Mr Smith summarises half a term of boys' sport.
Rugby
The rugby season culminated in some outstanding matches against Brighton College, Pilgrims and Twyford. I have been so impressed with the attitude and commitment shown by all our teams both in victory and defeat.
U13A
The U13A team had a fantastic season with plenty of progress made in all facets of the game. The boys came up against some big, physical opposition and came out the other side the stronger for it. The stand out area of our game has been our defence. The team has won a number of tight games through negating the opposition’s attacking threat. However, what has impressed us most has been the boys' attitude in training, matches and everything in between. They have shown a keenness to learn and improve; they have worked together as a squad and supported each other when the going has been tough; heads haven’t dropped and, no matter the result of fixtures, they have given of their absolute best.
U13B
The U13Bs have worked hard throughout the season and there have been notable performances in matches from Charlie Allday, Will Womersley and Roberto Vazquez, but the team as a whole have improved significantly.
U12A
The U12A boys have had a very good few weeks - we have played with increased confidence and purpose over this period, This has been due to the boys having an excellent attitude in their coaching sessions. They had good results against Highfield and Pilgrims and the key to their improvement has been organisation and playing their role and position. This has brought confidence and increased try scoring ability. This has been a genuine team effort and all the players have played a vital role in the team's improvement.
U11A
The U11As completed a superb season which saw them score 500 points and concede just 95 as they recorded an impressive 12 wins. A strong squad with real depth is evident from the fact that 17 boys played at least one A team match on merit. Ten boys were awarded Man of the Match awards throughout the year and there were 13 different try scorers. Faced with a strong fixture calendar, home and away victories against Aldro and Cranleigh were highlights, whilst the boys benefited from the use of some fantastic facilities on an interesting day out at Bryanston. There were some fine individual performances with the leadership of skipper Fergus O’Connell and vice captain Lachlan Franks instrumental both on the pitch and off it. Powerful running from Oli Norman, Louis Lawrence and Oliver Bonn was a feature of the season, as was the pace and footwork from the dangerous quartet of Tommy Osbourne, Stanley Ross, Austin Agutter and Sonny Tuppen.
U11B
The U11Bs had a successful rugby season, with 7 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. The most satisfying wins were achieved when passing and tackling was at its best, and when there was a sense of team spirit, support and encouragement. Jiayou Li and Oliver Williams must be mentioned for their try-scoring abilities, Nicholas Anderson for his tackling and strong rugby skills, Alex Langmead for determination and hard work, and Olly Wilson as captain.
U10A
The U10A completed a very progressive season with a comprehensive victory away at Twyford. Over the season it is difficult to highlight individuals, as all the players have worked well together as a team. This is best illustrated by the fact that eleven different players were awarded the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award on the match reports.
U10B
The U10B lost a thrilling finale against Twyford but this takes nothing away from an outstanding season. Joshua Pollock and Henry Forsyth have been stand out players while Ludo Kameen used his great pace to good effect on the wing.
U9A
A brilliant season for this team with big wins against Highfield (twice), Hurst, Cranleigh and Twyford. We also did very well in the Hurst festival (fielding just one team with all boys taking part), winning five of our seven games and scoring over 20 tries in the process. Every single boy has progressed and there are excellent skills set throughout the team. All the squad members have stepped up and I am proud of each and every one of them.
Cross Country
Our annual cross country event at Highfield was an excellent afternoon. Twenty schools took part with over 50 competitors in most races. The course was a challenging one including very muddy woodland trails.
The U9 boys started the event in fine style with Oliver Anderson winning a titanic tussle to claim victory. The U10 boys were a very solid unit and with Walter de Laszlo, Raffety Matthews, Patrick Welch, Felix Beacham and Noah Clarke they were worthy winners of the team event.
At U11 level, Louie Lawrence finished an excellent 5th with the team a creditable 4th.
George Baker, Felix Lock, Gabriel Black, William Ferrier and Theo Chinwala impressed in the U12 event. Again we dominated the team event with all boys finishing in the top 20.
Simon Pietersen was our stand out runner in the U13 event.
The girls also had a successful afternoon; Willow Lock won the U9 race easily with a super run and the U9s finishing 6th.
The U10 Team consisting of Fleur Baker, Zara Chinwala, Penny Clarke, Isabella Perry and Greta Shwarz finished in 2nd Place in the team event.
The U11s were led by Isobel Anderson in 6th place and finished 5th overall. The U12 Team was down to 3 runners: Poppy Langmead, Alice de Laszlo and Evie Read. They still managed to come 3rd overall, with all three girls finishing in the top 12 – the best run by Poppy Langmead coming in at 4th.
The U13 team also had a great team result, with 3rd place overall starting with Phoebe Perry at 8th place.
We have also already held our own inter-patrol cross country events. All races were very competitive with the results being held until the final assembly of the term.
Photos - thank you to Clarissa of Clarissa Fortescue Photography for the wonderful rugby photos of the match at Twyford.
