QES_Sports_Bulletin_March_2023

FEATURED IN THIS EDITION:

SKI TRIP TO THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

U15 RUGBY CUP RUN CONTINUES

47TH ANNUAL QE RUGBY SEVENS

RUGBY TEAM OF THE YEAR REWARD

STAND-OUT SWIMMING ACHIEVEMENT

WATER POLO COMPETITIONS

PLAYING TENNIS WITH A WORLD NO.1

ROCKING IT IN THE ROCKIES

Great to be back on the piste

Fifty boys from Years 8–13 relished their half-term visit to the Canadian Rockies – QE’s first skiing trip since 2019. The group flew to the resort of Panorama in British Columbia and enjoyed five days of skiing some 4,500 miles away from home.

PE teacher Richard Scally said:

“The Canadian Rockies are stunning, and we were treated to some fantastic skiing conditions, unhampered by the queues and crowded slopes that you often find at half-term in other resorts.

“With a high percentage of complete beginners this year, it could not have been a better introduction to skiing and mountain life.

“This is the second time Queen Elizabeth’s has now been to Panorama, and I am certain we will be back, as everyone left with the most amazing memories.”

47th Queen Elizabeth’s School Rugby Sevens

Sunday 12th March from 11am

WHO WILL BE OUR 450 TH ANNIVERSARY CHAMPIONS?

Matches at the School and Barnet Elizabethans RFC in Byng Road.

FREE ENTRY

No ticket required

HALF-TERM SKI TRIP

Cup run prepares U15s for a bright future

After playing their best rugby of the season against Claires Court School in Maidenhead (as reported in the previous issue of Sports Bulletin), the U15 side continued their successful run in the National Bowl with a win against Parmiter’s School in Watford.

The third-round fixture was initially postponed because of frost, but after their winter break, the QE boys, captained by Simardeep Sahota, duly travelled to the away game.

Head of Rugby James Clarke said: “Although a little bit rusty, we managed to muster a win in a well-fought 24-19 match.”

The fourth round saw QE make the five-hour round trip to Gresham’s School in north Norfolk, where a 42-21 defeat in Gresham’s idyllic grounds finally brought an end to a cup run that had begun back in the autumn with a high-intensity 27–17 win at Watford Grammar School for Boys.

“Overall, this was a great experience for the team, who made lots of individual progress, but also began to develop their wider understanding of the game. Hopefully this is an experience to build on and something that should leave them looking forward enthusiastically to senior rugby at QE,” said Mr Clarke.

RUGBY

It was a great cup run, with the team enjoying every moment of it. We developed as a group, became more skilled individually and improved our progress with teamwork.

Krutarth Behera, described by Mr Clarke as a “stalwart and starting prop”.

WHO WILL BE OUR 450TH ANNIVERSARY CHAMPIONS?

Looking ahead to the 47th Queen Elizabeth’s School Rugby Sevens

RUGBY

WHEN AND WHERE

Sunday 12th March from 11am

Matches at the School and Barnet Elizabethans RFC in Byng Road. For the QE U16s’ first game at 11am, head to pitch 6 at the rugby club. The QE U14s play first at 11:40am on the adjacent pitch 5. FREE entry: no ticket required.

This year’s tournament offers competing teams the chance to gain the never-to -be-repeated honour of being crowned champions in QE’s 450th anniversary year.

Thirty-two schools are represented at U16 level, with a similar number of teams in the U14 competition. Each team takes on three others in the group stages. Games are 14 minutes long, seven minutes each way.

Entrants include leading rugby schools from across the south of England, presenting QE’s own players with a golden opportunity to test themselves against high-quality opposition.

Director of Sport Jon Hart said: “The sevens format really showcases skills and is just great fun. We invite everyone – including our home supporters – to come along and enjoy a rapid-fire festival of nearly 200 games of rugby.

“QE Sevens is a who’s who of top rugby schools and has often been a happy hunting ground for future professionals, such as England fly-half Marcus Smith, who played – and won – here.

“Last year’s U14s event unfortunately had to be called off. So, with the whole tournament cancelled in 2020 and 2021, this is our first QE Sevens U14 competition since 2019. We’re hoping all will run as planned!”

Seven from the QE Rugby Sevens

1 The past six QE Sevens festivals: 348 teams from more than 70 schools played 1,348 fixtures.

2 Defending champions: Trinity School, Croydon (U16; 2022) and Whitgift School (U14; 2019).

3 64 teams in the draw: 32 each at U14 and U16.

4 Double wins, at U14 and U16: Eltham College in 1986 and Wellington College in 2017.

5 Sole consecutive win: St Paul’s School at U14 in 2003 and 2004.

6 Nine pitches used.

7 The country’s second-largest school rugby sevens tournament.

RUGBY REWARD

The 15 boys from throughout the School who were selected by the PE department for QE’s 2021-22 Rugby Team of the Year enjoyed a special treat this term – a trip to Saracens to watch a Premiership match against Newcastle Falcons.

