Aussie Rules

Willing to try out this sport that never heard about before, eager to learn and experience yet another opportunity that we were given. Room 21 were going to learn how to play Aussie Rules!

I had heard of this sport on tv before and have watched a few highlights from some of the games. It was quite entertaining to watch and when I heard that we would be learning how to play I was quite excited.

One of the things that we learnt from the instructors (Micheal and Lucy) was how to ruck the ball. I thought I knew what they were talking about but then my confidence went low after they told us what it was.We had to pair up with some one and then use another person to umpire the ruck.

The person who was umpiring the ruck would throw the ball up into the air and the other to people would compete for the ball by hitting it backwards. Moses and I were going to square off the ball Moses had an eye of a Tiger while I was almost closing my eyes with my eyes gleaming back at him. We gave each other a dirty look and crouched down hoping for the biggest possible leap.

Waiting for Zane to throw the ball into the air,.............swish, the grip of the ball left Zane's hand the ball went into the air. Our eyes bulged wide open waiting for the right moment, I knew I had the height advantage and leap at what I thought was the right moment. Moses leap at the exact same time, we jumped like frogs stretching our arms to our bodies maximum wage.....WACK!!! With all the power in my right arm I smacked the ball backwards into my possession. I had won the ruck and couldn't wait for the next turn!

Aussie Rules

Willing to try out this sport that never heard about before, eager to learn and experience yet another opportunity that we were given. Room 21 were going to learn how to play Aussie Rules!

I had heard of this sport on tv before and have watched a few highlights from some of the games. It was quite entertaining to watch and when I heard that we would be learning how to play I was quite excited.

One of the things that we learnt from the instructors (Micheal and Lucy) was how to ruck the ball. I thought I knew what they were talking about but then my confidence went low after they told us what it was.We had to pair up with some one and then use another person to umpire the ruck.

The person who was umpiring the ruck would throw the ball up into the air and the other to people would compete for the ball by hitting it backwards. Moses and I were going to square off the ball Moses had an eye of a Tiger while I was almost closing my eyes with my eyes gleaming back at him. We gave each other a dirty look and crouched down hoping for the biggest possible leap.

Waiting for Zane to throw the ball into the air,.............swish, the grip of the ball left Zane's hand the ball went into the air. Our eyes bulged wide open waiting for the right moment, I knew I had the height advantage and leap at what I thought was the right moment. Moses leap at the exact same time, we jumped like frogs stretching our arms to our bodies maximum wage.....WACK!!! With all the power in my right arm I smacked the ball backwards into my possession. I had won the ruck and couldn't wait for the next turn!

Manu Samoa Keep Their Cup Dreams Alive......

A decisive victory today has given Samoa the points that they needed to stay in the competition. Samoa played a very structured game today using penalty's very wisely with Tusi Pisi and his super boot cashing in 15 points. The Samoans look the most likely to score the first try but struggled to present continuous plays by creating errors.

Thankfully Samoa were able to back up those mistakes with some very impressive defence by keeping them scoreless in the opening half and one try in the whole game. Samoa scored to deserved tries two star halfback Khan Fotuali'i and the hard man George Stowers. The Fijians were given opportunities but could not capitalise also making mistakes.

The cool thing was that when the gave was over the two teams came together kneeled down in a circle and prayed to God, that was the highlight of the game! Fiji showed good sportsmanship and finished off the game with a thoroughly deserved try. Samoa are still in second place now with ten points. They would be helped a lot if the Namibians could pull off a miracle against a determined Wales side. COME ON SAMOA!!!! (WARRIORS ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!)

My Favourite Samoan Sportsman....

Alesana Tuilagi is one of many feared Samoans, currently playing for Manu Samoa in this years World Cup. So far he has scored 3 trys from two games in the World Cup and will certainly be looking to add more to his tally. He is also my favourite Samoan because he is a man of God,he commonly after scoring trys does the sign of the crucifix on his chest and face which is a real inspiration to me. He is a beast of a man who tips the scale at 111kgs and plays in the position of Winger, (You don't usually see wingers his size!)

In the Sunday news it says that his diet when he was little was biscuits and Fanta. It wasn't surprising seeing how big he is. He currently plays for the Leicester Tigers who always do well in the English premiership competition. He is a superstar on YouTube, with most of his highlights showing him steamroll his opponents!

He is a cult hero for Manu Samoa and will need to shine for them if they want to have a decent shot at this years tournament. They need to beat Fiji to tomorrow to keep their hopes alive and well. Samoa are currently are in 2nd place in their pool and will need to stay in that position to keep their World Cup dreams alive.

Alesana Tuilagi has five other damaging brothers. They have all played at international and are probably the best sporting brothers around. To be honest I think that Samoa are good enough to make the semis if they play to their potential. With a mix of strength and skill they could possibly be major contenders. Samoa will play another Island in Fiji. This will a battle worth while, similar in the way with they play this should be a good match but I am hoping that Samoa can have the edge in this game.

