Old Xaverians retained their guardianship of the McClure Shield with a hard-fought win over the Xavier College First XVIII at VFL Park, Waverley today.

In warm and windy conditions, and on a perfect lawn, the stars of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow came out to play. Despite an early start to the curtain raiser, (7:50am, when most were choking on Weeties when learning of the deceptions of Australian cricketers in South Africa)  the standard was excellent from the outset Both the U19 Reserves and the XC 2nd XVIII showed promise. The graduates, wearing red, shaded the current students.

The main event was a contest played at great speed. The XC team, under the guidance of Matt and Luke Ball, James McDonnell, Ted Woodruff, Nick Bye and Sam McClure, appear headed for a great season. They bested Sam Shaw's team early and were perhaps unlucky that the galle blew up in the last ensuring a win for the old boys.

Both games were played in excellent spirits and will serve all teams as they head for their respective competitive seasons.

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