2 December 2016
On Friday 25 November, Abingdon Prep hosted their 6th annual Under 13 Rugby Sevens Tournament. There were several schools competing including; Abingdon School A, Cothill House A and B, Christ Church Cathedral School, Beachborough A and B, as well as our own A and B VII. As the current holder of the trophy there was pressure on our A team to perform to their best and hopefully cause a similar upset to last year, where they beat our senior school in a very closely contested match.
The APS Bs got off to a great start with a narrow victory against Christ Church Cathedral School (10 – 5). In their next match they played Abingdon School. At half time they trailed by three tries to nil but rallied in the second half scoring three tries of their own without reply. Abingdon School was relieved to hear the final whistle as the APS Bs were on the verge of an unprecedented upset! The final score was a narrow defeat by (19 – 21). The Bs finished strongly with a convincing victory against Beachborough B (21 – 7) and came 2nd in their pool qualifying for the 3rd / 4th place play-off. In the play-off, APS B played Beachborough A losing 5 – 36. However, the Bs can take great pride in being the best placed APS B ever in the history of the competition!
The APS As had two victories against the Cothill A and B teams. But faced tougher opposition in the form of Beachborough A. A deserved victory by (17 – 12) meant that the APS A finished first in their Pool, qualifying for the final against Abingdon School who had also won all of their matches.
In a nail-biting encounter the APS As dominated and finished worthy winners by three tries to one (19 – 7). There were some outstanding individual moments throughout the tournament and their steely determination and team ethic won through in the end. A huge congratulations to the whole squad:
U13 ‘A’ Squad: Alex (capt.), Noah, Oscar, Charlie, Tor, Joe, Freddie and Rowan
U13 ‘B’ Squad: Dominic (capt.), William, Alisdair, Freddie, Thomas, Max, William, Louis, David and Luis
U13 A VII
vs. Cothill A: Won 44 – 5
vs. Beachborough A: Won 17 – 12
vs. Cothill B: Won 41 – 12
U13 B VII
vs. CCCS: Won 10 – 5
vs. Abingdon: Lost 19 – 21
vs. Beachborough B: Won 27 – 7
3rd / 4th Place Play-Off
Beachborough A (36) vs. Abingdon Prep. B (5)
1st / 2nd Place Play-Off
Abingdon Prep. A (19) vs. Abingdon School A (7)
