Boys' Rugby v Bishop's Stortford High School & Wisbech

1st XV Won  38 - 6

Tries from Harry Sturge, Gregoire Imber, Peter Hipkin and Max McIlvenna (on debut), alongside 4 conversions from Toby King, saw the Firsts comfortably defeat Bishops Stortford High School. The boys were ambitious in their play and tried hard to keep the ball alive but there were far too many basic errors and poor decisions made at crucial times. We will need to sharpen up our act if we are to improve next week. There is no doubt the potential is there and at times we looked sharp and exciting to watch, but training this week will concentrate on the basics.

2nd XV Won 17 - 10

Felsted went 17-5 up in the first half with tries from Robert Hadley (2) and Monty Jenkins, and a conversion by George McKelvey. The forwards kept winning good ball which was backed up with fine handling from the backs. BSHS came back at us in the second half scoring a try quickly. A lot of defending from Felsted secured a very good win. Great play from an improving team.

3rd XV Lost 25 - 0
This match saw us up against the Bishops Stortford High School's under 12 As and we knew that it would be a tough assignment and indeed it panned out that way. However, despite losing 25-0, I was immensely proud of the improvements the boys have made. They were much more willing to tackle and compete in the contact areas. Every one of the Stortford tries was scored in the corner meaning that we didn't allow them to easily run through us. Some work on our defensive organisation and getting quicker reactions in support of our runners will be our focus in training. Too many handling errors also cost us any forward momentum! Man of the match went to Dom Dixon for his strong running when given the chance and his general physicality in contact.

4th XV Lost 5 - 29

The team started the game positively taking the ball up well and creating some good phase play, but a loose ball around the ruck and a slipped tackle on the wing meant BSHS opened the scoring in the first 5 minutes. The boys knew that it was still early on in the game and camped in Stortford's half for a good ten minutes before some lovely hands down the line saw us touch down for a try. At 5 - 5  it was anyone's game and the boys kept tackling hard and trying to get the upper hand. A late try in the half meant Stortford went into half time 10-5 up. Reminded that they were only a try down, we started strongly and the aggression shown was a step up from our previous game. After staying in the game for the most part of the game it started to get away from us. A few missed tackles, thrown away loose ball and one or two injuries meant that Stortford took the game out of our hands. A penalty try for a high tackle in the last minute sealed the game. Final score 5-29 to BSHS.  A much improved performance with a few players in the side really standing up and getting involved in the match. The team showed better tackling and ball play, however there is still much to work on and with the positive attitude of the players they can only improve.

1st XV v Wisbech Won 55 - 12

A convincing win is always pleasing, but more pleasing, this week was the level of performance achieved by the squad. We knew the opposition would be weaker than us so we extended our squad and were able to field 5 new players during the game (Bertie Webster, Owen Thomas, George McKelvey, Josh Bird and Monty Jenkins). We also saw Harry Beaton-Brown and James Austin make their full debuts for the 1st XV. This meant the full side did not play the whole game but, unlike last week, the side did play some attractive rugby and were able to move the ball through the hands to great effect. We still insist on putting ourselves under pressure from kick-offs and this is an area in which we need to improve. Overall though there were flashes of brilliance and the potential is definitely there.

Tries were scored by Harry Sturge, Gregoire Imber, Peter Hipkin, Robbie MacLennan and Ollie Butler with conversions added by Toby King.

2nd XV v Wisbech Won 58 - 0

This was a comfortable win for the 2nd team with tries being scored from all areas of the pitch as our pace, power and skill level was too much for the opposition. In the end we brought on plenty of subs and switched players around and slightly lost our shape as a result but overall this was a really pleasing performance with plenty of open, attacking rugby being played.

U11 A v Wisbech Lost 12-21

Today was a real challenge for the boys. It was a long coach journey and then they had to play a very tough and tenacious team. Wisbech were well drilled and very fast around the pitch. Their forwards were particularly effective in the ruck and the loose. However, we started slowly and let them run at us which led to them scoring two tries in the first half. However, we regained our composure and started to put together some really good passages of play. Our backs had the beating of theirs and had they got the ball more, it would have been a different story, as our two tries suggest. Unfortunately basic errors lead to a number of silly penalties which made life hard for ourselves. I cannot fault the efforts of our boys, they really gave their all and we just need to make sure that our efforts are directed in the right way next time; at the end of the day this has been a valuable learning experience.

U11B v Wisbech Won 52 - 0

Tries T Summers 2 and 1 con, E Hoare, R Hadley 2, J Owalabusola 3, L Squibb, C Wallace

The team played fast and aggressively against a side that found tackling quite hard. The forwards won a lot of ball at set piece and were able to set up the backs with a good deal of possession in which they moved the ball through the hands well creating space out wide. There was a little bit too much individualistic play at times and if we had drawn the defender and passed the ball a little more then it would have been an exemplary overall team performance.