Sportssupplement005

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RADLEIAN SPORTS SUPPLEMENT

L E N T 2017

RACKETS September saw the arrival of a new rackets professional in the form of James Rock, who was in the process of returning to Oxford having spent the past six years as professional at Montreal Rackets Club. He has had an immediate impact on the club and the sport looks to have a very encouraging future at Radley.

The National Singles Championships held at the Queen’s Club as ever offers boys, who are normally used to playing doubles regularly through the season, the opportunity to play out of their comfort zone and test their skills individually. Four Shell debutants Archie O’Donnell (g), George Hall (h), Dominic Stone (j) and Ben Barton (k) gave their all in the Jim Dear Trophy and have learnt valuable lessons following exposure on the national scale. Ed Crowston (Remove, d) fared much better and succeeded in reaching the third round. Following a nail-biting game, which ebbed and flowed with some good serving from both sides, Ed eventually lost narrowly in the last game to go down 2-1. There were other good battling performances from George Bishop (Remove, e) and

Master in Charge: KM Willis-Stovold Coach: J Rock Captain: H Foreman

Frank Barlow (Remove, b) earlier in the week.

Marlborough, Wellington, Rugby, Clifton and Haileybury.

In the Under 16 Incledon-Webber Trophy, there were encouraging first round wins for Oscar White (Fifth, g) , Rory Marshall (Fifth, g) and Harry Purton (Fifth, h).

All eventually went out in the subsequent rounds but in close matches that went to the wire.

Harry has had an excellent season playing at 2nd Pair with Harry Foreman and they will look to build upon an impressive win ratio this term on their return in January.

Oliver had a good run in the second tier U.18 competition, The Renny Cup. Following a walk-over and then a shaky start in his second round game, the addition of some new trainers put to bed the demons and allowed Ollie to really get into his stride in the third round. He did reach the Quarter-Finals in the end but having been 1-0 up, was unable to close the door on his opponent from Peter Symonds College and lost 2-1. Harry Foreman also played well in the same competition reaching the third round until losing in a competitive game in which his more consistent opponent from Rugby came back twice from being behind to win 2-0.

In the main competition, The Foster Cup, involving the top 16 boys in the country, Freddie White (6.2, g) faced a formidable opponent from Eton. Playing the best of 5 games and finding himself 2-0 up, the Eton twitter account felt the writing was on the wall by trending #startthecar. Unfortunately the Radley car stalled and Freddie ended up losing the match 3-2. Nonetheless it has been a successful term for Freddie and his partner Oliver Martin-Hemphill (6.2, f) at first pair with wins over

Overall it has been an immensely positive term as the club grows from strength to strength. Queen’s has highlighted how much there is still to do in some aspects, however. This will be a challenge that I have every confidence the current squad of players will rise to and relish.

KM Willis-Stovold

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RUGBY 1ST XV P12 W2 D1 L9 One has to pay great tribute to the fighting spirt of the 2016 squad of players. Although we only play rugby during the one term, the intensity of our preparations leading into each match makes it a sustained physical and mental challenge, which can test one’s character in the face of highly competitive contests.

When you have not experienced the positive feeling created by your considerable efforts in generating a wining outcome, it can test the inner strength of any young rugby player. The hallmark of the 2016 group of players was resilience in the face of a testing season and the ability to sustain a positive work ethic as we strove to keep improving as a rugby team. Furthermore, it was a continual determination to keep enjoying the game despite the disappointment of not achieving the win. When you are passionate about such a wonderful game it is difficult to fall out of love with

Coaches: RMC Greed, TC Lawson Captain: J Cunningham

it, however the results may fall.

Indeed, to remind our squad about the time they became passionate about rugby, we had a wonderful occasion of hosting a ‘match’ against the Midgets 1st team on Bigside. It was an occasion that took our players back to their younger days when they just went out and played for the sheer fun of it without the additional baggage that comes from not always outscoring the opposition. I will not go into the details about how one of our key senior players was to miss two matches due to an injury sustained in the ‘match’!

Important characters in the drive for success included, amongst others, the Captain James Cunningham and Vice-Captain Caspar Hart. Cunningham, playing in the pressurised position of 9, was a key figure in holding the squad together. Our resilient and brave forwards, in the face of continual onslaught, did much in providing a platform from which we could play. Indeed, with talent

behind the scrum, our ambition was to play a multi-phased game that would allow us to put width into our play as well as changing our point of attack. Hard-fought breakdown ball, which cannot always be delivered on a plate, placed extra demands on Jamie although his decision-making was often spot on as was the outstanding length and height of his kicking game. When you consider how poorly some professional scrumhalves kick from the base, our captain can take pride in the fact that this area of his game was quite exceptional in the quality of its execution. Jamie is a combative and determined competitor, and he worked unceasingly in the quest to keep driving us forward throughout the season, even when under immense pressure. He proved himself a very fine leader of men and can take pride in the part that he played in keeping the squad focused and motivated.

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Caspar, our hooker, also added an inner steel to the team and it was gratifying to see the progress that he had made in his positional skills through the dedication of his training during the previous year. He is a tough and robust competitor, who punches several leagues above his weight. His outstanding work-rate around the field, allied to his abrasive contact work, marked him out as one of the most consistent performers of the season. Between them, Jamie and Caspar did much in helping the team to stay focused on the challenges as well as setting (and maintaining) the high standards that were expected throughout the season.

Much of the bench marking of standards had been set during our pre-season preparations both during the summer term and our August training camp in Treviso. As with the previous year, we were very fortunate to have Gloucester legend Nick Wood OR accompany us on the trip and his meticulous attention to detail taught the players about the levels of professionalism to be expected at training. The Radley squad benefitted immensely from his experience and wisdom and we were most appreciative of his input. Furthermore, with Nick’s retirement from the game, we benefitted from his wisdom for the duration of the season for

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he joined Radley as our rugby professional, which was a great delight for all.

Despite the challenges during the season, what fuelled us with belief, and was to sustain us through some tough weeks that lay ahead, was the stunning victory in our opening match against Sherborne at home. The Radley-Sherborne match appeared on the fixture card in the inaugural season of rugby being played at Radley in 1914. For this current generation of players, neither the 6.1 nor 6.2 players had played in a winning team against the Dorset school but that was about to change on the very first day of the 2016 season. It was a fast and perfect playing surface on a warm sunny day with both teams looking to play a free flowing style of game.

On such an occasion, opportunities would be missed and mistakes would be made by both teams. It also tested everyone’s nerves but, with 31 minutes of the season played, a move from left to right saw the gifted Rufus Wallis use his strength and footwork to charge towards the right hand corner and, as he was about to be bundled into touch, throw a miracle pass out the back for Sam Hoddinott to catch and dive over to score.

Wallis was one of our key attacking figures and his game was based on outstanding quick feet, power, pace and a determination to attack the

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opposition. He also had the ability to play in a variety of positions, and that he did was a testament to his considerable talent as a rugby player. He is a quiet character but deep down there is a determined will to win for he is a proud individual.

Hoddinott, playing at inside centre, was a player of subtle skills. He lacked the physicality of a player like Wallis, but ran clever running lines and was fearless in defence.

He worked in tandem with Charlie Davies, our flyhalf, and Sam’s responsibly was to aid Davies in our quest to attack in the correct channels. It was not an easy role but he coped well when we were under pressure. He is also a highly charged competitor, which is a great character trait to have in an inside centre.

The game was poised at 5-5 with 15 minutes to play, when Japser Toor at full-back, picking up the ball on their 10m line, started to gather speed with his long gait seeing him ghost past defenders as the try line came into clear focus. His speed and evasive running saw him make the corner and, with the conversion, push the scoreline to 12-5. It was another outstanding piece of individual play from a talented young man with immense potential. During the season, Jasper proved fearless under the high ball and has a

natural instinctive attacking radar when on the ball. With a continual determined work ethic, it will be exciting to see how far he can develop over the next few months but I’m confident that he will prove a key person for next season.

Sherborne are great competitors and fought back to 12-10. Charlie Davies, our flyhalf, kicked a key penalty to give just a touch more breathing space but there was still a very 10 long minutes to play.

Sherborne continued to press hard, creating numerous opportunities but they were either thwarted or not converted. It was a great relief to the Radley players when the final whistle blew and that we had hung on to the precious 5 point lead to win 15-10. It was to prove an immense boost to confidence and taught the players that, in the campaign ahead, full commitment to the cause was the order of the day. It was a lesson that would not be lost in any of our forthcoming fixtures.

Charlie Davies, another of our experienced and senior players, was a crucial man at flyhalf. He is passionate about the game (which was wonderful to see) and he worked prodigiously hard at developing his all-round skill set – and that also included his placekicking. He perhaps didn’t have as many opportunities to kick at goal as he would have liked but he has the ability to exert his influence

on a game even if the flow of possession is somewhat limited. It was pleasing to see him challenge the tackle line and look to push his runners through the spaces with an accurate passing game, and his ability to read the game rapidly developed during the season.

He is also a strong runner and, again it was rewarding to see him backing himself with ball in hand.

He worked methodically in his attempts to get us into the right areas of the field, which was often achieved with some outstanding kicking from hand. Importantly, Charlie gave us structure and that was not always an easy task in some matches – indeed, he showed a mature temperament on many an occasion, which is a fine reflection on his development during the season.

The first round of the RFU Championship Cup took us to Wales to play Monmouth. The match was typical of many we played in that we had possession and position but we couldn’t always convert to points and we came away second best. A Monmouth team, with considerable pace, were robust up front but a fierce performance from our forwards resulted in two tries from driving lineouts. Injuries during the match, and our large bench, allowed appearances for a number of players including Jamie Farr, Tiger Beck, the robust Ben Collins

and Max Anderson. Anderson could be powerful and dynamic on the ball, as well as a strong scrummager, and he always threw himself whole-heartedly into the contact.

Away to St Paul’s was to be our third fixture in seven days and we undoubtedly took time to get into the game. As was to be a hallmark of our performances, we were fiercely competitive in the face of a more physically challenging opposition. Although not a small set of forwards, we did not always match our opposition across the pack for dynamic athleticism and power. Nonetheless, we battled in contact and no one fought more bravely than the warrior who was Freddie Marshall. He was another who poured his emotional soul into every game, a positive character trait that helped to keep spirits high in the squad during the season. He fought for every cause at the breakdown and would not hesitate in competing for the ball on the ground. We asked much of him, to both secure possession at the line-out, to carry ball around the field as well as supporting and retrieving possession. He had wide responsibilities in the team and when we lost Freddie to injury, we were not quite the same outfit. He was passionate about the team and always put himself before others – a true rugby man. James Skinner, who had struggled with

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injury in the past, had been proving adept at creating space for those around him. He was blessed with tremendous acceleration, good hands and the ability to get early onto his running line. He was a natural centre who had the vision to release his wider players and support them. Sadly, he was only to play three games in the XV and I hope he will remain fit to fulfil his indisputable potential next season.

Lapses of concentration was the undoing of much good work at St Paul’s and having trailed 10-0 at the turn, the match concluded in a 22-0 victory to the home team.

The squad continued to work hard at improving both individual and team weaknesses as well as grasping the understanding that it was only fine margins that were leading to points being conceded.

Confidence remained high going into the Eton match, where again we were playing away from home. Eton-Radley matches are always hard fought and closely competitive contests. The match was an ebb and flow affair and, having led in the first half, we turned around trailing 10-6, with Davies kicking six points from penalties awarded as a result of our forward pressure. The match remained a tight arm wrestle as we controlled both the ball and field position and, with 15 minutes to play the outcome hung in the balance. The forwards had worked ferociously hard to counter the Eton driving maul and Hugo Eyre, amongst others, had made a major contribution in this department.

Ankle surgery had delayed his start to the season, which meant that he was slightly behind others in terms of his fitness. However, it was never a question of holding back or pacing himself, for Hugo threw himself fully into the action.

He was one of our principle ball carriers, who worked hard to get around the corner for he relished the opportunity to run with ball in hand. He was also fearless at the contact and, although he might lose technique as he fatigued, he never shied away from his responsibilities. He also enjoyed the dark arts of scrummaging and 6

was fortunate, as were the other props, to have NDW on hand to reveal the secrets of the front row.

