Rugby The U13A team have had an enjoyable season and one they can really be proud of. It all started with a hard earned victory over local rivals RGS Worcester (24-22). They continued with victory at Abberley before narrowly losing to The Dragon School, traditionally one of our hardest fixtures. The boys did not let their heads drop and put in one of their best performances of the season to beat Solihull School 45-7. The team went on the Wales tour full of confidence but fell behind early to Cowbridge Rugby Club after being overpowered and eventually lost 29-10. The next day the team really turned on the style and beat Dinas Powys 62-10. The second half of the season started with another agonising loss to Dean Close by only 17-14 and we were well beaten by Packwood 38-17. There was an excellent win in a tight game against Spratton Hall 19-15 and an outstanding performance against Colston’s, winning 38-8. The season ended with a big win at Cheltenham College and a narrow loss to KES, Birmingham by 17 points to 10.
Buoyed at the thought of a tour to Wales just before the half term break, the U13B team ensured that their season started off in emphatic style with a 46-15 win away at RGS Worcester. Other notable scalps included Solihull School 57-19, Winchester House
On tour, captain Ben Hales led the side exceptionally well, being a great organiser and motivator. Players who moved up to the A team included Sergey Marchenko, Fluke Piriyapaiboon, Makito Sato, Joe Lamb and Cameron Baxter. All in all it was a great campaign. The U13C team won five out of their seven matches. Victories were 34-32 v Moor Park, 36-31 v KES B’ham, 41-25 v Abberley Hall, 51-32 v Dragon and a narrow defeat to Dean Close 20-14. Early in the season it was pleasing to see several boys promoted to the As and Bs, whilst a number of others fluctuated between the Bs and the Cs. Credit must go to the boys for their effort and commitment during training, especially on those dark cold and muddy evenings, and as a result their rugby skills improved dramatically. Individual highlights of the season were fly-half Josh Firminger’s huge improvement and his hat-trick against KES, wingers Liam Holland-Bunch’s (five tries in season) and Harry Ruben’s development throughout the season especially in their tackling, Harry Pugh’s exciting all round game from scrum-half and the pack as a whole learning to play to their strengths.
The U12A team recorded thirteen wins, two losses and one draw. In the defeats, the team never failed to score and were always competitive. The forwards were an excellent unit throughout and always provided a high proportion of possession in every game. The loss of Joe Harper twice to injury in the season however, was a real blow. In the backs, both Zach Jeacock and James Moody provided a constant threat and Harry Thompson was outstanding in his reading of the game until he too, was lost to injury late in the season. The U12A squad has the hallmarks of a very committed and talented unit as it progresses through the age groups. The season unfortunately did not start as expected for many of the U12B team. Their U11 season had been unbeaten for all sports, so with this in mind many of the team thought the new season would be a continuation of the same. Two quick losses to The Dragon and Warwick brought us quickly down to earth and the team realised that winning is about hard work and wanting to win more than the opposition. However, the rest of the season was unbeaten with the U12B side having the second best win rate of all the rugby sides at Bromsgrove Prep this year. The determination to win was seen, in particular, against Loughborough Grammar where they won 24-15. The U12C team had a very enjoyable and rewarding season. After a loss against Warwick, the team went through the season unbeaten, beating The Dragon and winning
the derby match versus KES. All of the players improved and team members such as Kieran Brinn and Jacob Mann moved up an age level to help out the U13C team while William Ayliffe with Daniel Webber Goldbsy and Stuart Leslie played with the U12B on occasion. All in all it was great to have an 85% win rate but more importantly it was the vast improvement in the players which was key to the season’s success. Fielding U12 and U13D teams for the first time in the School’s long and distinguished history was a great achievement and it was unfortunate that we could not find more matches for the boys. The U13Ds were 10-0 up away against the Dragon’s 11th XV only to go down agonisingly 10-12! The U12D team played away at Dean Close and were involved in an epic forty-five-all drawn match. Awards Most Outstanding Senior Player: Jackson Tavarez Most Improved Senior player: Alex Wong Full Colours: Jackson Tavarez, Bipin Gurung Half Colours: Matthew Coulson, Alex Wong, Joseph Houlcroft, Cameron Baxter, Henry Stone, Gabriel Thornton, Joseph Lamb, Samuel Colebrook, Darragh Murray, Harry Liversidge, Oliver Gittoes, Jacob Matthews
JUNIOR BROMSGROVIAN 2013
In summary the U13As played fourteen matches and won seven of them. They lost five games by only one score. Most importantly the boys improved their skill level and team work significantly and showed a willingness to listen and learn which will stand them in good stead for their rugby careers at the Senior School.
29-17 and Colston’s 56-7 and away at The Dragon School 29-10, while there were large point victories recorded versus Spratton Hall and Packwood Haugh Prep Schools. The first of only two defeats came away at Dean Close, 22-29, and KES, 5-15.
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