BOYS’ SPORTS REPORTS 02/05/17

RUGBY

Senior House Rugby Final:

Powell 31 Sedgwick 17
Powell House won the 2017 House Football Cup with a 31-17 victory over Sedgwick. This was the culmination of the most competitive tournament of recent years that saw Powell edge into the final with a 6-5 victory over a resurgent Hart House team and a 12-10 win against pre-tournament favourites Evans.

Sedgwick had an equally perilous route to claim their place in the final with wins over School House and a last-gasp try saw them overcome Winder with the final play of the game. 

With the final postponed until the first week of the Summer term and both sides missing a significant number of players due to injuries and international commitments, supporters and players alike were a little apprehensive that the final would not live up to the drama and quality of the previous rounds.

However, these fears were unfounded as both sides took to Riverside looking to play at pace and with immense tenacity at the breakdown. The Sedgwick back-row trio of Jack Hutchinson, Ben Patchett and Cameron Steel were particularly prominent and Powell found themselves starved of ball at times throughout the match as a result.

Fortunately for Powell, their backline did not need too many opportunities with ball-in-hand before they started to make some clean line breaks. Sam Down and Joel Pearson pulled the strings at half-back and Josh Hodge and James Magee capitalised on the space provided as a result of their excellent distribution.

Hodge scored the first try but Sedgwick responded quickly with a try from Peter Baerschmidt following powerful carrying from the dangerous centre pairing of Ethan Madronal and Kyle Kitney. 

Sedgwick’s power game continued to impress and Kitney was the beneficiary of a superb offload from the outstanding Hutchinson to take a 12-7 lead. 

Powell’s next two tries came in very different ways. The second law of thermodynamics was proved as chaos and disorder followed precision and execution. The first saw a slick line-out fed to Down who hit Pearson drifting wide. A holding-line from Brad Clements (the 1st XV and Scotland U19 hooker surprised to find himself deployed in the centre) provided space for Magee who skipped through a hole before delivering a try-scoring pass to Alistair James.

Pearson’s next major involvement was to mishit a kick into a Sedgwick defender but Down was the first to react, pouncing on the loose ball before scampering away to score under the posts. 

Powell turned around with a 21-12 lead and scored the first points of the second-half through a well-struck penalty by Hodge. Sedgwick continued to launch a physical onslaught with Ed Martin particularly to the fore. Hutchinson found his way to the line to cut the Powell House lead to five points.

Powell needed to respond quickly and the talismanic Will Green took the following restart to set the tone. Powell pressure followed and Pearson again found a gap to then release Magee to score a try that was a well-deserved reward for his all-round excellent performance. 
Sedgwick redoubled their efforts and came close to scoring again but Powell hung on to claim victory. 

As ever with House rugby this game and this tournament provided many instances of individual brilliance and skill from the established players of Big Side but also threw up many stories of players from the 3rd, 4th, A1 and A2 XVs who punched above their weight and rose to the occasion.

The standard of football being played at the school is extremely high and the pride and passion of the houses is undiminished. There cannot be many, if any, schools in the country that could have three international players unavailable for a House fixture yet still see two take the field.

Not to mention the hard-hitting (in two senses of the word!) golf international who played out of his skin in the preliminary rounds and the Exocet missile of a shooting international who stepped into his position in the final! 
CJS

CRICKET

National T20 round one & two – both rounds won by Sedbergh.
Round one: 1st XI V Myerscough Won by 122 runs.
Sedbergh 235-3 (H Brook 153*)
Myerscough 113 
Round two: 1st XI V Lancaster Won by 95 runs.
Sedbergh 195 (H Brook 70, M Stables 52)
RGS Lancaster 97

NW T20 round one & two – both rounds won by Sedbergh.
Round one: 2nd XI v RGS Lancaster Won by 20 runs.
Sedbergh 102-3
RGS Lancaster 82-8
Round two: 2nd XI v Bolton Won by 8 wickets.
Bolton 74-7
Sedbergh 75-2
Several key early wickets provide the platform for a good Sedbergh win.
SRA

3rd XI v RGS Lancaster Won by 8 wickets.
RGS Lancaster 95 (H Sanderson 3-11, R Bradley 2-6)
Sedbergh 97-2 (G Barber 41, O Hinks 29*)

The 3rd XI got their season off to a winning start with a comprehensive victory over Lancaster RGS. George “Fridge” Martin got things off to a good start when he leapt somewhat athletically to complete a neat caught and bowled in the third over. The silent seventh over worked as planned as Oscar Simpson flattened the stumps of the other opening batsmen.

