ladder with undefeated records in 2016.

Over 100 ladies have already secured their Ladies Day tickets which includes champers and canapés from 12pm to 4:30pm, and all the Rugby man-candy they can look at.

Colleagues will have their toughest match of the season thus far in first grade as they take on the 2016 Kentwell Cup Premiers Balmain. Colleagues (14) sit one competition point ahead of Balmain (13) after three rounds of competition.

Inform Kentwell hooker Charlie Henley (pictured), who scored another double against St Pats last week said “Everybody always looks forward to playing in front of a big ladies day crowd. Hopefully Kentwell can knock off last years premiers and then the boys can have a red hot crack after the game also.”

Make sure you have a good view for this one folks, should be a cracker!

Kick off Times at Woollahra No.2 Oval

• Kentwell – 3.15pm
• Burke – 2pm
• Widddon – 1pm
• Judd – 12pm
• Sutherland vs Halligan 11am

Woollahra No.3 Oval
• Barbour 12:45pm

For the first time in over 10 years Colleagues has travelled to Hudson Oval Strathfield and left with a win in every grade. In what has always been a cruel venue for the visitors, the men from Woollahra were relentless last Saturday in claiming their first Blue Rinse at St Pats since 2004.

The Judd Cup Grand Final re-match was the tightest match of the day, with the good guys getting up by just a single try. The O’Sullivan and Monteath coached Whiddon Cup side completed third match of the season without conceding a single point. This is quite impressive considering the calibre of opponents Colleagues has faced this year.

Photos from Saturday can be found on St Pats Facebook Page  

Man of Match Performances

• James McMahon (13) – Kentwell
• Michael Woodward (4) – Burke
• Tom Harbison (9) – Whiddon
• Sam Orders (8) – Judd
• Tom Weston (7) – Sutherland
• James Davies (8) – Halligan
• Sean Cross (15) – Barbour

Scores
• Kentwell 45 – 22 St Pats
• Burke 31 – 3 St Pats
• Barbour 14 – 7 St Pats
• Widddon 38 – 0 St Pats
• Judd 20 – 15 St Pats
• Sutherland 57 – 0 Petersham 6ths
• Halligan 15 – 5 Maccabi

What an awesome week to be a Colleague!

Blue rinse against St Pats at Hudson, hasn’t happened in over 10 years. An unbelievable effort by everyone involved, special mention to the “nuts and bolts” with a try on the whistle to win it… I reckon that winger who threw it out is still having nightmares!

We also had the long lunch on yesterday, was great to hear the stories and history of the club from the old boys. After that I’m not too sure what happened…

This week we turn our attention to Balmain. Don’t let the current scores fool you, this is going to be a tough game across the grades. There will also be plenty of tail on the sidelines with Ladies Day and no one likes a loser so rip in!

A couple of points on ladies day, Colleagues are hosting this event and we all play for Colleagues. As such we are all hosts and NOT GUESTS. Everyone needs to pitch in – grab a bottle and make sure the ladies have a full glass (it makes for great entertainment later), pick up a plate and deliver some canapes, help to pick up rubbish throughout the day. This all helps to ensure the day will be success and the “Bankstown Yagoona’s” will taste sooooo much better!

Start firing up for Saturday Magnificent Men!

Manatee out

Mark Blackman – 2016 Club Captain

There was an enthusiastic gathering of 200 Colleagues at the clubs annual Long Lunch. Premiership teams of  1996 (4 from 4) and 2011 (5 from 5) relived those magnificent triumphs with magnificent men. The days MC Vince Sorenti revelled in an off the cuff performance that saw the room with filled with tears of laughter as he shone the spot light on a variety of Blue Giant Legends.

Michael Cheika  revealed his Colleagues philosophy of if you trying to be a good bloke you will be a good bloke and harden up. The Australian coach was no doubt impressed with the depth of knowledge of the questions and the manner in which they were asked.

The day was a great success as a fund raiser for the club and for catching up with old team mates. Look forward to seeing many more on Old Colleagues Day June 4.

Ladies’ Man at Ladies Day

“I pulled into the grounds of the Woollahra Rugby club and it was Gatsby-esque. The clubhouse was brimming with beauty. Swathes of lavishly dressed women poured into the venue like liquid silk. The sounds of laughter, raucous chatter and clinking champagne glasses echoed across the empty rugby field from the clubhouse. This is a party for the god’s I thought to myself as I parked the car. Alejandro and I departed company but fate would bring me back to this oasis soon enough.

I completed a further seven or eight fares when the call came in:

BEEP.BEEP.BEEP Johnny – 6 minutes

The address didn’t register with me right away, I just hit the navigate button and headed back to Rose Bay. It wasn’t until I pulled into the gates of the Rugby club I realised I was back at the party, but things had changed.” Read on….

Great Posh Tour last weekend out to St Pats. Although the 1.5 hour drive up Parramatta Road to Strathfield made it feel like we were still traveling to Campbelltown, the jetlag did nothing to deter the performance of the Blue Giants on and off the field.

2016 Events

28th May – WAGs Cocktail class & dinner at the Woollahra Hotel $90 per head (4 cocktails, two course dinner with wines). Email DB for a spot for your WAGdaveburnett.aus@gmail.com 

4th June – Old Colleagues Day v Drummoyne

16th July – Colleagues Black Tie Ball and fundraiser for the Australian Women’s Olympic 7s Team

30th July – Ladies Day 2 v Mosman

The Woollahra Colleagues Rugby Club and the Woollahra Hotel are please to confirm the continuing partnership between the two organisations in 2016

After 4 years of sponsorship under Ryan Hotels, the Woollahra Hotel’s new ownership, the Public House Management Group, confirmed earlier this season that they would renew the sponsorship deal with Woollahra’s most social rugby club.

The Colleagues playing community are thrilled that the partnership is continuing .

The Colleagues Black Tie Ball will be back again this season. The date is the 16th July after our away match with Petersham. Stay tuned for more details.

Check out last years photos here