I am hoping Samoa can leave a mark on this years World Cup. COME SAMMMOOOAAAA!!!!!!

Manu Samoa Off to an Impressive Start.....

As soon as the school bell rang I rang out to the street to quickly grab my bag and run, why you ask? Well Manu Samoa had already began their first match in the Rugby World Cup! The match began at 2:30. They were playing against Namibia, they were expected to win this game. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, I just had to turn the corner and I would be at my house! I ran down the drive way and ran inside the door.

I found the TV was on, halftime had just begun. I looked at the score hoping that Samoa were doing well, YEEAAAHH!!! 25-0 was the score Samoa were in the lead. I sat down on the couch and watched the game.

Alesana Tuilagi the superstar winger for the Samoan side had scored two trys already, sprinting down the sideline for spectacular trys. At the moment Samoa were controlling the game with ease. With the forwards dominating the rucks and scrums which gave the backs plenty of opportunity's to create breaks out wide. The Namibians kept trying and were determined to put points on the board.

Samoa were set up in Namibia's half and were prepared to score yet again. The Samoans managed to cross the try line through Alesana Tuilagi. But the ref disagreed with the passage of play and called it a forward pass. The Samoans were frustrated with the call and struggled to complete phases with errors. But the Samoans were able to maintain pressure on the Africans and gained a penalty try by controlling the scrum and pushing the Namibians back several times. The score ended up being 49-12 to Samoa.

Samoa have made a fantastic debut in this years World Cup and will need to prove themselves
's as major contenders in this weeks match against the big hearted Wales side. This will be a fantastic match up with both teams urging to be i this years finals series. COME ON SAMOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I BELIEVE (Tigers Vs Warriors On Tonight!!!!!!)

Tigers VS Warriors...............

The game that I wanted to be the grand final is now being played this week in the semi finals of the NRL. The NRL finals series kicked off last week with the qualifying rounds with the West Tigers beating the Dragons in a spectacular encounter winning the match 21-12. The Warriors came up against the high flying Broncos. Sadly the Warriors were pummeled by the Broncos with the score ending up being 10-40. It was not an impressive start to the finals series, in fact that could have been the end of their campaign if other results were different!

In this collision of these two teams we find one team who are on a high after recording yet another win which made it nine consecutive vicotrys. While the other team are looking to get back on track after a heavy lost. Both teams have teams have players capable of winning the game just like that. With the Tigers being known for their offensive style of play spreading the ball from one end to another. While the Warriors have forwards who are capable of offloading the ball to create breaks and trys for their outside backs. And their outside backs are more then capable of creating havoc with the ball, trust me!

I want both teams to do well in this game but my heart is with the Tigers, but honestly I woudn't mind which team wins this game because I like both of these teams very much. Look for Benji to bring out the bag of tricks in this game as he will do everything and anything he can to get his team that one step closer to that premiership title. Also look out for the like of Shaun Johnson, James Maloney, Feleti Mateo and the big man himself Manu Vatuvei. All are very dangerous with the ball in hand.

This is sure to be a battle for the ages. COME ON TIGERS!

Hot Tip: Krisnan Inu is back in the line up for the Warriors this week with Joel Moon Out being injured.)

Tauranga Journey Of A life Time

Just wondering how to start this story, it is so hard to explain how I felt and how much I loved being there. Well I will start off, the greatest experience of my life began when I arrived in Tauranga on Monday last week. Why you asked? Well our school sevens team coach Ms. Va’afusuaga thought that we had enough talent and skills to head down to one of the most anticipated events for schools around New Zealand, the New Zealand Aims Games Competition.

The thing was that I was supposed to head down with the sevens team on Sunday, but I was sick so I had to head down the next day. I was happy to know that I managed to stay awake the whole ride down from Auckland to Tauranga. And seeing the boys again really got me happy again. When we arrived I saw a nice big Marae which we were going to sleep in for the week. We were offered nice cozy mattresses by the Marae which ensured we would fall into nice deep sleeps!
After unpacking my things we headed down to the fields to see what kind of fields we would be playing on. We looked around and then headed off to different club grounds and started training. We were pretty sharp with our game p,an and trained well. We covered what we wanted to and then headed back to the Marae. We then ha showers and relaxed for a while.

After a while we had a delicious dinner of roasted chicken with potato, kumara and vegetables. Everyone enjoyed the meal which was cooked by Miss V’s sister Annie who was helping us out when we were down there. After our lovely meal we relaxed in the Marae.

Moments later we were told we were going to be doing some group games and activities. So later on in the night we started our games and activities. We were asked to name our groups and my group called themselves, “The Wackers”. We had a lot of fun that night playing all sorts of funny outrageous games. We then were told to go bed we did and were cozy on our mattresses!

Below is a movie that introduces our seven's team. I hope to bring you more footage from this amazing week!

National Seven's Champions 2011 - AIMS games from SchoolTV on Vimeo.