SPORT // RUGBY
U13A XV
I am really impressed with how the team has developed over the season . At the start , the team were a bunch of talented individuals , but they are now playing as team – which is great to see .
Some boys are really standing out as leaders as well : well done to Ed Preece and Seb Staal with this .
Players of the Season : Ed Preece and Henry MacFarlane
Most Improved Players : Tom Haeney and Freddie Rhodes
U13B XV
The team has made great progress since the start of the year .
In September , there was hesitancy to engage with the physical side of rugby in tackles and rucks ; however , the boys now understand the fundamentals of these parts of the game and continue to improve at them with each week .
Players of the Season : Ben Ainsworth and Noah Marsh
Most Improved Players : Jacob Goodwin and Matthew Schrieber
U12A XV
Although not a vintage season in terms of results , there is so much more to competitive sport than winning fixtures , and I have rarely seen a side progress so much over the space of just one term . Yes , we lack strength in depth , pace and endurance , and are sometimes lacking in our desire to tackle , but our love of free-running rugby , passing through and boosting out of a tackle have been excellent . Add to this , enthusiastic competition and fast learning from players new to the game , and the sessions have been electric . Highlights have to be our matches against Aysgarth , Yarm , and Ripon , where we lost out in the result , but rugby won overall .
My Ripon report says it all :
“ What an incredible game with two very evenly matched teams , swinging the ball left and right on a windy autumnal afternoon like it was the middle of summer on a Brazilian beach .
For extended periods , this Pocklington side carried the ball , broke tackles , long placed , supported the player on the ground , and moved the ball the same way , expertly , often leading to seventh or eighth phase tries . Our offence was definitely the strongest it has been this year ; the only area to work on really being the decisionmaking on when to offload , when to hold , carry and reset the offside line – even professional players struggle with this , so the ambition can only be applauded ”.
Players of the Season : Jake Fairey and Freddie Jennings
Most Improved Players : William Milner and Jacko Wong
THE POCKLINGTONIAN 37