Hugo’s enthusiasm was evident for all to see and he proved a reassuring presence to his teammates. He also made a great partnership in the loose with Alex House, who was another powerful presence on the rugby field.

Alex has been somewhat of a gentle giant but his season gathered momentum as he continued to demand the best from himself both on the pitch as well as the training paddock.

He was a player who significantly improved his ball carrying abilities that allowed him to develop his off loading game. He ran with a sense of purpose and showed excellent balance on the ball for such a powerful young man. It was a delight to see his confidence grow during the season and, although the results may not have been coming our way, Alex was an example of yet another player whose performances improved across the breadth of the season – it was a reason why we were able to remain competitive for the duration of the season and, as a team, sustain a competitive level of performance. Despite our efforts, two long range break away tries put daylight between us and Eton, resulting in an Eton win by 24-6.

Another away trip, this time to face a strong Tonbridge XV, saw us play some excellent rugby for long periods of the game. One of the challenges was to find a way to sustain those excellent passages of play where we constructed multiple phases and, in turn, create attacking opportunities for our backline. For periods, we attacked Tonbridge hard up the middle and generated some quick front-foot ball, which led to some strong field positions. From a 5m scrum, Wallis used his power to cross the line for our only try of the game – Rufus certainly proved a handful in the game. Monty Browne, stepping in at late notice for the injured Jack Elvin, gave a most creditable debut performance on the wing. Tom Wildblood, who had played in the

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backrow in the previous matches, appeared in the centre on this occasion and gave an excellent account of himself. Indeed, Tom is a versatile and talented rugby player who continued to feature in both positions for the remainder of the season. Our successful direct play up the middle came from Tom’s hard running on intelligent lines, and he formed an effective centre partnership with Wallis. Pleasingly, he played with an impressive level of consistency throughout the season and brought a reassuring hard defensive quality to our team.

He also could show a good turn of pace and this says much about his talent when you also consider his strong attacking flair. The spot in the back row was occupied

by Henry McCoy, who is a hard working and honest grafter with potential to make a considerable impact on the circuit next year. He has a fierce appetite to learn and the potential power to develop into a fine player. Another young player with an appetite to learn was the lock Paddy Hayes. Paddy had made significant progress in Italy as well as during the opening matches of the season. He had a thirst for work and a willingness to take on responsibility around the field. In a competitive season, it is easy to hide on a rugby pitch but we were delighted with the abrasive nature of Paddy’s game as well as his desire to work on his weaknesses. He learnt a great deal from his experiences and he is another player who should have a significant impact in the 2017 season. He formed an excellent partnership with House in the second row and the pair’s power in the scrum enabled us to remain competitive in the set piece.

Despite the competitive nature of our performance against Tonbridge, and the fact that we were in touch with less than 20 minutes to play, we eventually succumbed to a 27-7 scoreline.

It has been 13 years since we last played Rugby School and it was pleasing to be facing them at Radley having played the last four matches at away venues. Rugby School were a talented side, as was

shown by the fact that they were to conclude the season unbeaten.

Ten minutes into the second half, we trailed 10-15. We had been locked into a high tempo match and played some tremendous rugby up until that point. Our set piece had been outstanding and forward pressure had resulted in the Rugby prop being sent to the sinbin. Whilst a player short, some close range forward drives enabled Eyre to crash over for a try that was converted by Davies.

However, the Rugby backline was graced with a number of highly talented individuals, whose abilities enabled them to unravel our defence. It was, however, reassuring to have Jack Elvin back after injury as he is another who plays with his ‘heart on his sleeve’. Jack had evolved his game during the last two seasons and although he didn’t have too many opportunities to show us his pace with the ball in hand, he had developed into a brilliant and brave defender. He was clever at reading opposition plays and knowing when to step in or to stay out - every time he stepped in to make his trademark abrasive

tackle it gave the team a lift. Jack also had a busy work-rate around the field and worked well with both Toor at fullback and Charlie Pritchard on the left wing. Charlie was another whose confidence had grown since the previous season.

Some off season training and matches with a senior club team had also helped his confidence and it was a delight to see him starting to realise his considerable potential. Like Elvin, he has pace and is a well-balanced runner with ball in hand. He was competitive, ran hard at the opposition when given the opportunity and possessed a fine kick-chase game.

Charlie had opportunities but, with a restricted flow of possession in many games, it was difficult to create chances for him. Despite the talent in the back three, we could not match Rugby’s pace and they ran away with the game, winning 10-46.

Pressure presented itself as we faced our next two opponents as they were targeted ones to win.

The Cheltenham fixture was a delicately balanced affair with us dominating possession and,

sadly, being unable to convert it into valuable points. Cheltenham’s defence was valiant and in our quest to mix up our attacking styles, a loose wide pass was well read by the opposition, who intercepted to gallop 50m and provided enough of a cushion to win 6-14.

It was a disappointing day although Paddy Langdale continued to impress with his quiet work around the field.

Paddy had the full respect of his teammates, who valued his selfless efforts every time he stepped onto the rugby field.

He occupied the key decisionmaking position of 8 as well as leading our line-out with clarity of thought. He is an intelligent and no-nonsense player who performs the basic skills exceptionally well.

It was encouraging to see him take more risks in his play and trust his natural ability. He has a determined focus when under pressure and he stood his ground when facing opposition that is more powerful. He is another player with a vivacious appetite for work and his positive attitude

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to training did much to sustain our momentum during the latter part of the season. I have no doubt that he will have a major role to play on the field next season.

A damp grey day at Marlborough produced an error-strewn match that ended in a draw. Our urgency and desire to win probably did not steady the nerves and the same could be said of our opposition, who fought and attacked valiantly.

Davies kicked a penalty after 3 minutes and Marlborough levelled the score to 3-3 on the stroke of halftime. A pointless second half ensured that honours were shared at the final whistle. One pleasing aspect was the appearance of Lachie Neville in the starting line-up, who had been side-lined by an ankle injury sustained in Italy. It was a tough baptism but he acquitted himself well on his debut and it was a delight to see this talented youngster back playing rugby.

The next two matches, both at home, were our local derbies.

We welcomed a competitive and talented Abingdon team who fired out of the blocks and led 3-25 at half-time. After some testing

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matches and disappointment in recent games, it was going to take an enormous effort to steady the ship and re-group for the next 35 minutes. Somehow, Cunningham and Hart pulled the team together to produce a magnificent effort to limit the rampant opposition to just two additional scores. Wallis was again a handful in the centre as well as House and Eyre, with the later crashing over to leave the final score 10-35. Tom Allan, applying at loose head had been another player who had invested considerable time on his fitness, technique and skills. He formed part of a highly combative front row and was another stalwart who bravely committed his body in attack and defence. His technical prowess at prop was much improved, allowing him the energy to contribute away from the set piece. He enjoyed ball carrying but was mainly concerned with doing the unglamorous work of clearly rucks and making tackles around the fringes. Tom was another whose appetite for work, both in matches and in training, never wavered and helped to keep us going. Ed Agnew, who had been dealing with a lengthy injury, made his starting debut

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on the flank. Ed brought a fresh attitude and dynamic energy to the team and was a gutsy player who punched above his weight.

His teammates enjoyed having him in the side and his competiveness at the breakdown was a welcome additional aspect to our play. He also deserved an opportunity at the highest level and it was good to see him grab his chance.

Tom Bracey, who made his full debut against Cheltenham, had now nailed down a spot in the backrow and was clearly keen to prove a point. His opportunity came in the second local derby against St Edward’s, a match in which we were to secure our second win of the season. After a nervous opening, we soon hit our stride to construct an outstanding score. Having turned over possession at the breakdown, the ball was shifted left through both backs and forwards hands.

Pritchard took a beautiful line and pulled his defender outside, enabling him to ride the tackle and make a wonderful weighted pass to Bracey who had covered the best part of 40m in support. It was our try of the season and went to a player who never stopped running whilst wearing a 1st XV

shirt. The moment seemed to elevate Tom’s confidence and pushed him to perform at a higher level. He was highly combative in defence and always looking to provide effective support in attack though his accurate running lines.

It was a pleasure to see players still developing at this stage of the season and fighting to gain a spot in the starting XV. Lucas Sopher, stepping in for the injured Eyre, put in a significant shift at the coalface in the scrum. He is a strong, technically proficient and determined player, who relished the contest. He was making his fourth start in the 1st XV, having also started in the team in our opening win of the season against Sherborne. He was clearly something of a lucky talisman and was to have a 50% win ratio as a first team player. He was another player who quietly did the unseen and unglamorous work around the paddock, but work that made a difference at the final whistle. Alex House deservedly crossed to score and, following a huge kick from Captain Cunningham, Toor made one of his elusive runs, beating several defenders to seal victory for Radley 18-8. It was a proud performance and nothing more

than we deserved having worked incessantly at our game for the past three months. For the players, it was a joy to taste victory again.

We had two tough opponents for the final run-in, which included an immensely talented Harrow team at home and the final match away against Oundle. We showed immense courage and bravery in both performances. The competiveness and desire to win never left the soul of the team and we should be immensely proud for that quality. Relationships can also be tested in the playing arena and the players stood up for each other as the season’s story unfolded. It was a testing final two matches but our performances really summed up our season as we played with an undaunted spirit and a bucket full of courage.

Importantly, we kept playing and maintained both shape and structure against strong defensive teams. For the record, Harrow were to win 43-0 and Oundle ran out 36-5 victors, with Hugo Eyre having the final say of the season on the Radley score sheet.

The results may not have gone our way, but the players will

have had to look deep inside themselves and much will have been learnt. Importantly, the pleasure derived from playing the beautiful game has not been lost and it has been fun. The players were a joy to coach and both TCL and I are grateful for their energy and commitment throughout a demanding season. TCL was an inspiration, both for his technical knowledge as well as his driving energy throughout the campaign.

Rugby means much to him and I enjoyed seeing the spirit of the game being passed through in his enthusiastic coaching. SHD, the 2nd XV coach, was also a strong source of positive inspiration and a vital personality in helping to maintain a forceful momentum during the season. Again, having NDW was a reassurance and a privilege for he taught us all what it means to be a true professional.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to James Cunningham for his leadership in his role as captain, as well as Caspar Hart as vice-captain, who were two individuals who never gave up the fight in the pursuit of winning.

RMC Greed

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RUGBY 2ND XV P12 W6 D1 L5 After a tough winter in the gym and gruelling heat during preseason in Treviso it was an inexperienced 2nd XV that took to the field in a friendly against Pangbourne on the first day of the season. Fate handed Ed Agnew a cruel blow when he suffered a hand injury in that game and an early contender for the captaincy was ruled out for a large chunk of the season.

This inexperience and a couple of very impressive physical specimens from Sherborne combined to the tune of a 40 point home defeat.

Not the most auspicious of starts, but the response from a group who had not amassed a huge number of wins coming through the school was outstanding. For sheer commitment and physical courage the performance away at St Paul’s was peerless. The rugby was not always pretty that day but with Max Anderson, captain Bracey to the fore it was exactly the display we needed. 15-15 was a fair reflection of the game but there was definitely a feeling of two points that had got away. At Eton we had the lion’s share of possession and territory but our opponents were in clinical mood and scored on each of their 4 visits to our 22. We could only muster a solitary try in reply and it became clear that we needed to develop some cutting edge to ensure all of the hard work done up front was rewarded.

The game against Tonbridge was forgettable as a few individual errors and a generally lethargic showing left the boys in need of a real boost.

To turn the season around and embark on a run of six consecutive victories is a testament to the boys’ resilience and willingness to buy into a simple system. Wins against Cheltenham, Rugby and Marlborough were all hard fought and saw the boys play some very good attacking rugby. However, what stands out are a few passages of defensive

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work particularly in the 3-0 win at Marlborough. We were on top of the hill, in the low cloud and the game was a celebration of errors.

