At the half way mark of the season the team has come together well and it's great to see the improvements in the players' skills. We have managed to keep a fairly even scoreboard with a 2-3-2 win/loss/draw ratio. We haven't managed to get many games in lately with lots of wet weather and ground closures. Here's hoping the end of the season sees some dryer weather so we can finish with a flourish.



July 3

Muddy but happy.

A beautiful sunny but cold morning saw us looking forward to our match against Marist Albion Black at Middleton Park. Unfortunately, despite the great overhead conditions the conditions underfoot were very wet and muddy with large areas of the field almost impassable. In fact the field was actually shortened as it was underwater. The Marist Albion side were a very well drilled outfit who played the game at a fast pace which caught us off guard at the start. Once a clarification of the rules was straightened out and the rips were handed back to players rather than thrown on the ground, Burnside started to get some rhythm. A great game by Cameron who made some great runs in very muddy conditions saw him earn the Subway Player of the Day, while Amy's first try of the season earned her the Small Blacks medal! Unfortunately, despite fighting hard to the end we were unable to claw back the lead Marist Albion gained at the start and finished on the wrong side of a 11-6 score line. Here's hoping for a firmer surface for our next match.


June 26

After a week off with a cancellation we managed to get 7 fit players to show up on a very cold and bleak Saturday morning at Northwood Park for our match against Belfast. It was probably just as well that we had no reserves as it gave everybody an opportunity for a good long run around without having to stand on the sidelines and get cold. A strong game by Maaka saw him earn the Small Blacks Player of the Day medal while Josh's 4 tries, 2 rips and strong backing up saw him earn the Subway Player of the Day. The highlight of the match was seeing Paul trip over backwards in the mud, unfortunately the cameras weren't fast enough to get a snap. The final result saw a 12-12 draw and I think everybody was happy to get back into warm cars and head home.

June 12
Our club day dawned cold but sunny and bright and everybody showed up ready to play. After not having a practice this week due to ground closures again, the kids were ready and raring to get into it.
We were up against Christchurch Gold and were playing on the temporary field in front of the clubhouse. A great turnout of supporters were on the sideline to cheer the team on.
Once again it was a very even match with tries being scored tit-for-tat throughout the first half with only a couple of turnovers being the difference. Some players seemed to show a little bit of uncharacteristic hesitation which may have been due to the size of the field being smaller than they have been used to.

 However that wasn't the case for Small Blacks Player of the Day, Cameron Brown (pictured)  the youngest team member who had some great runs with the ball and managed a total of 4 individual rips throughout the game. Another player to stand out was our Subway Player of the Day - Mason Searle who scored a couple of great tries and a managed a couple of rips also. In fact our ripping was a definite highlight with 7 players managing a total of 12 rips. 
Unfortunately the opposition were making plenty of rips also and came out on top at the final whistle 13-11.

June 5
After a week off, we struck a cold but clear Saturday morning for our match against Shirley Blue at Burwood Park.
The team were raring to go after a week off and they showed it on the field with some excellent team work. Their passing  and catching went to a new level as they managed to stay level-pegging with a speedy Shirley team.

In the end we came away with a 13-all draw which was a great result considering we had some players flagging toward the end due to suffering from illness during the week. Subway player of the day was Ethan for his best game of the season so far. Great running Ethan. We also congratulate Thomas on being the first Small Blacks Player of the Day for his excellent all round effort on the field.

May 29
vs Burnside Black - Match cancelled due to weather.

May 22
After a bit of rain during the week, Saturday dawned clear and bright and the field was well softened.
We were up against an experienced Sumner team who we lost narrowly to in our 3rd grading match. This Sumner team have already had one whole season together and their experience showed again with Burnside White eventually going down 15-11.

However we showed some real improvement on defense in this game with a number of players making their first rips of the season and more players showing greater commitment when chasing down the opposition. We made a total of 7 rips which was a good achievement given we only managed 1 rip the first time we played them.

It is great to see the confidence growing in some of the younger players as each week progresses, this was particularly evident with our Subway Player of the Day - Cameron Brown, our youngest player, who managed to get 2 rips and narrowly missed a few more, not through lack of commitment. Great work Cam.

Be sure to check out the galleries section for photos from today's game!

May 15