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ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
Rugby
By Andrew Grounds, Master i/c Rugby
The early part of the 2016 season was a
difficult one for the Rugby Club with a high
injury count and a tough fixture card. The
1st XV were the shining lights during this
period gaining wins against Uppingham
and Marlborough with Henry Emmott
(
St Hugh’s
) being a stand-out player. The
best win of the season came against MCS
with an outstanding display of off-loading
rugby and body-on-the-line defence. As
the season went on, the pupils started to
grow in confidence and developed as rugby
players with some encouraging results; a
highlight was the Yearlings B’s first win, a
41-19 defeat of Cheltenham College, with
breakthrough performances from Oliver
Ward (
Davenies
) and Luke Charlesworth
(
Our Lady’s Abingdon
).
The Junior Colts A’s had a remarkable
season given that they did not win a single
game last year. There were wins against Dean
Close, Bloxham and Oratory but their best
performance was away at Radley. Last season
as Yearlings they lost 78-7 but this time came
within a whisker of beating their rivals in a
narrow 19-17 defeat. The most successful
team in the School were the Junior Colts
C’s who won 78% of their games under the
tutelage of Mr Guppy and Dr Nagle with
stalwarts such as Arthur Boanas (
Dragon
) and
Zak Leigh (
Dragon
) leading the charge.
The 2nd XV had a good end to the
season winning 5 out of their 7 games
marshalled brilliantly by Rawdie Marks
(
Leighton Park
) and Tom Montgomery
(
New College
). The Yearlings A’s showed
promise during the term but were hampered
by injuries early on in the season. They
gained momentum with players such as
Harvey Machin (
The Warriner
) and Sam
Gorton (
Caldicott
) leading the way during
their difficult period. Their hard work was
rewarded in an impressive 60-0 win against
Radley on Upper 1 with four tries to Daniel
Hoggar (
Wellesley House
).
It was a challenging season for the Colts
who, like the Yearlings, were hampered
by injuries. The A’s were led impeccably
by Toby MacLachlan (
Moulsford Prep
) and
improved throughout the season with the
Bs gaining some encouraging wins against
Cheltenham and Malvern. The season
ended on a high for the 1st XV with big
wins against Malvern and Pangbourne
College where Dan Brady (
The Warriner
)
bagged a hat-trick. Angus Atkinson (
Dragon
)
led the team with distinction and was ably
supported by Brandon Allen (
Aylesbury
Grammar
), William Pickford (
Larkmead
)
and Spencer Gomes (
Papplewick
).
St Edward’s U12
Rugby Festival
In November, Teddies was delighted to
host its inaugural U12 Rugby Festival.
It was a hugely successful day with 23
schools in attendance. From Christ
Church Cathedral School just down the
road to Aysgarth School in Yorkshire
schools travelled far and wide to join us
for a day of top-level sport.
The grounds looked beautiful and
conditions were good. Teams were
divided in to 4 groups with each team
playing 5 matches, 7 minutes each way.
The standard of rugby was high and it
was wonderful to see so many parents
and grandparents out in force to support
the boys.
The afternoon closed with
presentations to all teams, with the
added bonus of James Haskell and Simon
McIntyre joining us to congratulate all
players and sign 280 rugby balls!
James Colson Lake (
New College
)
Simon Hipwell
Alexandre Jennison (
Thomas’s Battersea
)
Captain Angus Atkinson leads his team onto Upper 1 for the match v Cheltenham in October