Marlborough camped on the Radley line for five minutes in the second half and were indebted to Tom Parr for a couple of inspired defensive interventions. Tom was one of a number who answered the call to arms and joined us from the 3rd XV mid match. I am indebted to the boys and TCHN for their efforts and understanding. The final games of the season saw gutsy performances against Harrow who won one of the better 2nd XV games I can remember 17-12 and then Oundle who dominated in the gloom and rain and ran out 22-0 winners. In those final games the boys made light of injuries to a number of key players and fought to the end.

There is not room here to mention each player individually but the side developed a few solid characteristics.

Osborne, Sopher and Anderson were a combative front row and developed into one of the strongest set pieces on the circuits. Their work around the park and in the lineout was impressive. Tiger Beck, Ben Collins and latterly Will Womersley all jumped to great effect in the lineout and the back row of Bracey, McCoy, Clegg, Neville et al developed into a great unit carrying, tackling and securing turnovers with increasing efficacy. Jamie Farr was one of the star men for the side at scrum half and a talisman in terms of energy and desire. He formed a good partnership with Rory Betley who developed his game management and should look back on his game against Abingdon with real pride.

Ned Rees stepped in at ten for the last games of the season and let no one down but had done his best work in the midfield where he ran and tackled tirelessly. Charlie Williams stepped in at late notice to play full back against St Paul’s and grew into that role. He is an elusive runner and fielded kicks with increasing

Coach: SH Dalrymple Captain: M Anderson

confidence. Tom Onslow and Tom Parr were both a force to be reckoned with on the wing and partnered one of the ever-presents in Fergus Wilson who scored some memorable tries and added a more rounded handling game to his undoubted pace as the season developed.

The boys were a pleasure to work with both in the week and on Saturdays and I’m sure they’d like to join me in thanking the loyal band of parental supporters who enjoyed the good times and were very understanding at others.

Team from: Max Anderson, Lucas Sopher, Tom Tyrwhitt-Drake, William Farrer-Brown, Harry Osborne, Guy Carter, George Dillon-Robinson, Tiger Beck, Charlie Rougier, Tom Clegg, Tom Bracey, William Womersley, Henry McCoy, Lachie Neville, Ben Collins, Ed Agnew, Jamie Farr, Rory Betley, Ned Rees, Fergus Wilson, Tom Parr, Monty Browne, Charlie Milner, Ethan Clarke, Charlie Williams, Oliver Donaldson, Tom Onslow, James Langguth, Jack Elvin, Charlie Pritchard-Gordon

SH Dalrymple

RUGBY 3RD XV P10 W7 L3 The Radley Third XV started the season against Sherborne.

Understandably, we were nervous coming into this match considering the fierce rivalry between our two schools. Both teams got off to a shaky start. Eventually we prevailed, with Robbie Horton making the first of many interceptions this season before offloading to Ben Weldon, the try scorer. Henry Day then assisted a try with a startling run around their defence. As the final whistle blew the lads knew that they’d left everything out on the pitch and that was reflected in the score line, a 19-8 win.

The next three matches, all

away, were against our toughest opposition. St. Paul’s was another hard-fought challenge and possibly our match of the season. The teams were evenly matched with Alec Garrett-Cox ensuring that the St. Paul’s captain did not gain too much advantage from his suspicious ball stealing expertise. In the final few minutes it seemed as if it would come down to a 10-10 draw when, in the last play of the game, we were awarded a penalty which Caspar Muir (our recently subbed on scrum half) kicked and scored meaning we won the match 13-10. Our next match we played was one of the toughest of the season against Eton.

We had a tough time holding them back as they had some very powerful runners and we took time to get

Coach: TCH Norton Captain: G Elworthy

going. Somehow we held them to 5-0 at half time but conceded again after a string of missed tackles. Ethan Clarke’s cameo at Number 8 saw him pull one back with a powerful run and we lost 7-12. Tonbridge threatened next. Imaginative play saw us score two early tries from some great play in the backs and at 14-12 it seemed as if we might have the match. Unfortunately, we lost momentum after a held up try and a penalty try against us. The fitter Tonbridge team managed to keep possession and we were beaten by their powerful wingers in the second half, losing 14-32.

At last we were at home again against Rugby. Our team was at its strongest and we dominated

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throughout. Horton scored 3 tries (including two more interceptions) and Parr 2 amongst others, some in movements started from our own try line. We won with the largest score margin of our season 57-0. We then began well against Cheltenham started well with Murdo Blythe scoring 2 great attacking tries. However, we began to struggle in defence as some of our back line had to replace injured 2nds players. We then changed tack, struggling in defence against their backs, and played most of the rest of the game keeping the ball in the forwards and slowly making our way up the pitch. Although this was hard work for our forwards, the tactic paid off and we managed in the end to win 24-10.

Away at Marlborough we saw some outstanding performances such as George Dillon-Robinson’s bullocking run to break the try line and Caspar Muir’s drop goal from 10 metres in from the half way line when

Marlborough thought they had cleared their lines. We won the match 32-0. Abingdon mounted a stiffer challenge than expected, not helped by the loss of some of our star backs to the attrition of the season. We also struggled in the forwards as they had a much larger pack by mass than we did. We just kept it together due to some unforgiving tackling by Toby Ryan and a scramble defence and managed to win 22-17 after a nervous final 10 minutes. Harrow’s visit was a tougher match for us than it perhaps it should have been given their poor season. With more players lost to injury and with some XXL football players as ringers in the Harrow pack, it was hard-fought. Despite this, we managed to fight them off with great tactical kicking from fly-half Myles Browne and sniping runs from the wing by Max Richardson beating them 25-7. Oundle sadly proved too strong in our final match. Although closely matched, our error count in miserable conditions saw us lose by a converted

RUGBY 4TH XV P 11 W 8 L3 An amazing season with eight out of eleven games won. Yet we managed it when a total of 35 players played for the team in the course of the year.

We built a wonderful team during Michaelmas Term - one that eventually worked as a single unit, with great passion and flair.

We set out to play wide expansive Welsh Rugby. Yes, sometimes we had to reel-in the good intentions when it became a tight contest.

Yes, sometimes it was more about strategy and being flexible in our game to react quickly to what was in front of us. However, whenever we had even the slightest chance to be creative with the ball, we were unstoppable, scoring from

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every position on the park. Very many opposition teams were left wondering - what happened?! It was well worth the gamble to be inventive and led to some of the best free flowing rugby I have seen in a long time, culminating with Radleians coming off the park with huge grins after thoroughly enjoying the experience.

The pinnacle of the season was fittingly the last game. This was the closest and toughest match that I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. We were behind with 5 minutes to go. We pressed home our advantage in the forwards and crabbed slowly up the entire length of the pitch to score under the posts. We were extremely disciplined, slowly going in twos and threes, retaining the ball, phase after phase after

THE RADLEIAN SPORTS SUPPLEMENT

try 10-17, but not before the team had proven its collective determination with a multiphased forward-produced try in the last few minutes.

All in all it was an impressive season for a team with few real stars. Our success was built on solid defensive foundations and a collective responsibility seen in the way the senior players communicated throughout each game and changed tactics as necessary. The team trained with energy and enthusiasm all season and played with imagination, resulting in tries scored in all manner of ways.

G Elworthy, J Social, RSG Horton, K Social and TCH Norton

Coach: WOC Matthews Captains: K Marlar, T Gates, J Folkestone

phase. Oundle’s team comprised of nearly all 6.2. They should be commended for playing with extreme commitment and restraint under such dogged attacks and losing under such circumstances with such good grace.

It was the very best of seasons which I will always remember with great fondness.

Kit Marlar: (Captain at the end of the season): Captain and leader of the pack. Such effort, such determination. I had my heart in my mouth, however, when we played just before he was due to go on stage in Titanic. A well respected Captain who led by example. With such focus, he will do well in life after Radley. Thanks for your help and support Kit.

Thomas Gates: (Captain for some of the season): Famed for being the naturally strongest Radleian. Like a rampaging bull / cannon ball. The two man line out flummoxed most opposition. They could never get near it!

Jack Folkestone: (Captain at the start of the season): Captained and played extremely well before injury took him out for the season. There was so much more to come from Jack as well.

Otto Bodycombe: Always there to steady the nerves of the troops when things got tough. Played hard with a smile on his face. Made a try saving tackle in the last match of the season which meant he missed the final victory. A trooper.

James Maitland: Top banter during training, focussed and determined in matches. Almost spontaneously combusted when players were taken by other teams at the last minute!

Arthur O’Kelly: Being a very fit cross country runner has its advantages!

First to the ball, never stopped. Every team needs an Arthur.

Imran Munir Mydin: Did the hard yards without complaint. Always good humoured and always gave his best.

What more do you need?

Cosmo Cotton: Versatile, rugged, angular, hard to put down. Equally at home in the pack as being into the backs when someone was injured.

Good banter, steely determination.

Tom Neill: Fierce and underestimated by the opposition every time - then he had them! A fast and strong runner.

Monty Martin-Zakheim: Started the season as the most angry man on the park (and most likely to get on the ref’s nerves) - ended a controlled tower of strength, technically very able who enjoyed ‘hard play’ and managed to give himself time on the ball, something few players manage.

Sven Winkler Von Stiernhielm: ‘Super Centre’. Broke through so many tackles, always getting over the gain line. Ran lines that the opposition could not counter, at speeds that they could not catch! As a result scored many great tries.

Stash Samoilys: The key to most of our line out success – including the most amazing two man lineout with Tom Gates. Great awareness and fearless in contact.

Harry Campion: Winner of the ‘best ball thief’ award, ruthless. You can only win if you have the ball, and he got us ball all day. In free space so very hard to bring to ground as well.

Caspar Muir: Provided safe quality ball at pace. Had the habit of making sniping runs at exactly the right time.

What more could you possibly want from a scrum half? That’s why he got poached by a higher team.

Ollie Friend: A great 10. Great kicker from hand, whether for position or a cross field kick. Exploited space well and distributed the ball extremely well all at pace. He has great acceleration.

Inflicted misery on opposition teams with his excellent positional kicking.

Rupert Evans: Great pace and finishing skill without the defensive skills that some wingers occasionally suffer from.

I think it’s Cheetah, Thomson ’s gazelle, Greyhounds then Rupert in order of fastest land mammal.

Ivo Kleinwort: An excellent tackler, sniping runner, not afraid. Played his best rugby at Scrum Half getting stuck in no matter what the size of the opponent while organizing our forwards.

Toby White: A winger with an eye for the ball and a running style that oppositions found difficult to stop in contact if they ever caught him. Moved up to higher teams.

Dominic James: Strong, powerful upright runner who always had the better of his opposite number.

Jack Kane: He was going to be brilliant but unfortunately was not allowed to play. Better luck next time Jack.

Sebastian Prentice: Big, strong, fearless, committed, disciplined in a tight game. A very strong ball carrier.

Jack Beattie: Great awareness of space on the pitch. A good ball carrier and a tenacious tackler!

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Hamish Gordon: Tenacious, determined, fierce tackler. Tackled well above his weight.

Harry Bligh: Fit, strong, with an eye for the ball and getting to the right part of the park at the right time. Determined, and full of enthusiasm. Great with the ball in hand. Non-stop banter.

Robert Crawfurd: Got a hat trick of tries in one game alone. Very fast on the wing, but it was his change of pace and direction that oppositions failed to be able to deal with. Discovered late in the season unfortunately.

Will Batchelor: Came to our rescue late in the season due to injury.

It was a shame we did not get to see Will play more as he was developing as a player extremely fast. Let’s see what next season brings.

Felix Lumley: Skilful in all aspects of forward play - always did the right thing. Very hard to stop.

Determined and solid.

Merlin Williams: A reliable and hard worker in the forwards.

RUGBY

5TH

P12 W4 L7 D1 The 5th/6th XVs greatest strength this season was that it existed at all.

Being at the bottom of Radley rugby’s food chain it has functions which are perhaps a little different from those higher up the rugby strata: ensuring that there is a plentiful supply of trained (reasonably), practised (within limitations) and matchready (as much as can be expected) players to fill the vacancies created

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Always in the thick of it. Hard yards and tough rucks and mauls are achieved by a group of team players like Merlin. Always positive and committed.

