Rugby Kicks Off

As the Autumn term starts again, training gets underway for rugby. Head of Rugby Mr Sam Beckett organised a pre-season Rugby Union competition, which was held at Shiplake College on Saturday 3 September. Nine different schools entered the tournament, which saw some closely-fought matches and gave many spectators a taste of what to expect as the teams head towards official fixtures.

A number of different schools took part in the competition; The Perse School, Sir William Borlase, Worth, Henley College, Pangbourne, Prior Park, The Judd and New Hall all made the trip to Shiplake in order to compete. The nine teams were split into three different pools, with three teams in each. The Shiplake team found themselves up against The Perse and Worth, two strong teams who really put the newly-formed Shiplake side through their paces. Having lost a large number of the 1st XV team at the end of the summer term, as they finished year 13, it was a number of new faces which made up the Shiplake team. However, despite the relatively recent forming of the group, the boys played brilliantly, and it looks as though it will be a strong season ahead. Year 13 pupil Ross Johnstone, who played in the 1st XV last year, commented that he was particularly impressed by the new joiners to the team. Taking on Perse in the first match, Shiplake found that they were incredibly well-matched to the opposition, getting close to the try line but not making it across. After a tense match, the score was 0-0. Shiplake then took on Worth, but had less success; one try from the rivals meant that the final score was 5-0.

After a series of matches, Sir William Borlase were announced the winners. Despite it being a rough day for Shiplake, the boys were thrilled to be back on the pitch training and bonding as a team. Mr Beckett commented: ‘it was a really great day of rugby. Despite the final score for Shiplake, and only having one practise session before this, they played tremendously. The players have had months off from the sport and to get back into it with a friendly competition is a great way to kick-start the season. I’m looking forward to really getting into training with them again. They showed real promise and the best is definitely still to come!’