THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
the day and a win for the 1st XV, this occasion was a truly wonderful celebration of rugby and encapsulated all that has been good about the fixture over the previous 156 years. The 1st XV remained ambitious heading into the St Joseph’s College national festival over the half-term break. A strong start and a victory over QEGS Wakefield filled the team with confidence, but losses to the extremely powerful Kirkham GS and Hampton ended our hopes of a Cup final place. Determined now to win the Plate competition on the Sunday, we started the day with a confidence-boosting win over Eltham College, before a loss to Millfield ended our participation in the tournament. After some well-deserved rest for students and staff over the October half-term break, the College rugby teams reassembled and attacked the second half of the season full of enthusiasm and anticipation. Much had been learned before the break, and now was the time to put those lessons into practice. The 1st XV had an epic battle away at Wellington College in the third round of the Champions Trophy, losing 12–6 to the holders in a game that could have gone either way. The first two weekends saw us face local opposition from John Fisher and Whitgift. A wonderful block against Fisher saw some keenly contested matches across the board before the majority of the following week’s fixtures versus Whitgift were postponed due to waterlogged pitches. Some outstanding work from the College’s grounds department allowed the 1st to 3rd XV matches to play, the 3rd XV coming away with a tremendous victory, compensating for the losses of the 1st and 2nd XVs. The next two weeks saw all of the College’s teams out playing fixtures versus traditional rivals Tonbridge and St Paul’s, with the 1st XV returning to winning ways with a passionate display. The final weekend of term saw the
SPORT
RUGBY JAMES HANKS
Lower School perform admirably in their traditional season- ending fixture versus DPL. We saw the best characteristics of schoolboy sport on display: team spirit, hard work, skill and humility. The Middle and Upper School teams, some playing for the last time in a black and blue shirt, displayed equal spirit and determination to finish the season well, with wins for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and U16A teams. For their outstanding performances throughout the season, the following boys earned representative recognition: Enzo Croy and Ben Potter – Harlequins U18; Alex Cahill, Marcus Marchant and Isaac Shaw – Saracens U18; Xavier Rainbow – Surrey U17; Jamie Anderson and Zach Carr – Harlequins U16; Tom Speed, Cameron Gilbert and Max Williams – Saracens/Kent U15; Ollie Rynsard, Leo Coiro and Max George – Harlequins U15; Henry Gooderham, George Croally, Noah Ridgeon, Tristan Saunders and Antoine Andrews – Harlequins U13; Will Davies – Kent/Saracens U13. As always, we must say a huge thank you to all the boys for their hard work. Their dedication, character and skill were a pleasure to witness each weekend. In addition, a very well-deserved thank you goes to all of the staff who make each weekend fixture possible, from the grounds, medical and catering teams to the coaches, all of whose efforts are hugely appreciated. Lastly, and most importantly, for the wonderful support our boys have received on the side lines from the parents, OAs and the rest of the College community, we thank you.
O ver the course of the 2019–2020 season, the College’s 44 teams participated in over 290 fixtures, with many valuable lessons learned along the way. Experiencing success and defeat in equal measure, over 800 Alleynians have played rugby for the College this year. The College’s fixture card remains one of the toughest schoolboy circuits in the country and the season showed that any slip in concentration could be exploited by our opponents. The Senior School started with the traditional Wellington College fixture, and whilst results may not have gone the way we hoped, it certainly raised the bar, enhancing the performance of all our teams over the weeks ahead. The 1st XV subsequently recorded wins versus St Joseph’s College Ipswich, Harrow and Brighton College, before a tough loss away at Berkhamsted leading up to our Champions Trophy fixture against St John’s Leatherhead. The 1st XV progressed to the third round with a strong home victory against St John’s before facing Bedford School in our 400th anniversary fixture, our most traditional and long-standing annual event. Despite the terrible weather, Dulwich hosted all 18 matches, with everyone able to watch the 1st XV battle at the end of the afternoon. With only three losses through
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