The Sedbergh side bowled with good economy with Hugh Sanderson the pick of the bowlers picking up three wickets in his two brief spells. 
George Barber and Will Bradley looked steady as the opening pair before Bradley was caught as he began to open up a little.

Oliver Hinks came to the crease and by the time Barber was caught the partnership had the game nearly wrapped up through some powerful hitting. Hinks’ two sixes were particularly spectacular. Ali James came in and knocked the ball around to see Sedbergh home for an eight wicket victory. 
CJS

A1 (Cup) v Barnard Castle Won by 6 runs.
Sedbergh 169-1 (R Wheatley 62*, Leo Johnson 81*)
Barnard Castle 163-6 
This was a good winning start for A1 based on an unbroken 149 run second wicket stand between Roman Wheatley (62*) and Leo Johnson (81*). Batting first Sedbergh had started slowly but accelerated late in the innings on a good pitch and very fast outfield. In reply Barnard Castle posted a 67 run opening partnership and with the opener carrying his bat for 93 not out, Barnard Castle were always in the hunt despite losing wickets regularly.

Sedbergh gave all eight bowlers a spell with spinners Luke Butler, Elliot Brewins and Aiden Little being the pick of the bowlers. Sedbergh should have won far more comfortably had they caught their catches and been more astute with their field placings but this tactical awareness will come with practice.
MPS

1st XI v QEGS Wakefield Won by 4 wickets.
QEGS Wakefield 145-8
Sedbergh 146-6

A1 v QEGS Wakefield Won by 71 runs.
Sedbergh 160-8  
QEGS Wakefield 89-10 
Another solid performance at Wakefield saw A1 win comfortably thanks to contributions with the bat from several players and a good performance in the field. Tom Ogden, Leo Johnson, Toby Wheatley, Jack Stanley and Murray Redpath all made telling contributions with the bat without anyone making a half century.

In reply Wakefield were pinned back and struggled to get going as Sedbergh only conceded 14 runs off the first ten overs thanks to an accurate new ball spell from Toby Wheatley and Murray Redpath. Leo Johnson and Oliver Melville then took 5 quick wickets to snuff out any chance of a Wakefield challenge and with the spinners bowling tidily at the end Sedbergh wrapped up the game comfortably.

This was a much-improved performance in terms of catching and field positioning and should set the team up for a tough National cup match on Wednesday.
MPS

B1 v QEGS Wakefield Lost by 8 runs.
QEGS Wakefield 118-5
Sedbergh 109-10
A frustrating day for B1 ended up in a close loss. After an average display in the field.

Sedbergh was set 118 to win on Newfield. With a promising start of 50-2, a huge middle order collapse then followed. This ultimately proved costly as B1 just fell short in an exciting run chase.

This lose will be a good experience for the B1 squad going forward.
SM 

A2 v Austin Friars Won by 4 runs. 
Sedbergh 87
Austin Friars 83
A2 had a thrilling encounter against Austin Friars on cemetery. After only posting 87, two county batters from Austin Friars took to the crease. After one had 50 on the board, a loss looked ominous.

However, with James Gray taking four wickets in two overs the comeback was on. Sedbergh ultimately fielded and bowled very well, taking the 10th wicket in the 20th over with a brilliant catch from H Panday. 
JSA

TENNIS

1st VI @ Bradford Grammar School Championships
In their opening fixture of the season, Sedbergh’s boys warmed into a high-quality day of tennis at Bradford Grammar School. Playing as pair 1, the Harmsen twins held their own admirably against boys many years their senior, gaining valuable experience of the calibre of opponents to come this year.

