BOYS’ SPORTS REPORTS 13/11/17

INDIVIDUAL SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS.

Rugby:
Cameron Redpath (S) played for Sale Sharks first team against Saracens in the Anglo Welsh Cup on Friday night. Sale won 29-22. OS Sam Moore (W) & Ali Crossdale (P) were also playing for Sale & Saracens.
Charlie Papworth (E) was awarded a rugby Brown Blazer after Saturday’s victory over RGS Lancaster.
Hockey:
Georgina Boyd-Moss (L) captained the 1st XI hockey to her 50th Victory in 59 games on Saturday – an amazing achievement.

RUGBY

1st XV v RGS Lancaster won 83-0
The 1st XV ran riot against a much smaller and less experienced RGS Lancaster squad. The opposition simply could not cope with the high speed and execution of the Sedbergh attack on a beautiful winter’s day on Busk. Sedbergh scored 13 tries in total in a very strong performance in front of a good home crowd. Bigger challenges now await us as we enter the final stages of the season..

2nd XV v RGS Lancaster won 68-0
Sedbergh were extremely clinical in this impressive display of powerful running rugby. Lancaster struggled to defend past 3 or 4 phases where numerous well put together tries came from the home side. Sterner tests will come next week. 

2nd XV v Ermysteds 1st XV won 35-0
A solid performance away from home gave the 2nds the win against a good Ermysted’s side.

3rd XV v RGS Lancaster won 64-0
At home under blue skies and in the shadow of Winder we had a minute of silence with our friends from Lancaster to remember the fallen. We faced the cloisters and thought of our boys who had paid the ultimate price to ensure that we have afternoons such as this.

It was cool but dry and the ground was taking a stud, ideal to play with width! The boys had trained well on Friday and quickly hit their stride in this game and put together some very good rugby. Prior to half term the boys had struggled to implement the correct strategy at the right time leading to some frustrating missed opportunities. We had forced our rugby rather than growing into the game and allowing it to happen. 

A very good start which saw the boys in Brown put together some excellent varied phases which led to a superb opening score from Greenwood. He finished the afternoon with three to his name, he is lucky to be at school, in senior rugby it would have cost him! The 2nd XV had given some of our regulars an opportunity which in turn meant that the boys playing had to step up and they did. Hodge at full back played superbly, he kept his depth and countered well. 

Although our attack was so good we were also very patient in defence. The score line would seem to show that Lancaster were not up to it- far from it they defended courageously and disrupted our play. They had a very hard running pack and a full back who made two try saving tackles. We managed to score three tries from turn over ball on our own line. Burns turned on the gas and scored two from depth. 

The forwards wore down the opposition and again mixed their play. Thiele Ochel carried hard and direct, Duerden was a rampaging menace and Maguire took physicality to a new level. Brook has returned from half term a different player, he will earn a regular spot if he manages to maintain this form. The line he hit to go in from the ten yard line was outstanding.  Collinson is a very good player and McAteer takes pride in being an irritant.

All of the above was orchestrated by Hampsey- Cook who has a pass that any ten would be envious of. He has the ability to hit our boys flat and wide- it was exciting to watch. He makes break and he tackles. His cross-field kick for MCateer to score drew applause from the opposition and his drop goal was the cherry on the cake. His place kicking needs some polishing though!! 

My final thanks go to Lancaster. They did not stop from the first whistle to the final one. On a day when we think about making the most of opportunities and leaving nothing in the tank, these boys did their shirt proud.

4th XV v St Peters York 3rd XV lost 27-7
St Peter’s ultimately proved too strong in a very competitive match for the 4ths away from home.

5th XV v RGS Lancaster 4th XV lost 22-7
The match started on time but sadly without little warm up. Kick off at 2:15pm it seems was lost in translation to turn up at 2:15pm. Lancaster were bigger but not stronger. Seb Ball and Patrick Kelly set the tone for what looked like and evenly well matched game. With many debuts it was Jackie Lee who found out what rugby was all about with a cut just above his eye from the first tackle. He shrugged this off and marched on forward.

Lancaster took an early and deserved lead with a well worked forward move and undid us in the backs like a shoe lace for the second. It was here then that the boys woke up and performed admirably. Great work off the rucks with simple bread basket ball saw us make inroads into the Lancaster defence. Suermondt and Fairbank looked equally exciting with Laurenz holding his own in the second row. He must have wondered how on earth he got there. The backs for both teams looked nimble and agile, whilst equally matched. Bold, Blood and Ferguson saw plenty of ball but it was well matched by the Lancaster defence. Lancaster scored a great try just before the break down the hill to put the game safe.

If only Jack would have held onto the ball rather than passing it to the Lancaster full back it could have been very different. The second half started strongly for Sedbergh, playing down the hill. The momentum of the match changed and so to the tactics. Much quicker ball and organisation (plus fitness) saw us gain more and more territory. We were rewarded with the all-important score from Seb Ball marauding forward.

Sadly a mistake late into the second half saw concede again. An injury to the Lancaster full back saw the game cut short early by 5 minutes. Whilst dealing with the injured player an impromptu game of football broke out. How touching on Armistice Day that boys on opposing sides should sort that out between them.

A1 v RGS Lancaster lost 22-14
Lancaster took advantage of some early scores to take the win over A1.

A2 v RGS Lancaster lost 26-5
A2 started brightly playing up the slope against a big physical RGS team who had some strong runners. A 7-0 deficit at half time was credit to A2 defence with Wallis and Vick very much to the fore. 