Head of Rugby James Clarke said: “For all but three of the boys, this was the first live rugby match they’d seen in person, and they thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and experience, despite having to brave the cold.”

Saracens won 29-23. After the game, QE’s visiting rugby élite were able to meet some of the players, including stars of the professional game such as England international Billy Vunipola.

SWIMMING

Rocco powers ahead

This term has been a busy one in the pool, with all swimming teams qualifying for this month’s county finals. Rocco Giustiniani, of Year 11, has been the stand-out swimmer this year, not only winning many of his races for the School, but also qualifying for the national 100m butterfly competition.

The 15, with their age categories at the time the team was announced, are:

BACKS

FORWARDS

Taro Niimura U16

Isa Sheikh U12

Thomas Young U13 Esa Aslam U12

Ubayd Uddin U15

Andrew Mbogol U16 Ubaidah Rahman U14

Simardeep Sahota U14 Aashir Irfan U13 Soham Bhatnagar U12 David Hirtopanu U15

Theo Moses U15

Nnanna Okore U18

Edward Muscat U14

Aaron Rodrigo U15

Learning from the professionals

Year 8’s leading rugby players enjoyed an action-packed day out that included a training session led by professional coaches, opportunities to meet current members of the England squad, and a visit to the awe-inspiring Twickenham Stadium.

The group’s training session came from the coaches at Premiership side London Irish RFC.

PE & Games teacher Ollie Di-Lieto said: “Having had a training session led by their coaches, we had the opportunity to watch the first team train and meet a few of the players. We met Ollie Hassell-Collins (in the England squad) and Henry Arundell (now also in the England squad: he scored on his England debut last year).”

On the same day, the QE party took in the world’s biggest rugby union stadium and looked around Twickenham’s World Rugby Museum.

We spoke to both Year 8 A-team captains for their reflections on the day:

“It was a fantastic opportunity to train at a professional rugby club. The session was very good at helping us developing our attacking structure. Having the chance to visit the home of rugby and to sit in the royal box as well as the home changing room was an unforgettable experience.”

Esa Aslam

Forward to the finals!

After the fun of a friendly first-team encounter with some Old Elizabethans at the start of term, it was soon time for our senior players to get down to the serious business of competitive fixtures.

The visiting alumni led by Rishi Amin (OE 2015-2022) dominated for most of the first half, but the senior boys’ fitness later shone through.

Head of Aquatics Richard Scally said: “Some fantastic water polo was played, and the result was an honourable draw. As well as being a great game, it was good for our current team see the strong bond and lifelong friendships that have been made by the OEs.”

The U18s reached the national semi-finals, where the top 12 schools in the country play in three semi-finals. “Unfortunately, in a very tough group, we didn’t make it to the finals this year, but we have a young side, so that bodes well for the coming years, where they can hopefully go one step further,” said Mr Scally.

The U15 are in this week’s National Bowl finals in Northampton, where they play against Warwick, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Charterhouse schools, while the U13s also have their first round this month.

Two Year 9 boys, Keeyan Shah and Peter Atanasov, have gained regional and national recognition for their efforts in water polo.

“It was also an amazing experience to watch London Irish train and it was really interesting to see all the different drills they do. It was amazing to meet England players and ask them questions about rugby when they were at school.”

Lakshay Ramisetty

WATER POLO

PLAYING TENNIS WITH A WORLD NO. 1

Year 10’s Adam Liang tells the story of his “unforgettable” tennis coaching session with Jamie Murray at the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

“The LTA sent me an email, saying I was invited to play with Jamie Murray, which, as you can imagine, came as quite a surprise. That I was allowed the chance to play with the world no.1 for men’s and mixed doubles was just astounding. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that there was a whole country of good – if not better – tennis-players to choose from, and they chose me! What a chance.

“On the day itself, we did drills, quite a bit of volleying, and we hit a few shots, including playing doubles together, some of which I won…but his greatness and ability surpassed my own, no doubt about it.

“I heard elsewhere he’s a volleying god. In that session, that wasn’t just words; it became pure undeniable fact. The drills, rallies, and even the warm-up were excellent. People reading this might think that I’m exaggerating, but it was truly, truly astonishing.

“Not only was the experience of playing with him great, but as a person, he was kind, helpful, and overall a great guy. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime moment to be playing with Jamie Murray – an unforgettable experience and absolutely, totally awesome.”

TENNIS

Absolutely, totally awesome

Year 10’s Adam Liang

Get to know Jamie Murray

Jamie is a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men’s doubles), a Davis Cup winner, and a former doubles world no. 1. In November 2022, he earned his 500th career win at the Rolex Paris Masters, when he and partner Mathew Ebden defeated third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer. He is the elder brother of former singles world No. 1, Andy Murray.