12 August 2019
The tourists played their first matches on tour on Sunday 11 August. All matches were fiercely competitive and played in terrific spirit. Next matches are against Craighouse School, Santiago on Tuesday 13 August. Follow the regular updates on Twitter @abingdonrugby and/or Instagram @abingdon_rugby #abingdonrugbysa19
Match reports versus The Grange School, Santiago.
A team report:
Today saw the first match of our tour. The boys demonstrated some strong defence in the first half as The Grange dominated possession. However this sustained pressure eventually led to Abingdon going in 13-0 down at half time. The 2nd half saw a marked improvement with the boys playing a direct brand of rugby which led to some outstanding continuity scores. Eventually the game finished 30-12 after The Grange sneaked in a few late tries through tired jet lagged legs. Regardless it was a great start to the tour which saw the boys play a strong brand of rugby and learn many lessons.
B team match report:
Great game against The Grange today. Fantastic to see the two different year groups come together and play really aggressive, free flowing rugby. A very physical game played in an excellent spirit. We made some handling errors – but it was our first game since December! – but the boys did Abingdon proud. We turned around 8-5 down at half time, but eventually finished 25-5 down as the jet lag told. Perhaps most importantly, endless Grange parents commented on how delightful our pupils were to host.
C team match report:
A superb team performance started of the 3rd Team tour; although we did not see much of the ball our defensive line was well organised and assertive against a very well organised Grange team. After conceding a try after 14 minutes an impressive tackle from Oli Chester spread belief through the team and we responded with a try of our own. After the break The Grange used their full 26 man squad and our jet lagged legs started to show. Although the final score of 43-7 was harsh on our boys their individual and team performances were the highlights.