In the second half A2 gained some good field position and after a period of pressure Ed Jackson scored in the corner. RGS responded with some hard straight running and scored two late tries that put the game out of sight. A creditable performance by A2 who never stopped tackling and deserved more from the game. 

B1 v RGS Lancaster won 55-0
B1 started a little slowly after a long half-term break but were unstoppable once they hit their straps.  Sedbergh played up a significant hill in the first half and played well after a slightly slow start to score four tries. More impressive was keeping the opposition scoreless and indeed out of the Sedbergh defensive quarter for the entire first half.

B1 became a little more expansive in the second half and took the game away from Lancaster as the opposition tired and Sedbergh regained the confidence in attack they had shown at the end of last half term. B2 v RGS Lancaster won 42-36

In a thrilling game B2 stepped up to the challenge posed by RGS Lancaster and outscored their hosts by 8 tries to 6 in a game dominated by powerful forward play and attacking rugby. The sides were well matched, but the Sedbergh physicality and determination to dig deep saw them emerge as winners. Captain George Welch (E) set the tone with an excellent defensive display whilst Kit Warburton-Lee (S) and Hugh Tyser (S) lead from the front in the forwards.

Special mention to Sedbergh club debutant Bruno Flores Bortoluz (H) who grabbed a brace of tries along with Johan Witthoeft (P) and solo try scorers Kit Warburton-Lee (S), Jack Chafer (W), Oli Scott (SH) and Vlad Kanevsky (SH). 

C1 v RGS Lancaster lost 22-14
C1 fronted up bravely against a powerful Lancaster side but ultimately handed victory to their opposition with a succession of handling errors and some poor decision making in contact. We scored two excellent tries but must be more consistent in our work with the ball, learning to keep it for longer and be patient and go through the phases.

Not for the first time this season we started poorly in an away match, allowing two tries in out wide after good build up play from Lancaster. We struck back well, however, scoring two tries of our own out wide, one of them a powerful finish for Boissier after quality interplay between forwards and backs.

Our lead was to be short lived, however, as we allowed Lancaster to capitalise on a handling error under our own posts. Two further brave periods of defence on our line kept us in the game and showed our defensive spirit, but it was too little too late as one final handling error allowed Lancaster in for another score.

This is a game which we should have won and we must learn to be more calm and clinical on the ball, in order to make the most of our generally good work at the breakdown and in defence. 

C2 v RGS Lancaster lost 22-19
An ultimately disappointing defeat for a C2 side who put in a “Jekyll & Hyde” performance against a big, but ultimately uninspiring, Lancaster team.

As seems to be the way this season we started the game slowly and before we knew it were 15-0 down following two basic tries and a penalty. C2’s efforts to get back into the game were largely in vain as they tried to force the game by copying Lancaster’s direct style. All huff and puff with little thought!

However it is credit to the boys that they listened to advice and started to put in place the pattern of play that we have been working on all season. The forwards, ably led by Armstrong, Roper and Kelly, began to add some shape to the game by committing defenders and waiting for the right moment to allow Cornforth, who had another composed game at 10, to unleash a slick backline.

Such a patient approach led to an outstanding team score with numerous forward drives creating the space for the backs to handle superbly, putting Buchanan over in the opposite corner. 

The second half saw more of the same with C2 working hard to move the tiring Lancaster pack around the pitch. Sublime passing by Foster and Zoni put Rovira in under the posts for Cornforth to convert.

At this point C2 looked unstoppable and were directing the game so well that a win looked inevitable; a view reinforced when Zoni went over for another fantastic score outside. However, we then lacked composure and conceded a number of penalties which allowed Lancaster to kick for touch and trundle big boys over the line from within the 5 metre line. 

The final play of the game saw another patient build up with clinical handling putting Buchanan away for what looked like a certain winning try. Unfortunately he was caught by a defender and the ball was kicked out for a Lancaster win. A mixed day – some basic errors but some exhilarating team play that bodes well for the future. We need to work on game management and getting out of the blocks quicker to impose ourselves on teams.

HOCKEY

U16 County Champs – Won Final v Windermere 6-3
The under 16 boy’s hockey team are the county champions for the fifth year straight after beating Windermere in the county final. Roman Wheatley and Harry Sheil scored two goals each whilst the driving force for the win came from Johan Witthoeft and Clemens Probst in midfield.

Ed Jackson broke up play in the holding role whilst Will Mullins, a late substitution in goal had an excellent game making several strong saves. Up front Marshall Buchanan and Sam Berger did not look out of place despite playing two years up, whilst several year ten players also looked comfortable. Given the lack of any practice, this was a good result and bodes well for next term.

SHOOTING

Lathallan Invitation Match – Overall Winners
Today, the shooting team took part in the Lathallan Invitation Match, held at Forfar Smallbore Rifle Club on the east coast of Scotland. The match saw teams from schools across England and Scotland compete in shooting at 25 yards. Will Ross captained a crack team of four, which also included Angus Strudwick, Finn Askins and Freddie Cade.

The match was shot under unusual conditions for Sedbergh, with electronic targets and a strict time limit of twelve minutes per card. However, the team rose tremendously to the challenge. Finn laid down a marker with his first-round score of 95/100, the highest in that round, and then carried it through with a 97 to take the trophy for top shot of the day.

The rest of the team followed his example, setting a score of 567, which proved enough to win the overall competition by two points. As well as bringing home some welcome silverware, the match challenged our most skilled and experienced shooters to adapt to the pressurised conditions of shoulder-to-shoulder shooting on an unfamiliar range.

The experience gained here will stand them in good stead as they move through the season, and look to greater challenges ahead.