Jack Barclay: Raging bull on steroids - I had cause to look the other way just prior to some of his contacts!

Robert Fleming: Man Mountain. Fit and strong, a great ball thief and carrier. A bulk that is incredibly effective on the rugby pitch, but one has to feel sorry for his horses in Polo as a result.

Christian Kloster: A stalwart of the 4ths in the early part of the season. An eye for the ball.

Dominic James The scene in Jurassic Park with the cup of water on the dashboard comes to mind… Dom struck fear in the opposition even before he got the ball! He had some incredible runs – right through the middle of teams… A team player who stepped up when some had begun to wonder if a match was getting away from us. Thanks for believing Dom. Max Richardson: A solid centre who with a low centre of gravity and a runner of excellent lines penetrated defences. Strong in defence no matter the size of the opposition.

WOC Matthews

William Masterton: Played a few matches for the 4ths and proved himself to be committed and gutsy.

Angular and strong.

Samuel Turner: A battering ram!

A strong ball carrier and hard worker in all the rucks and mauls.

A team player – an essential part of the machine that created a solid platform for the backs to play off.

&

6TH

XV

Coaches: CM Bedford, A Cunningham, BR Knox Captains: T Ogilvie and J Parker

by the inevitable last-minute injuries in other teams, but in particular it provides the ‘bonding experience’ that only a Saturday afternoon away match can provide. This is especially true for those who are new to the Radley 6th Form with no experience of playing rugby whatsoever, and for whom in their first term at a new school gives a sense of belonging that perhaps - arguably, obviously no other experience can provide.

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Captains: Tom Ogilvie (k) and James Parker (d) Most Valuable Players (amongst many): Harry Fitzpatrick (a) Hamish Gordon (a).

CM Bedford

RUGBY COLTS 1 P11 W5 L6 Points For 162 Points Against 170 Team: C Robertson (Captain), Z Nearchou (Vice Captain), W Redley, W Irons, W Robson, L Miles, G Redmayne, F Rawlinson, W Nelson, A George, W Nicholson, R Marshall, L Needham, M Chapman, M Daly, G Marshall, E Rosswag, R Henry, B Moss.

Season Awards: Most Improved Player – R Henry Coaches’ Player – Matthew Chapman Players’ Player – Zac Nearchou Starting the season away at Sherborne was never going to be an easy task, especially when we were without the influential Zac Nearchou. Despite addressing the fact that we needed to start well, we did quite the opposite conceding two early scores through a lack in concentration.

Slowly we edged our way back into the game but a lack of composure and a set of poor

Coaches: JA Gaunt and SJA Perkins Captain: C Robertson

defence from a left side scrum meant that we lost out 18-26 in a game that really we felt should have been won. Will Robson at hooker was our standout player with a gritty performance.

In our first home game of the season we welcomed St Paul’s to Radley and very much hoped that we could do Bigside justice.

Despite the perfect playing conditions, we again started poorly allowing the dangerous St Paul’s backs to exploit the wider channels of the Bigside surface. A lack of real defensive structure and trust in our inside defenders meant that too often we were exposed when asked to defend sets of five or six phases.

The end result was 14 – 31 and we were left with much to work on with the challenge of Eton approaching.

Again we were given the privilege of playing on Bigside and this time round we did the famous surface proud. After once again conceding an early score, we settled into our stride and started to play some much better rugby.

A much better understanding of our defensive tactics allowed us to again thwart some of the dangerous Eton back three players. The sound kicking of Rory Marshall and the tremendous breakdown efforts of Archie George allowed us to stay in the game. Zac Nearchou returned to the fold in the last 20 minutes and bundled over for the allimportant try. A last minute penalty from Eton skimmed the post and Radley triumphed 10-7 in an extremely tight and closefought game.

Our second-long away trip took us to Tonbridge, where we were faced with difficult, wet and greasy playing conditions. Again we established a foothold in the game but couldn’t grasp the momentum that we had gained at half time and suffered a disappointing 12-22 loss.

However, notable improvements were evident in our breakdown skills with captain Charlie Robertson implementing this close quarter work excellently winning numerous penalty turnovers. Rory Henry, new to the

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side on the wing was named man of the match with an industrious display and a wonder tap tackle.

Our flattest performance of the season came away at Rugby where we certainly didn’t reflect the enthusiasm shown by William Webb Ellis all those years ago.

We put far too much pressure on ourselves by playing too much rugby too deep in our defensive half. We encourage the boys to play what they see, regardless of pitch position but some of the offloading was ambitious to say the very least. Injuries compounded problems and a strong second half display from Rugby left us 0-31. After the game we talked about resilience and the need to bounce back the following week.

This opportunity came in the form of Cheltenham away. An outstanding all-round display followed. We spent time in the classroom looking more at the various tactical approaches to the game, using the All Blacks and South Africa as our main case studies. We settled on an exit strategy and then went to work on Cheltenham. Matthew Chapman, now at 12 was outstanding. He led the defensive effort and the brilliant tactical kicking from Will Nicholson and Rory Marshall allowed Zac Nearchou, William Redley, George Redmayne and co to play direct but skilful rugby.

International referee Chris White controlled the game brilliantly as the Radley momentum gathered pace. Ben Moss at full back was outstanding in both his counterattack and kicking helping himself to the man of the match award in a 20 – 5 win.

Unbeaten Marlborough arrived on our doorstep next and despite a combative performance we couldn’t match the tempo and intensity with which they played at and this eventually took its toll. We fell by 20 – 8 and really failed to fire any decent shots

of our own. Will Nelson was one exception. His presence in the team and especially at the lineout was impressive.

So came the local derby days.

Abingdon away one week followed

by St Edward’s Oxford at home the following. We committed to bringing bags of energy to these fixtures by wanting to out enthuse our opposition in everything we were to do. A very determined Abingdon side lay in wait but the class of the Radley forward pack proved too much for them to handle. We triumphed by 22-7 and felt that despite our win there were improvements to be made.

The team especially identified the need to pre scan more in defence and attack so high intensity sessions leading into the St Edward’s fixture allowed us to feel confident that we had made progress as derby day two arrived.

On a gusty day we quite literally blew St Edward’s away. Quick ball and genuine go forward allowed us the luxury of bringing offload opportunities into our game.

However, we rather resembled the Harlem globetrotters, throwing ambitious passes here there and everywhere. Despite winning by a comfortable margin of 32-3 we felt a little aggrieved that we hadn’t managed to score more points. Milo Daly and George Marshall ran good lines, creating overlaps in the process but a lack of genuine skill under pressure meant that we failed to convert our numerous opportunities in attack. That said two victories in a row left us all in good spirits.

Felix Rawlinson, back in the side for the injured Will Nelson was named joint man of the match alongside second row partner George Redmayne.

A big battle with Harrow ensued.

It was a wonderfully brave performance from all those involved. The team epitomised everything good about sport and set about controlling field

position and possession in an impressive manner. We played with good width and made sensible decisions on the ball.

Will Irons and Luke Miles in the front row were outstanding.

Charlie Robertson and Matthew Chapman led once again through their bravery in defence and attack. Zac Nearchou carried the ball tirelessly but a cruel twist awaited and two late, perhaps suspect scores, stole defeat from the jaws of victory. Lots of lessons were learned but ultimately a huge sense of disappointed followed us home.

Our last game of what has been a tremendously enjoyable season was at home to Oundle.

This presented us with our first opportunity to play in heavy rain and my word we were magnificent. Radley controlled the field, playing sensibly in the conditions. Rory Marshall, integral in this, also controlled our dominant forward pack. Again Will Irons, Will Redley and Zac Nearchou were in the thick of the action brilliantly supported by the fantastic defence of Milo Daly and Matthew Chapman.

Radley went up 5-0 and took this lead to half time. Thereafter it was a real arm-wrestle but wave after wave of Oundle attacks was repelled. Radley scored late to put the game out of reach and a very good Oundle side was defeated. It left us on a real high at the end of the season with the whole squad only wishing the season didn’t have to end now.

We are extremely confident that this set of boys can become a dominant Bigside force in the future but a buyin to conditioning and skill development must be a yearround focus for them. That provision will be available to them so I sincerely hope to see this fine group of young men develop as both individuals and a team as the next two years pass by.

JA Gaunt and SJA Perkins

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THE RADLEIAN SPORTS SUPPLEMENT

RUGBY COLTS 2 W5 D1 L3 This was a season of many highs and a couple of lows. The high points include; great leadership from Bertie Southgate and Angus Tufnell, the development of the team so that they were able to take on the responsibility of training well themselves and the privilege of being able to unlock some of the potential of the players. The lows: there were a couple of times this season when the final whistle went, and we, and the players, knew that perhaps the game should have been won rather than drawn or lost.

For me, the best performance was the middle third of the Marlborough match. Having let in a couple of soft, early tries we were in danger of being well beaten. However the boys quickly regrouped and played some hard, aggressive rugby - harassing the

Coaches: DJ Pullen and KM Willis-Stovold Captain: B Southgate

opposition and looking after the ball with much more confidence.

A couple of schools did not fancy competing against us and took on Colts 3, which is disappointing (although fair, given both end results!) but it did mean that the team had long periods without a competitive fixture, allowing momentum to be lost.

It is with much relief that there were no significant, long-term injuries and therefore the team was remarkably stable throughout the season. However, we were very disappointed that Felix Rawlinson was rightly selected for Colts 1 for the last third. Felix was towering in the line-out and he has a remarkable ‘engine’ allowing him to cover huge distances in a game.

In many other seasons a number of other players would have also had the opportunity to move up for injury cover. Wes Brolly at hooker and Fergus Mosedale at prop

would have relished the chance and it would have been thoroughly deserved. Competition for the back row is always fierce and Angus Tufnell will certainly be very close to selection next year. It is a shame that both Marcus Stalder and Bertie Southgate are not as fit as some! Both have considerable skill with their passing, kicking and the ability to spot a gap.

Out wide we had plenty of pace and it is a shame that we were not able to use our back three more effectively in attack.

Archie Barrow was particularly devastating with ball in hand.

With Mr Willis- Stovold, the team have worked hard at developing high-level rugby skills that can be executed at full pace and involves some more interesting lines of running. Jude Dobby cemented his position at full-back and was highly determined to break tackles and counter-attack. The centre

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RUGBY COLTS 3 combination changed often with Felix Gilliat-Smith, Alex Martin and Louis Needham all featuring.

On the other wing Ethan Russell, Tristan Southwell and Hugo Carr were all in contention depending on fitness levels. We would like to award the season’s ‘Team Player’ to Tristan. He worked really hard in all training sessions and was a key member of the team. Yet when asked to replace an injured player for Colts 3, in the middle of the final match, he did so without any hesitation.

Back in the pack, Nico Reid Scott worked hard at being more aggressive with ball in hand and he also knows that fitness is a bit of an issue! Jamie Walker developed into a very strong line-out jumper and really loved taking the ball on in the loose.

Jess Beardsworth was absolutely fearless in contact, and delivered tackle after tackle. I am delighted that he survived the season without concussion. Douglas Wyrley-Birch came into the side late on, but was very soon a key member of the squad. Devastated that he might not be able to play against Harrow due to an ankle injury, he iced, elevated and strapped his ankle sufficiently to play the full game. This is how much rugby means to him and the rest of the team.

It has been a real pleasure to help develop this squad and I hope that they will all continue to play next year.

DJ Pullen and KM Willis-Stovold

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THE RADLEIAN SPORTS SUPPLEMENT

The season started with a long trip to Sherborne and the fear that a bus journey could affect performance.

We left Sherborne having won by 56 points, scored by a variety of try scorers. Our fears of away days quelled, and a huge amount of confidence in the squad, we moved on to our next encounter – St. Paul’s.

What an eye opener, a lot more of a defensive ask for the team and we were left behind, a 29 - 0 loss to shake what confidence we had gained in the first game. With this loss in our minds we worked hard on our fitness (thanks to Jane Morgan) and our defence over the week. All the hard work paid off with a scintillating 32 – 17 win over Eton; 6 tries scored including one for our Man of the Match Joe Beck who was instrumental at 10.

