11 September 2017
Saturday 9 September was the first block fixture of the 2017 rugby season with a total of 15 rugby matches being played both home and away against Berkhamsted School.
Our U14 XVs made their way over to Berkhamsted in the morning with the majority of the boys playing their first ever match for Abingdon School. The boys were extremely excited and matches were strongly contested. The U14 D XV were losing 29-0 at half time only to come back in the second half to lose the match 29-19. The U14 C XV were winning a really tight match 7-5 until a last play penalty kick was converted to give Berkhamsted an 8-7 victory. Our U14 B XV were 10-0 down at half-time but scored a try almost straight away in the second half. Berkhamsted scored a try very close to the end of the match to make the final score 15-5. Our U14 A XV worked very hard against a very good Berkhamsted outfit. Some excellent skills and physicality shown by the opposition in all areas of the pitch with Berkhamsted eventually winning 59-7.
Our U15 XV had four very good matches at Cox’s Field. The U15 A XV scored some good team tries with many boys stepping up in performance levels from the week before. There is a lot of depth in the year group and all teams displayed fast running rugby playing with a real passion. Final scores were U15 A XV 26-10, U15 B XV won 53-25, U15 C XV won 17-0, U15 D XV won 89-0.
Our U16s played at home. The U16 A XV played a fast open game with high intensity, scoring some outstanding team tries, displaying great support and with lots of people wanting the ball in hand. The final A XV score was 39-12 on Waste Court. The B XV lost 10-0 in a close competitive match, and will look to push on into the next match. The C XV displayed outstanding passion, and in the first half we were excellent at the breakdown using the full width of the pitch, and should have run in more scores with better support. The score line looked closer than the match was due to two late scores.
The Senior XVs were away from home in the afternoon. After our pre-season festival last week and the Japan rugby tour the boys were in good spirits. All but two of the 1st XV were making their 1st XV debut. Our 4th XV showed real determination and good organsation considering they had trained together only once this week as a group. They showed an excellent approach and gutsy performance. Final score 10-0 to Abingdon. The 3rd XV had a real ding dong game with plenty of skill and team work on show. Again a very close score with Abingdon coming out on top 25-24. The 2nd XV were in a real battle with defences strong and many boys aiming to play well to aim to get in their respective 1st XVs the following week. However, Abingdon had more chances and looked the more threatening with great hands and vision. The 2nd XV came out eventual winners 10-0. The 1st XV started their match with no possession and clearly a bunch of nerves. The team were 14-0 down with a man in the bin in under 20 minutes. The 1st team showed tremendous belief and got the match back to 14-10 with two scores. With two minutes to go Abingdon stole the ball on the half way and broke free to score a fantastic turn over try winning the match 15-14. A nerve wracking finish, but awesome team defence ensured a clean sweep across all of the senior matches.
Can I thank the parents for their wonderful support on the day both home and away. For our Rugby Club it was a really good start to the season. I look forward to our next full set of block fixtures on Saturday 23 September against Eton College. The 1st XV Kick Off at 14:30 on Waste Court.
Please look out for a welcome letter this week which includes information regarding the Touchliners membership and upcoming dinner on Saturday 4 November with Neil Back (England World Cup winner, and British Lion) as the speaker.
