Sport

NSWCPS Rugby Union Gala Day-Chris Gangemi Cup

Last weekend, 13 of our senior students and their families travelled to Sydney to compete in the Chris Gangemi Cup Rugby Union Tournament which was held at St Joseph’s College on Monday. 

The students gathered for a light team run on Sunday afternoon before participating in a team briefing back at their accommodation. At this briefing, each player was presented with a jersey that had been specially designed for this specific event so they each had a keepsake of the experience. To assist with the jersey presentation, current Shute Shield Rugby players and ex-St Xavier’s students Archie Gavin, Nick Murray and Harry Snook, were invited along. The players were also shown a congratulatory video message from ex-St Xavier’s student Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, who has been playing for Queensland Reds across the last couple of seasons and has just signed with the Western Force Super Rugby team! Archie, Nick and Harry shared a few words about their journey into professional rugby and the strong friendships they’ve formed through rugby before wishing the boys luck in their competition. After the team briefing, we enjoyed a team dinner together before retiring back to their rooms for the evening. 

On Monday, the team arrived at St Joseph’s College ready to take on some of the best Catholic Primary School teams in regional NSW. St Xavier’s first opponents were the 2025 winners, St Matthew’s Mudgee, and proved to be a tough game; St Xavier’s playing with one less substitute player after an early injury, leading to a 22-0 defeat. The next two matches were against schools from Kiama and New Lambton, and despite digging deep and picking up another couple of injuries, our team lost both matches by only one try. The results across the three pool matches meant St Xavier’s finished in fourth place, and went into the playoffs playing the third-placed team, St Laurence’s from Forbes. Our team tapped into their reserves and ran on with heads held high and the motivation to leave nothing behind. After 20 minutes of playing with the same unity that had got them to Sydney in the first place, St Xavier’s were victors 22-5! It was a special way to end the day and to cap off a wonderful school rugby season. 

I’d like to thank all the families for their support throughout the season, and for their commitment to their child’s football over the years. A special thank you needs to go to Lindsay and Karen Mainey who organised the bus travel for everyone and for taking on the role of Team Manager to pass on correspondence to the families. I look forward to seeing some of these boys’ names in professional rugby conversations in the future! 

Upcoming Sport Events

-Polding Athletics Carnival- 11th September

-ACS Netball and Soccer Gala Day- 24th September, Expressions of interest close 28th August, complete on Compass. NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.