Buoyed by the win over some tough opposition we once again ventured

far far away, this time Tonbridge.

Never an easy game and this was no exception; a 5 – 17 defeat with some unsavoury behaviour left a fire in the belly come Cheltenham College a couple of weeks later.

Playing Cheltenham’s Colts B we were revved up from the very start. It was a glorious day to watch rugby and I was lucky enough to witness some excellent tries (Henry Wiggin’s hattrick stands out) and a good win (51 – 7) to finish the first half of term.

Heading in to the second half of term, hoping to stop the alternating results, we came up against Marlborough College. Not our best game. We lost 22 – 10 (both tries from Henry Taylor) and were slightly surprised to have been overpowered in the pack which had been our powerhouse all season.

Players such as Cockcroft (capt), Wrey and Horler had been bulldozing and

Coaches: TRG Ryder and REP Hughes Captains: E Cockcroft and G Egerton-Warburton

enjoying the contact – we needed to regain that for the remaining games of the season. Losing Beck to concussion in this game was tough too but with an unbeaten Abingdon on the horizon there was no time to look back. Jonty Stubbs stepped in at 10, and we went to Abingdon knowing that we needed a good performance. We got that in spades.

Some excellent defensive work by Dawson, Hannaby-Cummins, Batty and Woolfe set our backs up to play with space and freedom. Some great moves and even an inch perfect cross-field kick, chased by Zac Peskin, meant we scored 7 tries in a 43 – 0 win, a real boost to the whole team.

Looking at the last 3 fixtures we knew we were in for some hard work. St Edward’s Colts Bs, Harrow and Oundle were all impressive teams with good records and we were going to

need some big performances as the season came to a close. St Edward’s turned up on the day we played our best rugby of the season. We were awesome from front three to 15. In fact, Wilson at 15 had been excellent all season and got his reward with a well-taken try on the day, Henry Taylor bagged 4 tries and Bertie Southgate ran the show from 10. A resounding 66 – 17 win was great for the boys’ confidence but showed what good rugby we could play. We then headed off to Harrow. We were all over them for 10 minutes, Harrow hardly touched the ball and we went 5 – 0 up. Then Harrow got their hands on the ball a little too much. A 47 – 10 loss was crushing for a team who had worked so hard. A mention must go to Geordie Thompson who stepped in at 10 for the last two games, a very tough role to play but very well performed. So we went on to our

final game; Oundle, knowing that we could have a 50% season or a 60% season. The boys were phenomenal in very tricky conditions. We went 5 – 0 up through a tremendous run from Eliot Makin (something I got very used to saying over the season) only to give away a penalty try with four minutes to go (7 – 5 down). Then came a real determination that can only be created by the group on the field being focused not to let slip all the hard work they done. Eventually, Makin (again) flew in to the corner scoring his 6th try of the season and winning us the last game. The picture does justice to the amount of effort put in that day but also to a tight squad who had a terrific season.

REP Hughes

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RUGBY COLTS 4 P5 W2 L3 A mustard keen group of boys with an excellent track record of wins in the Midgets and JCs embarked with enthusiasm on the season with an emphatic win against Rugby 3rd XV, winning 53-10. Their season was blighted by an unprecedented 8 cancellations, but the boys nevertheless managed to hold their own in all three losses they endured.

The first of these was a narrow defeat at Tonbridge, with heroics

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in the rain from the likes of winger Henry Carson and stalwart tackler Billy Greenall, where the boys were by the end of the game within a score of pegging it level, and only were denied by a dropped pass on the try line in the final play of the game. Then came a tougher rematch against Tonbridge at home, where they bravely contested against a much stronger side and ended up 5-17 losers. The final defeat came to Harrow, in a bizarre game of no tackles but 47 points to Radley,

THE RADLEIAN SPORTS SUPPLEMENT

Coaches: EO Holt and AR Rhodes Captains: O Sim and A Parker

and incredibly 50 points to Harrow.

The final game of the season was a pleasing 28-8 win against Oundle, with weaving tries from Carson and Wiggin, a heroic turn from the injured Trojan Henry Portwood, and as always some impressive conversions from Hanno Jewell. This was a reaffirming way to end what has been a tough season for the boys, but never one without a smile or a team rendition of ‘Jerusalem’.

EO Holt

RUGBY JC 1 P11 W4 L7 Points For 164 Points Against 328 Team From: F Dreyer (captain), J Wakeley (vice captain), H Thorneycroft, G Perkins, E Roest, H Young, S Perez Quane, M Melkonyan, J Chisholm, L Giffard-Moore, J Elliott, J Beck, B Hoddinott, W Way, J Sykes, H Haigh, T Vincent, A Haynes, R Butterworth, J Miesegaes, F Nielsen, S Hack, D Pleydell-Bouverie, W Jack, O Reed-Daunter, S Richardson Season Awards: Most Improved Player R Butterworth Coaches’ Player H Thorneycroft Players’ Player F Dreyer Trite though it may be, sometimes in life there are things more important that winning. Indeed, often in adversity bonds are forged, and experiences shared, that have an enormous impact later in life.

I rather think that this might be the case with the JC1 XV, and I am sure their record as Colts 1 will be markedly better as a consequence.

It was something of a transitional year, with positional changes being made (Ed Roest from fullback to hooker, Jude Wakeley from centre to openside flanker) and the results themselves belie the progress made.

In many of the matches the team dominated possession and territory, but the odd mistake here and there, or the odd missed tackle, proved our undoing. Many of the matches were therefore closer than the scorelines suggested, and even though the overall results were less than impressive, a great deal of progress was made.

Coaches: N Murphy, and AR Wagner Captain: F Dreyer

sensibly, establishing dominance up front, and kicking intelligently for position. Having exerted lots of pressure on Oundle the game was eventually won 27-10; an excellent performance with which to end the season. Previously there were narrow losses against Rugby, Cheltenham and Marlborough. The beginning of the season was rather tough, with two matches in quick succession against Sherborne and St. Paul’s. Both were difficult tasks away from home, and due to various injuries and other factors 5 players that started against Sherborne were unavailable for the next match (2 indeed for the whole season).

The latter part of the season saw exciting matches against Abingdon and Harrow. On both occasions the players acquitted themselves brilliantly, and but for the odd error or moment of magic from opposition players the afternoon’s work could have been rather different. What was pleasing throughout the season was the indomitable team spirit and morale - the boys worked hard from week to week and never did their efforts or good humour lessen.

Special mention must go to Fred Dreyer, who led the side by example.

Time and again in the toughest matches he gained the hard yards and inspired others to follow his lead, and the pack of forwards (notably Hector Thorneycroft, Ben Hoddinott and Jake Elliott amongst others) certainly did. Will Way marshalled the side very effectively from scrumhalf, and Sam Hack, Jamie Miesegaes, Richard Butterworth and Dan Pleydell-Bouverie all came into the back division and became fixtures on the teamsheet.

My thanks as always to our loyal and vociferously supportive band of parents, as well as to MGGD, the OURFC boys and Nick Wood for their expertise in running technical sessions. Lastly thanks to Wags, whose sense of humour and wise philosophical approach always make coaching JC1 together such an enjoyable experience.

N Murphy

Wins were recorded against Eton, Tonbridge, St. Edward’s and Oundle, with the final match being particularly noteworthy. In very wet conditions the team played

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RUGBY JC2 P10 W6 L4 Points for: 282 Points against: 182 Squad – Barlow F (Vice Captain), Barnett P, Berry B, Clackson G, Crone H, Haynes A, Haigh H, MartinZakheim, Ojo T, Palmer-Tompkinson S (Captain), Perkins G, PleydellBouverie D, Pope R, Reed-Daunter O, Richardson S, Rugman H, Sun D, Tompkins G, Vincent T (Vice Captain), Wills A, Woods R, Young H Scorers – Richardson 53 (9 T, 4 C), Palmer-Tompkinson 30 (6 T), Crone 25 (5 T), Vincent 25 (1T, 10 C), Barlow 22 (2 T, 6 C), Pleydell-Bouverie 20 (4 T), Martin-Zakheim 20 (4 T), Reed-Daunter 15 (3 T), Berry 15 (3 T), Barnett 15 (3 T), Wills 10 (2 T), Haigh 10 (2 T), Butterworth 5 (1 T), Tompkins 5 (1 T), Ojo 5 (1 T), Haynes 2 (1 C) The traditional first game of the season was against Sherborne away in north-west Dorset. The home side had already played a match and the coach journey showed as Sherborne finished the first half 12-0 in the lead. The men in red put up a valiant fightback, led by a try each from Butterworth and Martin-Zakheim, but Radley could not break down the dogged Sherborne defence in the final moments. In fact, one of the Radley players somehow dropped the ball when attempting to score in the corner in the final play. MartinZakheim made one of the tackles of the season on a man nearly twice his size to save a try in the corner.

It really was nail-biting stuff. The visitors were defeated 17-12 though.

The following Saturday was a trip to a sunny west London away at St. Paul’s. The boys knew this was going to be huge clash and were really pumped from the first whistle.

With a well-worked forwards try by Berry and a conversion by Barlow, the visitors were up 7-5 at halftime. Butterworth was immense in defence. The boys were warned what was to come in the second half.

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Coach: MG Glendon-Doyle Captain: S Palmer-Tompkinson

Indeed St. Paul’s raised the intensity and gave the Radley boys a streetwise beating. Under the pressure, discipline slipped and although the Radley team did not give up, they simply allowed the hosts to play their own game. The men of JC2 went down 25-7. It really was a game of two halves.

Away at Eton the following Thursday, just before exeat, the players knew that only a win would suffice. Despite some logistical issues just before the game started, the Radley players flew out of the blocks. With excellent finishing tries from Reed-Daunter, Crone, Richardson and Vincent, the visitors held a half-time lead of 24-7. With further tries after the break from Wills, captain PalmerTompkinson, Pleydell-Bouverie and Richardson, Radley won the match 50-7. It was not a pretty game but the boys were ruthless in their pursuit of the ‘W’. Rugman was a total pest at the breakdown, winning at least 8 turnovers with his lethal jackal.

With a good rest over the weekend and wind in the sails, the boys trained for what was, on paper, arguably the toughest fixture on the list. Tonbridge were welcomed to Radley the following Saturday in what was going to be a day of hard hits. As MGGD approached the team before the match, the warm-up said it all. The boys were completely focused and seriously pumped for the challenge ahead. It was like men possessed. Radley stormed into a seriously impressive 17-5 lead at half-time, perhaps the best half of rugby seen at JC2 level in recent years, with tries from Barlow and captain Palmer-Tompkinson. The boys knew too well what the reaction of Tonbridge would be in the second half. The visitors indeed made a brave comeback but with tries from Palmer-Tompkinson and ReedDaunter, the Radley boys edged it 27-24. It was an emotional moment because the boys had overturned a heavy defeat from the previous year.

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Captain Palmer-Tompkinson was the undoubted man of the match for his ball carrying and leadership. This was certainly the best team performance of the season.

Having not played Rugby School for several years, it was a pleasure to welcome them to Radley the following week. With tries from Wills, Palmer-Tompkinson (2), Crone (2), Tompkins, Barnett, Richardson (2), Pleydell-Bouverie and conversions from the lethal boot of Vincent, Radley romped to a massive 60-7 win. Confidence was high and standards were maintained at the top level in this impressive performance.

Following a two-week Leave Away, JC2 travelled to Marlborough having not played a match for three weeks or so. This rust showed. Despite being up 7-5 at half-time thanks to a Richardson try and Crone adding another in the second half, the boys lost the match 19-12. Another narrow defeat. Rucking and tackling were very sloppy. As a result, discipline caved as well as the boys conceded 20-30 penalties in the match. Vincent was fantastic in this match and did his best to marshal a victory.

However, decision-making went out the window and there was an onset of panic in the closing stages.

Marlborough was a very strong and feisty side but the boys were very disappointed by this below-par performance.

The season could have gone two ways at this stage. The boys knew that the away trip at Abingdon was going to be a must-win despite the local rival looking strong on paper.

