34 / 40
34
ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
Rugby
By Rob Cottrell, Master i/c Rugby
Teddies takes great pride in its rugby, and
the 2017 season was certainly no exception.
The Autumn Term is a hugely challenging
one, not least because it is the longest with
up to a dozen fixtures for some teams and
inevitably the club has to get going from a
standing start following too many weeks of
summer inactivity – for pupils and staff alike!
The pre-season programme, however, soon
made that a thing of the past with all year
groups working tirelessly and cohesively in
challenging summer temperatures to set the
tone for what was to become a lengthy but
outstanding season for many teams.
The 1st XV signed off an outstanding
season that will be remembered for several
years with an emphatic victory over Malvern
away from home. Having won eight out of
ten fixtures, the 1st XV finished 11th in
the national Daily Mail Cup standings, an
unbelievable achievement for a school of
our size, and were only six collective points
from an unbeaten season (two point loss
to an undefeated Cheltenham College and
by 4 points to a formidable Haileybury
College during pre-season). Indeed it was
the 1st XV’s most successful season in
recent memory and there were a number
of close matches which teams of less
character may not have won. The XV went
on to some of their most memorable wins
to date, not least the 20-0 whitewash of
Rugby and the 22-19 victory over Clifton
College. The highlight of the season for the
boys, however, was the convincing 25-12
win at home against Radley. Under Henry
Emmott’s leadership, Dekoye Coker was
once again outstanding all season, bagging
ten tries in the process. Cameron King won
the award of players’ player, supported by
best newcomers Harry Woodall and Ollie
Kynge who were constant physical threats
in the forwards and backs respectively. Luke
Valentine was a fine orchestrator, receiving
the coaches’ player of the year for his
superb performances.
In their final season playing as a single
year group, the Colts signed off from Lower
School rugby on a high. They have applied
themselves consistently well to training making
great progress in terms of their skills and game
understanding. As a squad they aspire to play a
fast and loose brand of rugby, underpinned by
a desire to keep the ball alive, and it has been
hugely rewarding to observe the improvement
of their skill sets allowing them to open up
defences and score some stunning tries. In
terms of fixtures it was a challenging start to
the season sustaining losses against Haileybury,
Rugby and Clifton, before defeating Radley
away from home: one of the highlights of the
season and an 80-point turnaround from their
fixture two years ago in the Shells. The second
half of the season saw the boys play some
expansive and confrontational rugby winning
6 out of 7 games to finish the season with a
record of 7 wins and 4 losses. The boys were
a credit to Mr Parker and Mr Turner who wish
them well as they graduate to the demands
Jack Verschoyle and Cameron King in action v MCS