Chronicle 687

68 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Rugby By Joe Winpenny, Head of Rugby

Tino Mutekwa

stead for the 2025/26 season. Kai Wilkinson and Mukeah Turay have been mainstays in the Gloucester Rugby U17 Academy Squad and Ferdie Lapidus, Max Casey, Oscar Danby, and Jack Rothery have all been selected for Oxfordshire U17s. The end of season awards went to 1st XV Captain Will Mowat (Players’ Player) and Hal Holland (Coaches’ Player). Senior Rugby (2nd XV) The 2nd XV had another fantastic season under the guidance of Willem Truter, new coach Leon O’Rourke and Captain Charlie Addison, winning six of their 10 fixtures. The 2nd XV had also lost a considerable proportion of their squad at the end of the 2023/24 academic year however it has been fantastic to see a number of boys start their season with the 2nd XV, develop and make their way into the selection conversations for the 1st XV – these included Arthur Souter, Casper Castleman, Freddie Banks, Tom Marsden, Rob Murdoch and Ben Ferrett, to name but a few. Highlights of the year were undoubtedly the 31-7 win over MCS and the 38-10 win over Bedford Modern. The 2nd XV awards went to Ed Adnitt (Players’ Player) and Luca Palmer Endean (Coaches’ Player).

The 2024 rugby season at Teddies was one of change and transition both on and off the pitch. There were significant changes to the coaching teams with established members of staff such as Mark Hanslip, Jonathan Burbridge, Huw Thomas, Euan and Arthur Friend all moving on to pastures new. We were, however, bolstered by the return of Tom Wyatt and Andrew Rush following their paternity leave and sabbatical. We made some changes to the fixture card with the additions of Merchant Taylors’, Northwood, Clifton College, Bedford Modern and Lord Wandsworth College, hoping to give our players and staff a more varied experience than our traditional fixtures had allowed. It is testament to the dedication, skill, and sportsmanship of our players that they rose to the challenge and demonstrated progress, resilience, and a commitment to excellence, winning 43% of all fixtures against some of the toughest opposition around. Senior Rugby (1st XV) The 1st XV embarked on what was always going to be a challenging season. 13 of last year’s starting line up were in the Upper Sixth and left at the end of the summer, along with coach and Teddies rugby legend,

Mark Hanslip. We were building a brand new team, mainly consisting of Lower Sixth boys and the season proved to be one of significant progress and development. Sean Thomson joined the coaching team and the leadership team was increased to include Will Mowat (Captain), Bertie Gowen, Hal Holland, Ollie Rogers, Elliot Northam, Hector Higgins, and Jem Mavroleon to aid the transition of the new players into the squad. Mukeah Turay, Kai Wilkinson, Max Casey and Samuel Baines all joined the School and the team. Over the course of the season the team won five of their 13 fixtures, scoring 263 points and conceding 313 points. The small points’ difference signifies how tight some of the losses were during the season. The fixtures presented a mix of challenges and triumphs. Noteworthy matches included the showpiece fixture against Merchant Taylors’ in front of a bumper crowd at Iffley Road, a heartbreaking narrow 3-5 loss away to Magdalen College School and a hard-fought 14-12 victory over Oundle School on Upper 1 in what was the performance of the season. All the encounters tested the squad’s mettle and provided valuable experience for the players and this will stand us in great