Pleydell-Bouverie was on fire in this match, scoring two tries in the first half, along with a good finishing try from winger Reed-Daunter. Radley did well to be up 15-7 at half-time.

Naturally, Abingdon fought back in the second half but with tries from Palmer-Tompkinson, Crone and Barnett, as well as crucial conversions by Barlow, the Radley

players were 36-26 victors.

IKC kindly arranged a friendly for JC2 on the Thursday before Advent Weekend against Burford School.

It was a great day out and a first experience of playing rugby in the dark in the closing minutes. Radley stormed into a 22-0 lead at half-time, thanks to tries from Richardson, Haigh, PalmerTompkinson and Berry. The men in red won 27-12 thanks to a further try from Ojo despite a resurgence from Burford.

Playing Harrow away always makes for a challenging afternoon. However, on paper, these two sides were very evenly matched. Despite this though, the Radley boys did not prepare well in the warm-up and almost convinced themselves that coach journeys mean you must not start strong. Harrow exploded into a 24-0 half-time lead.

Although they were a very good side, it was the worst performance so far

by JC2 that season. No tackling, sloppy rucking and unforced errors. However, triggered by tries from the centres, Haigh and Richardson, Radley fought back and the match ended in a 38-12

defeat. They had given themselves a mountain far too high to climb. Fair play to the Harrow team which was fantastic.

In the final game of the season, JC2 welcomed Oundle to a very wet day at Radley. It was the first fixture of the season with rain so the game plan had to be adjusted somewhat. The boys went out there with the intention of looking after the ball and not forcing the pass. With a Martin-Zakheim hat-trick and Richardson try, the host stormed into a 22-7 half-time lead.

After the break, Richardson, Barnett and Berry scored further tries and the Radley boys were 39-7 victors.

At the end of term, we had a pleasant get-together for some awards. Captain Palmer-Tompkinson was awarded the Coaches’ player of the season for his leadership and ball-carrying skills. Sam Richardson was the winner of the Players’ player due to his attacking lines and try count. Harry Rugman picked up the most consistent player award for his countless jackal turnovers. Dan Pleydell-Bouverie

won the most improved player award having started in JC4 and ended up on the wing for JC1! The top scorer was Sam Richardson with 53 (9 tries and 4 conversions).

It has been a pleasure coaching this team. These boys enjoyed playing attacking and free-flowing rugby, even if the defence was a bit questionable at times (just look at the points against tally!). There was a good team spirit in this squad. The performance against Tonbridge really showed this, as did the character shown in the final few moments against Abingdon. I wish them all the best next season as Colts.

The boys and I would like to thank Mr. Murphy and Mr. Wagner for their coaching, and also Mark Chambers and his team who helped with injuries along the way. In addition, we really appreciated the coaching advice given

by Will and Fergus of the Oxford Blues, as well as the time given by referees.

MG Glendon-Doyle

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RUGBY JC3 P11 W6 D0 L5 Points for 228 Points against 206 2016 saw the reunion of coaches Pearson and Woodling after a three year separation and the welcoming of a new herd of Junior Colt Rhinos. Competition for places was fierce but for those unlucky enough not to quite make the cut a season playing for the JC4 Cheetahs, Radley’s winningest team was hardly a disappointment.

2016 was not a vintage season, but the Rhinos crossed the line to score twice or more in every match of the season and were plausible winners in all bar the Harrow game. Louis Ashforth-Pook captained ably throughout and played all except the final match, having to sit that one out due to concussion. Louis displayed sportsmanship, commitment and versatility, able to hook, prop or flank with aplomb. Harry Ward was probably our best player and RDW’s Player of the Season.

He played at prop: a withering tackler, stalwart at the breakdown and a rampant ball carrier; he subbed once for JC2 but could have comfortably cut it at JC1.

Hipolit Hodges is an all-round sportsman and brings heft to the breakdown and scrummage; an attacking ball carrier and an asset to the side. Sam Hughes was only picked latterly but has top level pedigree; another versatile player his ball retention and presentation, tackling and tenacity are top drawer. Miles Khano was a reliable lock and played with determination and strength at the scrummage and breakdown.

Seb Ovey was the signing of the season and the team’s best tackler.

A leaner player, but athletic, his technique and bravery and work ethic were the very best. His

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Coaches: RD Woodling and EG Pearson Captain: J Peers

committed support and initiative earned him a couple of tries in the last games – hugely deserved!

Rupert Pope locked briefly from the 2s and did so with maturity and competence. Olly Green locked early on bit then played outside centre; a supremely quick runner and powerful ball carrier Olly tackled conscientiously. Olly prefers the cuddle to the scythe, but his strength means it’s more of a bear hug from a grizzly. RDW still thinks it’s hand-bagging - even if Green keeps a brick in it. Harry Henderson is an accomplished flanker. He is a tenacious tackler, strong ball carrier and has decent technique and retains possession at the breakdown. Harry was lifted in the lineout and secured the ball with skill. Alex Senior was a stout no. 8 and scored tries with his punchy running and enjoyed upending smaller opponents in the tackle. Archie Ward is a player’s player with impressive hands and a strong finish. Archie scored several times and was a weapon in close play. Freddie Ledger also sniped at flanker; a talented and skilful player he latterly joined the Cheetahs.

Alex Scott provided constancy and skill at no. 9. He developed in confidence and his flair eluded opponents. Another committed tackler. Kit Ely was poached by Cheltenham half way through the season, but not before he slotted 7 conversions against their JC2 team playing Rhinos no. 10. A talented player he will surely make a success at Cheltenham at a higher level. Harry Glassey ably replaced him having played full back. Harry is a star rugby player with exceptional skills, a natural step, fine boot and strong finish. Harry tackles with determination and finished the season with excellence playing a

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large part in the 50-0 whitewash of a reasonable Oundle side. Rafa Chu played inside centre with verve but was sidelined with concussion in a gruelling match against Tonbridge. A conscientious player and fearless ball carrier he was a real asset. Freddie Lindblom was a rottweiler at inside centre and scored with confidence and tackled ably. Freddie is working on ball retention and presentation and will go up a team next year if he succeeds. Sam Waller played on the wing, scoring within seconds on his first appearance against Eton as reserve. He is a powerful runner and aggressive tackler; he has good hands and an eye for the game and filled in well latterly at no.15, and will perhaps assume this place next year. George Wallis winged with pace and precision.

He tackled with technique and commitment and could be relied upon by his teammates. Hector Denny also winged and played centre and fullback and had an impressive step and ability to elude opponents. A valuable ball carrier and distributor and an extra dimension for the Rhinos. Freddie Pratt was a flashy player at no. 15 but preferred matches to training and so enjoyed winning ways with the Cheetahs.

Jack Metcalfe was the Rhinos’ highest scoring player. He scored over and again; he tackled with resolute grit and supported exceptionally. A modest lad, Jack is EGP’s Player of the Season and another true player’s player.

Jack used his initiative and was exceptionally good at creating an overlap having passed. He was worth two players in defence and deserves a shot at a higher team next year.

Other occasionals included the

gritty Tim Mcnaughtan and Tim Ojo. Both lads played impressively at centre and are penetrating runners but played most of their seasons for JC2. Arthur Wills also provided punch for the Cheltenham thumping, so too did Dan Pleydell-Bouverie.

The season saw some barnstorming wins and some frustrating losses.

The Rhinos were good going forward but sometimes lacked the killer instinct in tackles and overcommitted to rucks with somewhat suspect body positioning.

Handsome wins were scored against Cheltenham 2 and especially Oundle. This final game was an excellent and wholesome end to

an ultimately successful season after some mixed performances.

The Eton and St. Paul’s wins were good scalps and the St. Edward’s 2 game was of high quality and hung in the balance, and was pleasing from a coaching point of view to get through victorious.

The Rhinos were lucky to be coached on occasion by Fergus Taylor, captain of Oxford Blues.

At 6’2” and 17st10 he was a serious figure, but apparently not big enough to play regularly at Premiership level! Fergus was unusually skilful and struck an immediately excellent working rapport with the lads. The Rhinos

and their coaches record thanks for his great help. It is also fitting that the Rhinos thank Bigside Coach, and MiC Rugby Football, RCMG for his enthusiastic support and recognition and celebration of rugby in the Lower School and at C team level.

RDW records special thanks for his input in earlier seasons and his tremendous goodwill.

RD Woodling

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RUGBY JC4 P9 W8 L1 Team: Archie Gray, Jeremy SheltonAgar, William Beukers, Thomas Isaacs, Sam Hughes, Caspar Osborne-Young, Sebastian Ovey, Ben Fletcher, William Power, Jamie Richardson, Ted Williams, Freddie Ledger, Miles Rothery, Alexander O’Dowd, Bertie Tufnell, Freddie Pratt, Sam Waller, Karl von Sanden, Ned Carter, William Brooks-Ward, Robbie Johnston, Tobias Southwell

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Coaches: GHS May and DWS Roques Captain: MP Rothery

early for the most of our games this season and set the tone for the rest of the match. From thumping St Paul’s, Eton and Abingdon, to grinding out results like the Tonbridge match where it was 24-14 in a very close encounter, we showed character throughout.

For all those Sonny Bill Williams - esque passes to the Jonah Lomu tackles, we do still make a couple of mistakes here and there.

The season for JC4 was a triumphant season including a lot of points scored and very few conceded. The remarkable coaching from Mr May and Mr. Roques guided us into an extremely successful season. From crash-ball merchant Will Power, to the intricate playmaker of Alex O’Dowd, our team was filled with great players and also players with tremendous passion.

My favourite moment of the season had to be when Will Brooks - Ward was shown a yellow card for showboating after a super offload sent him through for us to put 50 points on our local rivals, but no, Will felt the need to pretend he was a chicken as he ran under the posts, which as you may expect resulted him being sin binned. It doesn’t necessarily show him off in the best light, but the comedy in it couldn’t really be ignored.

The season started with a clean sheet at Sherborne. Whilst also putting 50 points on the board, it seemed to take shape from there.

We really came out of the blocks

The crunch match came away at Harrow, with 7 already played, 7 won, 0 lost. And it was the same record for them too. We knew it

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was going to be tough, as several tries were scored early on, which seemed to dampen our spirits. The match went on and we didn’t give in; we had a couple of key injuries to some of our top players, and it meant we couldn’t quite keep the unbeaten run alive. We were terribly disappointed but we couldn’t let it get us down as we had one more match to go against Oundle, and we wanted to finish the season on a high. We turned up with one of our finest displays all season on a wet cold day, and played some slick, quick and efficient rugby to end our season on a great note.

It was great fun playing for JC4 this season and I know everyone else feels the same, and I congratulate our coaches for an incredible season.

We played some great rugby and we had loads of fun in the process; it was a great success.

F Pratt, J Social

RUGBY MIDGETS 1 P10 W0 L10 In the dying embers of the Michaelmas term, it is sometimes hard to pick out the lessons of a season. The experience of the Midgets 1 team of 2016 presents no such problems. It has been a chastening season, with no matches won, many points conceded and much soul-searching completed. The path ahead, however, is made rather clearer as a result, and it is this and the boys’ reaction to the experience that allows us to end the term on a positive note. The collective reaction to adversity (and I include parents and coaches as well as the boys) has been superb, and that old mantra that one learns more in defeat than in victory has rarely been as true as it is for us. The indomitable captain, Oscar Marshall has written about the team’s experience from his perspective as follows: The first few fixtures proved a tough start for Midgets 1 facing Sherborne, St. Paul’s and Eton. None of them would be easy games. The boys came out raring and ready to fight against Sherborne, and we soon found ourselves on the opposition five metre line. Unable to score, Radley conceded a few soft tries via turnover ball. A strong second half performance saw two great team tries with Gilliat-Smith scoring them both in the corner. The St. Paul’s and Eton games were tough, however the boys showed great bravery and determination to make both second halves very interesting, both preventing and scoring tries.

The Tonbridge game then followed.

