With the low September sun shining down and a crowd of spectators lining the newly roped pitches, Saturday felt exactly as a Saturday should. There was an air of excitement and nervousness around the school in anticipation of the first inter-school rugby fixtures for nearly two years, a sense of ‘the big occasion’ and shared history with Oundle made the weekend’s fixture a fitting opener.
The senior teams, without exception, could not have had a better start to their season. It was smiles all round as every player could reflect on a game that ended in victory. The 1st XV produced some crowd-pleasing moments of sheer brilliance – a deft chip and chase from winger Nick Challacombe to score in the corner. Faultless goal kicking from Kieran Gilmour allowed the XV to comfortably pull away on the scoreboard – a pleasing start and a strong foundation to work build upon.
The U16 A team was successful, but it was Oundle who could boast strength in depth, and winning the remaining U16 matches.
Whilst the U15A team will be disappointed to lose their opening fixture, the C and D teams were just as proud of their results. Anyone watching the U15C team witnessed a thrilling encounter, which ended in a 20-all draw, and was probably the pick of the weekend matches.
We look forward to watching the U14s play in their first fixtures next week as they face Rugby School – another school steeped in sporting history.
