SPORT // RUGBY fantastic attack , and were three scores up . The momentum did eventually swing though , and Ripon found themselves back in the game , and eventually 11 points up with eight minutes to go . The team rallied following this , and struck back with a quick try , before scoring a try in the last play of the game and kicking the conversion to give us a one-point win . The joy and elation from the boys was evident , and it was a sweet reward for their incredible effort .
That weekend then saw our final match before half-term , with a two-hour bus journey to Dame Allan ’ s in Newcastle . The term was buoyed by some players returning from injury , and gave a superb first-half performance , being up two tries at half time . Unfortunately , the physical and emotional fatigue of the past week set in , and we were unable to keep the momentum going for the full match . The boys had a thoroughly-deserved break for half-term !
After half-term , we visited close rivals Hymers – the team did not need much motivation for this one ! We again started well and went into the half time winning by a score . We attacked well and defended tenaciously but , unfortunately , Hymers kicking game made it difficult for us to gain possession in their half , and they sneaked the win . The elusive 70-minute performance would be our main challenge for the remainder of the term . The 2nd XV then played Hymers mid-week and , again , defended incredibly well for the whole match ; however , we struggled to attack and lost possession too many times in slippery conditions .
With Yarm postponing the senior fixture , the 2nd XV was back in action with a home match against Ampleforth . We again started well , winning at half time , but failed to keep momentum in our favour , and Ampleforth ’ s strong direct running eventually told , and they secured the win .
Following on from the second exeat of the term , we were back in action with Nottingham High School in the next round of the bowl . We had been on an upward trajectory all season , and it was no surprise that at some point we would have a dip ; however , it was disappointing that what was probably our poorest performance of the term came in the Cup and , unfortunately , Nottingham progressed to the next round .
Storm Arwen then interrupted our fixture with Bradford Grammar , giving the team chance to rest and recover from the physical and emotional fatigue from earlier in the season . We then played Ampleforth again away , seeking to surpass our previous performance and claim the win . It was , without doubt , our best performance so far – the boys should be incredibly proud of their performance , especially when most of the game was played with 15 players and no substitutions available . The momentum of the game kept swinging , with the scores going 0-7 to us , 7-7 , 7-14 , 14-14 , before we kicked a penalty with less than five minutes to go , thinking we had perhaps secured the win . Unfortunately , Ampleforth won with a score in the last play and claimed the match 21-17 . It was incredibly disappointing to lose , given the fact we had performed and played so well . At the time of writing , we still have one more match to play with St Peter ’ s .
The team should be incredibly proud of their performances – both individually and collectively this term . It has been an uphill battle , but a challenge that they have risen to on almost every single occasion , really developing along the way . It is exciting to see what the group will be able to achieve in 7s in the Lent Term , where , hopefully , our physical stature will suit us better .
Player of the Season : Danny Prescott Most Improved Player : Matthew Brown
U16 XV
A term of learning and adapting to the game after a long absence due to Covid-19 . These boys have missed a large amount of rugby over that time and the transition towards the higher age levels is one that will take time .
The season started with a pre-season fixture vs Mount St Mary ’ s . We were only able to field 10 due to Covid , and the Mount game gave us an insight into how the season would go . Individually , the team possesses good skills ; however , they are fighting to adapt to the more structural game required to break down teams at the older age grades .
A heavy loss to Dame Allan ’ s was the low point of the season ; however , this energised the boys who then continued to work on their individual skills and team play , in preparation for a visit from our neighbours , Hymers . That game produced a much-improved performance in some tough weather conditions . Pocklington had to chase the game in the second half , and this allowed Hymers to add late scores that skewed the final score in their favour .
A similar tale followed at Ampleforth : missing several key players due to illness and injury , Pocklington lacked fluidity in attack and couldn ’ t make the key chances count . A ferocious defensive display limited a physical Ampleforth team to 15 points in the first half , but again , when chasing the game Pocklington conceded two late tries .
Players of the Season : Beck Woodall and Joe Clarke
Most Improved Player : George Farnell
THE POCKLINGTONIAN 35