10 October 2017

On Saturday the Rugby Club played Sherborne School in a fifteen match block fixture. The U16s and U15s made the long journey down south with the Seniors and U14s hosting here at Abingdon.

The day saw many closely contested matches between many sides. Our U14 A XV won their first block fixture match of the season with some terrific performances from the B, C, & D XVs showing the improvement over the first weeks has been huge. A credit to the boys for all their hard work.

The U15 C & D XVs kept their tremendous undefeated winning streaks with impressive score lines, whilst the A&B XVs lost close matches but showed improvement in key performance areas.

Both age groups have tours over half term. The U14s to the South West playing Blundell’s and King's College Taunton, with the U15s heading to Langley School Festival near Norwich. This will no doubt be a great development opportunity for both age groups ensuring they come back after half term in an even better position.

The U16s were away, with B & C XVs having close matches but just on the wrong side of the result. The U16 A XV had the biggest turnaround from last season winning 29-5 with a sensational team performance. The U16 A XV now look forward to this Friday where they play Kirkham Grammar in a fixture at 15:45 KO on Waste Court.

Our Seniors impressed at home and although the 4th XV were well beaten most of the points in fact came in the first 20 minutes. The 3rd XV who are having a strong year lost a very close match, and the 2nd XV won the match with the last kick of the game. Our 1st XV were in a position to win the match with two minutes to go but lost out 
12-22, when Sherborne grabbed a final try. Such a good performance from the boys. They look forward to hosting Bishop Wordsworth's School in Round 2 of the NatWest National Cup competition, today at 15:30 KO, and then head north to play Kirkham Grammar on Friday 14:30 KO.

Results versus Sherborne:
1st XV lost 12-22
2nd XV won 31-29
3rd XV lost 10-12
4th XV lost 5-43
16 A XV won 29-5
16 B XV lost 36-0
16 C XV lost 24-19
15 A XV lost 14-19
15 B XV lost 17-31
15 C XV won 48-17
15 D XV won 46-15
14 A XV won 45-3
14 B XV won 24-19
14 C XV won 24-17
14 D XV lost 17-29

A very successful half term with so much to discuss and look forward to. Post half term brings St Edward's, Rugby, Radley, RGS Guildford, Marlborough and Bedford. Personally I am really looking forward to the RGS Guildford weekend when we are playing U12 through to U18 matches all on the same day.

We have the annual Touchliner Dinner on Saturday 4 November with Neil Back as the guest speaker. This promises to be a special evening. Please contact [email protected] to book your tickets as they are selling very fast.

Other trips that are going on post half term are the Lower School England v Samoa trip, the Varsity Trip for Middle School and of course our End of Season Awards evenings. More information on these will be sent out to everyone after half term. Dates however are Saturday 9 December for the senior rugby dinner, Tuesday 12 December for the Middle School awards evening, and Wednesday 13 December for the Lower School awards evening.

Matthew Gold, Director of Rugby

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