Although the game was hard, the last 10 minutes made both sides look of an even standard. James Hayes’ bounce on the Tonbridge 7 was excellent, followed by a

Coaches: OH Langton and CPM McKegney Captain: O Marshall

massive hit by Jamie Sharp. Midgets 1, by now, were hungry for a first win and the excitement of a first game away from home loomed large. Radley dominated possession throughout the game against Rugby but we could just not find a way to convert hard work into points.

Having said that, a great full length run by Freddy Loveland ended with him scoring under the posts. The Cheltenham match was tough, with three players having to come off the pitch with injury. Although the scoreline didn’t suggest it, this was perhaps the best performance of the season to date as our defensive system started to look more effective and the backs began to play with some shape and style.

After Leave Away, the boys came back fresh and excited for the second half of the season. Coming up against a strong Marlborough side was not easy. The week of training leading up to the next game was hard work including being given the opportunity to play with Bigside, and this inspired us to one of our best performances of the season. The Abingdon game was one that I will never forget. The game opened with a try scored from Abingdon in the first 10 seconds of the game. I, for one was not going to let this game go, and nor were the rest of the team. We came back very hard and after some great defensive pressure, we pushed Abingdon back into their own 22. A great intercept followed as a result.

We came out second best with Abingdon scoring two more tries in the last 10 minutes but the boys demonstrated the highest intensity of the season.

The Harrow game was the final challenge. We knew that Harrow would be a strong side as they had been dominating the circuit. This did not daunt us one bit. We knew as it was our last game playing for Midgets 1 we should put every

ounce of energy and intensity into that game. The boys were ready and pumped for the match.

We kicked to them and refused to let them out of their own 22.

As a result of our great defence, we managed to steal the ball and attack back hard at them. We were held up on the line and then lost possession. We went into half time just two tries down. Again we came out ferociously and after the backs’ great passages of play, aided by some quality forward carries, Bert Dreyer dived over the line for a try that raised the biggest cheer of the season. The final stages of the game were very tiring and included some mad defence. The boys again couldn’t secure a win but the performance was one of pure quality and it was a great way to end the season.

Oscar’s passionate leadership comes across in everything that he does – even his writing – and he is to be commended for his spirit and bravery throughout the term. He points out many of the key issues that we had to confront over the course of the season: a failure to secure possession for long enough to put opponents under pressure in the right part of the pitch; far too many turnovers conceded; too many tackles missed and not enough calmness under pressure when faced with key decision-making moments. All of these things can be rectified, and the great part of the season from our point of view was the boys’ willingness to listen to advice and try to put it all into practice in a match situation.

The key observation in Oscar’s report, I think, is the impact of the experience on Bigside, when the team were allowed to run at the 1st XV for 20 minutes of (non-contact!) game play. This is a five year journey for the boys, and if they can consistently try to improve themselves every season,

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then they will be able to play host to the Midgets 1 team of 2020 with some great stories to tell.

Many thanks to RMCG, TCL and the 1st team, and to Caspar Hart and Lucas Sopher who came to coach the boys one day, for their care and attention.

The fact was that we were physically out-gunned in every contest, and that of course puts your skills under intense pressure. At Under 14 level, gaps between sides are magnified by the confidence gained from being on the front foot – it was rare that we managed to generate quick ball, which meant that our half backs tended to be moving backwards and that meant that there was no platform from which to attack. In very few games were we constantly under territorial pressure – the problem was that we had to work so hard to hold a position that when turnovers occurred, we tended to be caught out of position.

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When these boys grow, they are going to be a much more effective side as a result of this season because they have worked so hard on defensive realignment, on recognising opportunities to try to steal the ball and on working as a team. Midgets 1’s performances against Abingdon and Harrow were outstanding in the context of the season, and the friendships forged by the difficult experience of regular defeat will ensure that whatever happens on the field, this group of players will know what is expected of a teammate, and that, in many ways, is more important than victory.

I would like to thank CPMM and LJC for their professionalism and expertise, their support and humour – both are outstanding coaches and motivators, albeit in rather different ways – and the boys know how lucky they are to have been coached by these two new recruits to Radley. I would also like to thank the parents for their unstinting and unquestioning support – not easy, I would imagine – but much

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appreciated nevertheless. Onwards and upwards.

Awards: Most Improved – George Hall Coaches’ Players of the Season – Hector Brown and George Salwey Players’ Player – Jamie Sharp Team from: Rory Elliott, Ralph Adams, Mallam Findley-Grant, Bert Dreyer, Ed Bligh, Dominic Stone, Hector Brown, George Salwey, Jamie Sharp; George Hall, Max McGee, James Hayes, Henry Snell, Kristian GilliatSmith, Freddy Loveland and Oscar Marshall. Also played: Pip Chetwode, Dom Osborne, Ben Barton, Max Jardine-Brown, Tom Beattie, Louis Donaldson, Jamie Beardmore-Gray, Orlando Alford, Freddie Rees.

OH Langton

RUGBY MIDGETS 2 P11 W3 L8 This was a season of significant progress for a Midgets 2 squad who frequently found themselves outgunned by bigger and more aggressive opponents, but stuck to their task admirably and developed well as the season progressed.

Midgets 2 took the field for a very tough first three games of the season following the very difficult process of sorting the new Shell year group into seven rugby teams. The opening skirmishes, against Sherborne, St. Pauls and Eton saw a lot of changes in the team as we struggled to find our best combinations across all the Midgets teams. Unfortunately, these opponents were a very unforgiving proving ground and we were comprehensively put away in all three matches.

However, our side started to take shape during this period and the boys made significant improvements which started to become evident later in the season.

After the first exeat weekend, there were a number of players moved up from Midgets 3 as strong performances in training were rewarded with promotions. Of these, Max McGee was amongst the most notable as he continued his rise to cement himself as the Midgets 1 fly-half by the end of the season. Our ranks were also bolstered

by Archie Donald and Oliver Barker in the backs, who went on to be highly influential as the season progressed.

It was during this period too that forwards Edward Bligh and Will Moss were brought up from Midgets 3 and began a very fine run of form that saw them secure places in the first team by the end of the season.

More settled and confident in the way we wanted to play, we contested a close match with a strong Tonbridge side which saw us unlucky to come away with a narrow defeat. Our side continued to build and take shape with Jago Gourlay, Tom Pritchard and Freddie Rees making themselves indispensable in the back three and Max Jardine-Brown playing an increasing influential role in the lineout and carrying in the loose.

Coach: LJ Clogher Captain: F Walker

On an upwards trajectory, a win was always on the way and when it arrived it was resounding as we took Rugby School apart away from home with both Archie Donald and Jago Gourlay scoring individual tries from within our half. The high point of the season came the week before Leave Away when we travelled to Cheltenham.

We put together a cohesive display of disciplined, clinical attacking rugby and racked up a healthy score against very decent opponents. This was all the more remarkable given we lost two fly-halves during the course of the game as replacements were called up for Midgets 1. Without both Max McGee and Fred Walker, Ben Wilson stepped in to play a very handy second half at 10. He was ably assisted by Pip Chetwode and Charlie Morgan who started to generate really good go-forward, racking up a huge number of yards after contact between them.

Playing confident rugby on the front foot, we galloped to a 27-19 victory.

Unfortunately, we were not able to build on the momentum we were generating and perhaps the Leave Away break came at bad time for us.

We were unable to adapt our playing style to the more adverse conditions in early November and went down at home in a disappointing manner to Marlborough and Abingdon. These were two naïve performances in which we were guilty of playing far too much in our own half. Starved of possession and field position, we were always up against it.

A consistent shining light for us this season was the indomitable Finlay Trasler. Regardless of the scoreboard, conditions or size of his opponents, Finn threw himself at anything that moved in every match of the season and would certainly be a strong candidate for player of the season. Unfortunately on a day that came down to guts alone, in adverse conditions at Burford School, we were found wanting in endeavour, commitment and bravery and ended up soundly beaten by a team that enjoys few of the luxuries we have at Radley in terms of facilities and time to train together.

We rallied to perform very well at St. Edward’s, recovering from 12-10 down at half-time to score 17 unanswered points in a very impressive second half performance. Had the season ended there it would have been a fitting note on which to end. However, we welcomed Harrow on the final weekend of our season and the less that is said about our performance the better. Sadly a second-half rally in this game came far too late and only left us with the frustration of having not played to our potential from the start.

The overarching story of this season is one of real progress, often in the face of quite significant adversity. The way the team came together and played toward the end of the season was totally unrecognisable from the start with a step-change in our intensity, physicality and organisation. Many individuals made significant strides in their own development too. Jamie Beardmore-Gray became more assured at prop as the season progressed and Ben Zhang performed at a level that was quite outstanding for his first season of rugby. Dom Osborne was tenacious and astute from scrum-half and Fred Walker, Oliver Barker and Archie Donald really began to combine well.

I thank all who represented Midgets 2 this year for their effort and commitment and I hope they enjoyed the term’s rugby and learned a lot from it. I would also like to thank Fred Walker for captaining the side ably throughout the season and my colleagues Mr OH Langton and Mr CP McKegney for the work they have done with the Midgets 1 and 2 squad in training.

Players: Oliver Barker, Ben Barton, Jamie Beardmore-Gray, Tom Beattie, Ed Bligh, Pip Chetwode, Archie Donald, Louis Donaldson, Bert Dreyer, Jago Gourlay, Max Jardine-Brown, Raph Koudounaris, Charlie Morgan, Will Moss, Dom Osborne, Tom Pritchard, Freddie Rees, Finlay Trasler, Fred Walker, Ben Wilson and Ben Zhang.

LJ Clogher

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RUGBY MIDGETS 3 P9 W2 L7 Team: T Wilson (Capt), T Beattie, J Bentley, W Blacker, T Cheng, P Clegg, G Dutton, C Giuseppetti, R Halford-Harrison, A Horsey, L Kilsby, J Lam, M Levi, A O’Donnell, A Pearson, T Pritchard, C Rooth, M Rowland, A Shorthouse, B Wilson, B Zhang.

It can’t be denied that this was a tricky season with some sizeable challenges in the shape of some physical and skilful opponents who did wear down even the bravest of defences. The team list above does not mention every man who played (another dozen could be added), but they were the core of a team that tried to develop their play as the season progressed and who were playing some tidy, joined-up rugby by season’s end. In truth, where there was heft and strength in this side, there was also inexperience of the game and only rudimentary skills, and where there was skill and fleetness of foot, there was a lack of physicality. It all added up to mountains of effort and some nice moments of skilful but fleetingly effective play, but only 2 wins in the midst of a number of difficult days at the office.

Captain Tom Wilson was omnipresent at either scrum half or fly half, and was one of those who organised our defence to hold the line whenever possible.

He was also one of the players with neat and quick feet, and he was joined in this department by Patrick Clegg and Matt Rowland (whose try against Tonbridge was one of the highlights of the season). Ben Wilson, Tom Beattie

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and Clem Giuseppetti added advanced handling skills, and Rupert Halford-Harrison, Angus Shorthouse and Tom Pritchard could all be elusive runners.

Among the forwards there was considerable effort, and by the end of the season the pack was much more productive at securing their own ball and nicking the opposition’s. Tianyi Cheng, Ben Zhang and Justin Lam all carried the ball with oomph and impact; Joe Bentley, Arthur Horsey, Luke Kilsby and Charlie Rooth developed into skilful and hardworking operators around the ruck and maul; George Dutton, Moshe Levi and Will Blacker did very effective work in supporting, linking and extending play in the back row.

Sadly many games were lost by broad margins, although there were two wins to celebrate. Tianyi Cheng’s hat trick of tries was too good for St Edward’s (22-5), and Ben Wilson’s late-in-the-day opportunistic break down the blind side from 30 yards out turned a likely defeat into a late victory at Rugby (a 24-19 win). Other than the 22-26 loss in a tight contest vs Sherborne, the tale of the year was one of waves of physically larger and often quicker opponents bearing down upon us. I remember the size of St Paul’s and Tonbridge, the beautiful handling and electric pace of Eton, the teamwork of Abingdon and Marlborough, the sheer physicality of Harrow. Any Midgets 3 side would have found these hard to handle, but it is also true that often the Radley tackling was not low enough or teethgrittingly tough enough to hold

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Coach: JRW Beasley Captain: T Wilson

back the hordes. I must mention the exceptional tackling of both George Dutton and Tom Beattie who threw themselves into the breach time and time again, and the guts of Clegg and Shorthouse who tried to snap at the knees of their opponents (rather than their midriff), but we did concede some soft tries, often at pivotal moments in matches.

