Chronicle Summer 2024

50 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Rugby By Joe Winpenny, Head of Rugby

fixture against MCS at the home of Oxford University RFC, viewed by 1,500 spectators in the stands and an additional 7,000 on the live stream. It was an epic night for the School, one the boys will remember for a long time - Teddies were victorious 38-24. Other highlights included a last-minute win against Haileybury (37-34) on Upper 1, with Hector Higgins kicking the winning penalty in the last kick of the game, and the narrow defeat away to Stowe (27-31) in which Teddies

This was my first full year as Head of Rugby here at Teddies and our XVs enjoyed a fruitful season, with our teams collectively winning 47% of the games they played. This is evidence that this year’s block and cup fixture lists provided the right balance of success and challenge. and me and had a new-look leadership group of Skipper, Charlie Mason, Matt Sell and William Allen. They enjoyed their most successful season in a generation, playing 15 fixtures, winning nine, scoring 425 points and conceding only 226. These results saw the 1st XV finish in the top 30 of the Daily Mail Trophy for the first time for a number of years. As with the previous year the squad and coaches spent some time thinking about the theme for the season. Following lots of discussions around bonding together as a unit and the importance of treating each other like extended family the boys settled on ‘BROTHERS’ as the theme for the year. This theme was evident throughout the year in the ways that the boys interacted with each other and did everything together. Highlights of the season were the showpiece Senior Rugby The 1st XV were coached by Mark Hanslip

William Allen, Will Mowat and Michael Hirst

at the top end of the School and also meant that when boys were called up to the 1st XV there was no drop off in standard and quality. This is a wonderful position to be in from a selection perspective. Highlights of the season included huge wins against Pangbourne (67-0), The Oratory (45-18) and Malvern (43-10). Very pleasing were the tight wins away to Stowe (26-20) and at home against Haileybury (31-25). End of Season awards went to Milo Robertson (Players’ Player) and Jarvis Eyre (Coaches’ Player). The 3rd XV had an unlucky run of cancellations, with pitch issues and withdrawals by their opposition. Wins against Haileybury (25-20) and MCS (22 12) were the big results of the season. At the end of the season Felix Warren was crowned Players’ Player and Charlie Addison Coaches’ Player. U16 Rugby U16 Rugby continues to be the conduit for players between Junior and Senior rugby, allowing players to understand the skills and attributes required for them to be in contention for selection to the top teams when they reach the Sixth Form. Under the leadership of two former Heads of Rugby, Andrew Grounds and Rob Cottrell, there has been significant development in the players’ skill level over the course of the year.

played a tactically perfect game up until the last five minutes. At the end of the season Buster Relton was named Coaches’ Player of the Year, Elliot Sarooshi Players’ Player of the Year and Olly Gurney Brother of the Year. The 2nd XV had a new coaching team this year with Andrew Goldsmith and Willem Truter and the team responded well to the new regime, winning seven of their nine fixtures. This proved the strength in depth

Charlie Mason leads the team for their match against MCS at Oxford University's RFC in September