The Chronicle, Spring 2019

40 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Rugby By Rob Cottrell, Master i/c Rugby

Hamish Roots OSE

The Rugby Club had varied success up and down the age groups in the Autumn Term, finishing with an overall club record of 14 teams playing a total of 125 games with 49 wins, 4 draws and 72 losses. Whilst one wouldn’t describe the 39% win ratio as a vintage season for Teddies, there is a huge amount to celebrate. The Club experienced the biggest turnover of coaches for some time; indeed every age group had new coaching members of staff who did an outstanding job in building the foundations for years to come. All team players at all levels have done a superb job in representing the School on a very competitive circuit indeed, and credit must go to the Colts A and Junior Colts C who have secured the best tallies in the Club this season. 1st XV Following a successful summer tour to Italy, the boys welcomed the beginning of the domestic season with huge anticipation. The opening friendly game against Oxford Harlequins saw the boys play freely and confidently, but without the set values or game plans that were yet to be determined for the coming season. It was an uphill struggle to find our feet and play cohesively, with early injuries meaning a scramble to use our versatile players out of position. Despite having the third best win ratio in the Club, the 1st XV went on to lose their next seven games. However it must be noted that two of these games were by two points or less and one game was against Rugby who were the best school in the country at the time and who finished third in the Daily Mail Trophy standings behind Sedbergh and Dulwich College. One particular loss stood out for positive reasons; the 33-0 loss against Clifton College in dire conditions was a poor result in itself, but the strength, dedication and bravery the boys showed in the second half not to concede a single point was unbelievable. Having entered the Oxfordshire County Cup, the team did well in fixtures against Chipping Norton School and Lord Williams School to lift their spirits and regain the confidence they deserved for the second half of the season. They also ran out 21-0

Isaac Brennan races clear against Marlborough College

winners against Oxford RFC which is one of the oldest fixtures ever played in the county. Teddies reached the county final against Cokethorpe which was a superb experience for the boys as it took place on the new RFU 4G pitch in Horspath, and Teddies proved to be too strong for the opposition to emerge 59-5 winners despite torrential conditions. The most notable victories were surely against Uppingham and Malvern. The former were riding high on the back of a superb season, and keeping a clean sheet against them took exceptional work from the entire team, including leviathan displays of try-line defending. Malvern are formidable opponents and to beat them convincingly was testament to the considerable hard work of all the boys and support staff over the months. Toby MacLachlan led the team with maturity and defiance, supported by the solid displays of Gabriel Munro (who impressed against Radley so much that he was called up by Wasps to play for their U18 side a year young), Charlie Keen, Sam Cave and Reuben Rosso in the front row. Tom Wyles’ experience and physical prowess saw him control the line out which was one of our best set pieces all season, and his dedication and aptitude on the pitch and in the gym will be sorely missed. He was the recipient of the Special Mention Award for his overall performance this season. Greg Fisilau deserves huge credit for his work in the back row alongside Ferdi van der Heiden and captain Toby MacLachlan who were gritty and industrious in both attack and defence. With scrum-half duties shared by Fergus Flory and

Ollie Corbett, the foundations of the back line were set for performances by Isaac Brennan, Josh Moore, Charles Lappin, Angus Withers Green and Mike Denvir amongst others. They were ably supported by the back three of George Newson, vice-captain Will Monks and the superb Archie Nicholson whose goal-kicking and safety at the back kept us within touching distance of several defeats and well ahead in our victories. Archie’s kicking accuracy and overall performance saw him receive the award for Coaches’ Player of the Year, whilst Toby MacLachlan thoroughly deserved the award for Players’ Player of the Year. Colts After the success of the previous year, this team found it hard to emulate their Junior Colts season. They made an inauspicious start, finishing the first half of the opening game at Marlborough 5 – 24 down. A spirited fight back ensured the game ended respectably. The slow start was, however, symptomatic of the first half of the season. Clifton, Cheltenham and Rugby were games that were eminently winnable but a lack of focus and discipline played havoc with our defensive structure and restricted our ability to retain possession for long enough to enact an attacking game plan. That said, there were two good wins against local rivals MCS and Radley, where the team started to find some fluency, scoring a total of 66 points against two solitary tries. The second half of the season saw the team return to its winning ways, unbeaten and amassing 166 points. The