SPORT// RUGBY
enthusiastic and improving players,
who are prepared to dig deep and keep
working when the odds are stacked
against them, and no doubt these defeats
will serve as the essential motivation,
fuel and drive that we all need in life to
improve and do better next time round.
This is a team bristling with pace, time
and again showing the devastating
capacity to score points from depth
on the counter but sometimes lacking
the same physical presence as their
opposition. Defensively we’ve been
inconsistent, often losing shape and
missing tackles around the fringes of
play against teams who are particularly
adept at controlling possession.
However, through the middle we’ve
grown significantly in stature and
composure, with a core of players
displaying a rugged willingness to do
the ugly stuff and put themselves on the
line in order to frustrate and hold their
opposition at bay.
Champagne Moment: Terrence Huang’s
superb individual try. Caught directly
from kick off, just 17 seconds into the
second half of play against Bradford
Grammar… momentum in action.
Genuinely great stuff!
The Lent term saw individual players
improve hugely on their core skills,
particularly the consistency, length
and accuracy of their passes in both
directions. It is been a real pleasure to
see the relish with which they adapted
to the shortened version of the game,
looking to stay clear of contact and
generate width in attack. Our first
tournament was cancelled because of
the weather and then we suffered a
jarring sequence of injuries meaning
we were not able to field a full strength
team in our own tournament.
tough opening games to produce an
excellent display to come out 5 tries to
2 victors against a good Barnard Castle
team (who we lost to in the full game).
Some excellent performances by Max
Innes, Ben Malkin and Oliver Foster
cemented this battling performance.
Rallying again they showed dogged
defence and resilience in attack beating
Mount St Marys and finishing fourth
overall.
Overall a roller coaster of a season, but
impressive attitude and commitment
throughout.
Players of the Season:
Sam Smart, L Woodhead
Most Improved Player:
M Innes, Arthur Cesbron D’arnaud
Nonetheless, in wet and blustery
conditions the boys came back from
RUGBY VII’S
The highlight of the season was playing
in the final at Worksop where we beat
Loughborough Grammar and Welbeck
in the group stages to then go on and beat
Millfield in the Semi Final. Sedbergh,
however were too strong for us.
U16 VII’s
U16s showed promise in their play, but
it is frustrating as they played their best
rugby only in the last two games of each
tournament, not continuing forward
into the next. Two steps forward two
back again.
U15 VII’s
15s played well throughout, reaching
the plate play off at Ampleforth and
Durham.
U14 VII’s
14s again showed great promise in
their personal development, however
they found themselves outgunned by
the opposition who might not be more
skilful but were just bigger or quicker.
U13 VII’s
13s struggled to transition from the
15 a side game to 7s or even take
forward their style of play into 7s. Full
of potential however and they could do
well in later years.
last pass or one missed tackle. They
will blossom into a useful team.
Full Colours:
Will Winter, Jonty Goddard
Half Colours:
Cameron Adams, Sam Noble,
Noah Parkinson
Headmaster Distinction for
Contribution to Senior Rugby:
Will Wright.
U12 VII’s
12s struggled all season as a team,
but also outplayed the opposition
several times, doing really well in
their play to only be let down by the
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
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