The inaugural Independent Colleges Shield (ICS), held for the first time over two days at Ballymore in Brisbane on October 23 and 24, may develop into a new weekly school rugby competition in 2009.

The 2008 ICS was a Queensland Rugby-created mini competition for colleges not currently involved in one of the established school rugby competitions.

Eleven open age teams from schools across Brisbane took part in two carnival days of keenly contested rugby.

St Francis College (Logan) and Clairvaux Mackillop College (Mt Gravatt) emerged as the two top teams from Thursday's draw with both schools winning through to the Thursday final.

The schools reached fulltime locked on one unconverted try each, with St Francis College claiming the title on count back after being the first school to post points in the match.

In Friday's matches, three schools finished with three wins and one loss each. Southern Cross Catholic College (Redcliffe) claimed the title after securing two bonus points through the round robin format, one point ahead of Grace Lutheran College (Rothwell) and two points ahead of Faith Lutheran College (Redlands).

A playoff between St Francis College and Southern Cross College may be held at a later date.

With the growth in non-state schools throughout greater Brisbane, Queensland Rugby recognised the need for a new competition to provide these schools with a structured rugby pathway.

"We hope the competition will develop into a weekly school competition in 2009 and fall in line with other school competitions held in Term 2 and 3," said Brisbane Rugby Manager Geno Costin.

2008 Results:
Day 1
Sheldon College 10 Chisholm Catholic College 5
Carmel College 24 St Thomas More College 0
Sheldon College 0 Clairvaux MacKillop College 22
Carmel College 0 St Francis College 10
Chisholm Catholic College 0 Clairvaux MacKillop College 34
St Thomas More College 0 St Francis College 27
Chisholm 12 Thomas More 5
Sheldon 0 Carmel 10
Clairvaux 5 St Francis 5

Day 2
Grace Lutheran College 14 Kimberley College 0
Southern Cross Catholic College 19 Christian Outreach College 0
Faith Lutheran College 17 Kimberley College 0
Grace Lutheran College 10 Southern Cross Catholic College 8
Christian Outreach College 5 Kimberley College 5
Grace Lutheran College 0 Faith Lutheran College 3
Kimberley College 0 Southern Cross Catholic College 26
Christian Outreach College 0 Faith Lutheran College 3
Southern Cross Catholic College 12 Faith Lutheran College 0
Grace Lutheran College 19 Christian Outreach College 0

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