Pair two of Ward and Blood were characteristically strong, recording a third place in their group, while Boonsiri and Kanevskiy were defeated only once in their 5 sets, coming second overall in their debut for the school on a day when Sedbergh showed the strength in depth they possess this year.
TRB

Senior IV v QES – Lost 4-0
A tough first round draw in the National Tennis Glanville Cup with Leung, Guthrie, Nicholls and Duerden all prepped and ready for a challenging encounter. Singles games were played first with Leung paired against the County Champion Glaves, he managed one game in a two setter!

Guthrie and Nicholas also lost with only Duerden having a truly competitive game with a set a piece and a final set loss in tie break. A tough fixture against a QES side who should do well in the final national stages. 
LS

HMC North of England Champs U18 & U16 @ Ampleforth.
A marked notch up in the quality of tennis Sedbergh produced in the equivalent fixture of 12 months ago saw all four pair’s progress in some capacity from the group stages. U18s pair 2 of G.Hollins and Guthrie were defeated in a tight plate semi-final, while pair 1 of Ward and Leung were disappointed to lose out in the quarters of the cup against a strong Woodhouse Grove duo.

Sedbergh were truly dominant in the junior competition, however, with the cup semi-final contested between our two U16s pairs. The Harmsens won out 6-4 in a closely-fought contest against T.Jones and Boonsiri. Leif and Kjell brought home trophies as runners-up to their MGS nemesis in the overall final, in our strongest showing as a school to date.
TRB

GOLF

ISGA Golf National Finals @ Princes & Royal St Georges GC.
A first for the school as the golf team travelled to compete at Nationals. The team had done well to come through 4 qualifying rounds and earn the North West champions trophy and a spot at Nationals, which was to be held at Princes and Royal St George’s, the latter home to the 2011 and 2020 Open, and currently ranked the 24th best course in the world. 

Archie Davies produced 4 birdies in the last 4 holes on the opening day to keep him in contention for the top 20. However the competition was almost over with a pupil from Whitgift shooting a 65, 7 under par. Molly Davies and Lewis Smith both did well scoring respectably considering the conditions.

On the second day of the completion, Molly and Lewis were out in the first couple of groups. Molly made the most of good conditions and ended up shooting a fantastic 86 levelling her handicap on an extremely tough course.

Captain and year 11 Archie had a disappointing day by his own standards, however he managed to hold on to a top 20 finish and earn a silver medal overall, his time will come with another 2 years competing against other students at schoolboy level. Molly and Lewis both gained bronze medals in what was a fantastic weekend of golf on the Kent Coast. 
MWS

SAILING  

RYA JUNIOR TRAVELLERS’ SERIES – HOLLINGWORTH LAKE
An excellent day’s sailing – the wind was on our side in stark contrast to last week – a steadily building wind all day getting to a level where George Thomas (H) was having trouble handling the full rig on his Laser 1 and Louis Gunning (E) and Will Sayer (SH) were having trouble 3 sail reaching.  

The Junior travellers series caters to a wide range of sailors from novice racers to those on the fringes of the regional squads.  To encourage participation there are 4 fleets – Seniors U19, Youths U17, Juniors U14 and an Optimist fleet.  George was in the oldest group while Louis and Will were in the U14 fleet.  

All the dinghies, apart from the Optimists, started in one fleet of 29 which made the start line “interesting” and Louis and Will got snarled up in the first two races, but made an excellent start in the 3rd race spotting a gap and getting clear air close to the Starboard end of the line.  Meanwhile, George had clear air in all his starts but became more ambitious as to position on the line as the day went on.

Indeed all our sailors developed during the day as the wind wound up.  Louis and Will were ambitious in their three sail reaching and began to spot wind shifts better, especially in the windward end of the lake where the surrounding hills and buildings caused the wind to be very shifty.  

George’s best performance came in the 3rd race where not only did he have a great start but then led the race for 3 of the 4 laps, but was just pipped by an excellent Radial sailor in the end.  Of course the whole fleet was a handicap fleet so the position on the water wasn’t necessarily the final rankings. 

These only became clear at the prize giving where Louis and Will were very pleased to be in the Bronze medal position in the U14 fleet while George was possibly even more pleased to be in the Silver medal position in the senior fleet.  

Well done to them all. Next week sees us racing lasers up at Annandale for Round 2 of the Laser series.
MPR

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