In all, there was no lack of effort and I thank them, one and all, for their weekly efforts to improve. I thank too, Jack Kane (J, 6.2), who came out in sun and rain to help to coach them and injected some real energy and determination into the team’s efforts.

JRW Beasley

RUGBY MIDGETS 4 P8 W3 L5 After two hard weeks of training the new Midgets 4 team headed out to face their Sherborne opponents on an overcast Saturday afternoon. Captain Harvey Glover won the toss and elected to kick, and some fierce running by the opposition soon saw us trailing by a try after only ten minutes. The Sherborne team weren’t the best tacklers, and strong runners Nithin Simanand and Max Eastwood worked hard to break through their defence and put some points on the board. Max Eastwood took over kicking responsibilities in the second half and by the end of the match the score stood at a very healthy 56-14 to Radley. A great

Coaches: DS Borthwick and D Wilson Captain: H Glover

start to the season and a welldeserved victory.

After a disrupted week of training we faced a potentially tough match against St Paul’s - always a difficult team to beat, especially when given space to play rugby.

Our pack got off to a great start, contesting the ball well on the ground and working hard at scrums and lineouts, however by half-time we were already 24-0 down. Hard grafters Yuhan Yan, Nick Tompkins and Tianyi Cheng were chasing the ball all over the pitch desperate for possession, but unfortunately the game ended at a disappointing 38-0 to St Paul’s.

The match against Tonbridge was

always going to be tough and the first few minutes showed the boys just how much of a contest it was to be. The opposition ran hard and tackled well, and by half-time it was already 24-0 to them. The boys were exhausted by the end of the half but managed to come out at the start of the second half even more determined to get their hands on the ball. Strong running from forwards Yuhan Yan and Justin Lam allowed us to gain some territory, while solid defensive tackling from backs Freddie Knatchbull and Max Eastwood managed to stifle advances by the opposition. Unfortunately the boys just couldn’t get on the score board and the match finished 48-0 to Tonbridge.

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The final match before half-term was in Cheltenham against the Cheltenham College C team. We were slow to get going - missing tackles and losing possession on the ground - however we were lucky to finish the half 12-5 up.

The second half saw us work a bit harder - fewer tackles were missed and we were running hard with the ball to gain ground - and tries from Yuhan Yan and Alec Stinton sealed the game at 24-12 to us.

After the long half-term we were up against Marlborough, a fixture that is always well-contested by both sides. With new signings Arthur Cornet de Ways Ruart and Moshe Levi we looked like a wellorganised team going into the match, however in the opening ten minutes Marlborough showed that they would be playing some good attacking rugby and would not let us get hold of the ball easily. After some solid defensive work we were only 12-7 down at half-time, however the second half was to be just as tough, and although we remained well organised, even strong runners Yuhan Yan and Nick Tompkins found it hard to break through their line and gain any ground. The full-time score of 29-7 to Marlborough was perhaps not

quite an accurate representation of the high quality of rugby that the boys played.

The Abingdon fixture turned into a bit of a whitewash, with a half-time score of 40-0 that increased to 62-0 by the end of the match and the Harrow match - our last of the season - was arguably the toughest of the season. Harrow put almost 30 points on the board in the first ten minutes and although the boys worked hard to tackle their strong runners the score was to finish at 65-7 to the opposition.

Overall, this was a season where we were pitted against some tough teams, and the boys made significant improvements as the weeks progressed. They never lost their team spirit and put in some unbelievably determined performances, even when faced with bigger and stronger opposition.

DS Borthwick and D Wilson

RUGBY MID P8 W6 L2 Points For 242 Points Against 133 This year’s crop of Midgets 5 rugby players was a fine one. Coaching such a competitive and supportive group of young men was enormously rewarding. The statistics tell of a successful season but statistics fail to communicate the character of a team who faced winning and losing with a dignified, philosophical approach led by their indefatigable General, Harry Moore.

Our season began with a romping win over Sherborne who, after a tight first few minutes, could not live with the pace of the back line and relentlessly competitive forwards. Ultimately the boys registered a comfortable victory; the final score was 44-10. Our next fixture saw St Paul’s grace the verdant pastures of Old Range. This fixture came too soon for the mighty men of Midgets 5, and any nascent hopes of an unbeaten season were thoroughly dispelled by an opposition bigger, stronger, faster and, at that stage, more cohesive than us. That the score was only 42-0 was a testament to the defensive resolve of Arthur Cornet De Ways Ruart, George Corbett and Tom Wheeler in particular. We would eventually lose Arthur and Tom to Midgets 4, quite rightly, but George remained a stalwart of our pack throughout. Our next fixture brought Eton College to us and a breathless ten minutes of tackling saw the score stay at 0-0 for longer than in any game I can remember. Eventually the fleet-footed Moshe Levi broke through on the left and left Eton’s full-back statuesque to score. This opened the floodgates and Radley went on to win 27-5. Moshe’s season was a true success story and one which I hope prompts a lasting enthusiasm for the game; he ended up playing for Midgets 3 with some distinction.

Tonbridge’s arrival was met with a trepidation borne out of bitter experience. Last season’s Midgets 5 had received nothing short of a trouncing in 2015, something of which the boys were somehow aware.

The game began ominously, and

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DGETS 5 Tonbridge ran in three unanswered tries in the first ten minutes. What followed was one of the most heartening performances by a Radley side I can remember. Led by the indomitable Cornet, Cunningham and Adams, the team fought tooth and nail to heave themselves back into the game. To referee without lavishing praise on the boys’ defensive resilience took superhuman restraint.

Despite all our efforts, Tonbridge’s colossal E Team took the spoils 22-12, but took with them back to Kent the knowledge that they had been in a real scrap.

Perhaps Rugby bore the brunt of our frustration at the Tonbridge result.

More tries for Moshe, and scores from the battling Ned Blackburn, the lightning fast Ollie Taylour, as well as cultured winger Zayn Hussain resulted in a barnstorming 62-0 victory. Eddie Southgate had perhaps his best game of the season with a near-faultless kicking display and George Fincham (another promotee after half term) pulled the strings from fly half with aplomb. In a performance more profligate in attack and porous in defence than one would like, we then beat Marlborough 41-19. The match featured a typically uncompromising performance from Boris Pastukhov in the centres and the marauding Ekins and Barber in the second row. Luke Parsons’ voracious appetite for contact also featured heavily. Our esteemed neighbours from Abingdon were next to visit, and while the game was uncomfortably close for long periods of the first half, the pace of Hussain and Knatchbull married well with Hugo Carr at scrum half, resulting in an electric final fifteen minutes. Seymour Shaw, our incisive and intelligent incumbent 9 missed this game, and it is a measure of his controlled approach that we looked a little ragged to begin with.

Coaches: JW Schofield and AFC Nash Captain: T Reed

Harrow were enormously physical and at times more competitive than we were. The first half was littered with moments of hesitation and cautiousness. For the first time in the season, we failed to ‘front up’ as I believe expression goes. Our tackling was poor and we failed to contest at the break down with any intent.

After a few stern words at half time, the boys rallied impressively and an excellent 20 minutes’ play was personified by the exceptional effort of Harry Walkinshaw at flanker, who rent asunder the Harrow pack to squirm home for the most unlikely of tries. This galvanised the troops and saw us squeak home 15-14, having been 14-5 down at half-time. The resilience on show was something to behold.

Coach: AFC Nash

Christopherson, Deram, Harrabin, Cunningham and Carter doing the unglamorous but vital work in the rucks and mauls that carried us home more often than not. Thanks is owed to Louis Giffard Moore whose tenure as forwards coach saw the boys’ technique and effectiveness at the breakdown improve enormously. We were also indebted to Nick Wood’s unrivalled expertise in this regard; the privilege of having his help was not lost on the boys.

Midgets 5 have had a season to remember; I hope they do.

AFC Nash

This Midgets 5 side were a proud and noble bunch, who deserve to feel hugely satisfied with their term’s work. Every man played his part and it was often the likes of Carlisle,

The last game of the season brought Harrow to visit. Being something of a sporting powerhouse meant that the expectations were only cautiously optimistic. Injuries and promotions meant that it was a fresh, if unfamiliar Midgets 5 which took the field.

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RUGBY MIDGETS 6 Unfortunately, the Midgets 6 team did not manage to secure many wins and in the end only secured two, however we did not let this get us down, and every match we would enter with our morale high. Our main fault was that we would not play particularly well early on and concede an early try, which lowered our morale. Unfortunately, the scores did not reflect the effort the team put in.

For our first match of the season we were travelling to play at the birthplace of the sport, Rugby.

The beginning of the match was fast moving with many runs being halted just short of either try line. After 10 minutes there was a breakthrough and the score was 5-0 to Radley. 2 more tries were scored before half time. The success continued in the next half of the game and at full time the score was 25-18 to Radley.

The Midgets 6 faced tough a tough opponent in their second match.

They were against St Paul’s School.

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Unfortunately for the Midgets 6 by halftime the score was 30-0 to St Paul’s School. However we did not let the score get to our head and tried our best to get a try. After conceding a try the ball was quickly stolen back by Oliver Mullen. Using this as an opportunity, we tried our best to keep the ball and by several phrases we were 5 yards off the try line. With one last push the Midgets 6 were able to score a try. By fulltime the score was 55-5 to St Paul’s School. This was a very disappointing result for Midgets 6.

A key match for the Midgets 6 was the match against Abingdon.

They were a team of equal ability however we were dominated in the 1st half of the match and the score was 20-0 to them. At the start of the 2nd half, Fernandez did a brutal tackle, which resulted in a 5 minute break. This gave us the time to realise it was fun and easy to do a tackle and from then on the Midgets 6 started doing tackles which drove the opposition back to their try line.

At the end the score was 55-10.

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Coaches: JPJ Dodd and DJT Scott

Without a win since our first match of the season, we went out onto the field with a desire to end the season on a high note by beating Harrow school. When the match began we all worked hard to make sure that the opposition did not score any easy tries. This resulted in everyone playing their part by making their best tackles of the season (other than Fernandez who was not able to improve). After several minutes of play we scored a try raising everyone’s confidence. The match progressed with more tries and conversions being scored by us and the oppositions.. Nevertheless, after a very tense last few minutes, we won 29-22. This was a great way to end the season, with a great victory to the Radley College Midget 6ths.

DJT Scott

RUGBY MIDGETS 7 P3 W3 Yes, M7 have been brilliant at times, moving the ball at real pace, with captain Eugene Chow leading the way by example, the undoubted star of this entertaining and cheery squad, showing endless slinky moves which would distinguish any fly half. He has scored two marvellous tries and converted them this season, and opposition teams have consistently had no answer to his incisive incursions into their territory.

Our forwards have grown in stature as the season has unfolded. The titans of the front row – Theo Collis, Dev Shah and Alexander Hardy – formed a formidable powerhouse and Alexander showed great pace and skill at St Edward’s on a cold November afternoon, teasing the opposition with near unstoppable attacking runs. Stamfie Collis,

Coach: SA Hall Captain: E Chow

George Curling, Charles Haskins and Mahir Mujtaba formed a tight engine room of forwards, collectively generating power and gaining ground against each of the teams we encountered. A special mention for Cyrus Frei – M7’s uniquely specialist flanker and tackler – he took great pride in felling even the most staturesque of opponents in seemingly nonchalant style.

The backs were as pacey a squad as we have seen over the years. Will Codrington and James Taylor are lightning-quick and whenever they receive the ball in space they can certainly leave others dead in the water. Alexander Bhandarkar also singed the turf on occasion and we shall long recall his hallmark gear change calls when encountering the opposition. Alexander Dayes is the most improved player – fast, a great supporter of his team

mates, and an increasingly low tackler. Nico Mosquera and Jose Amusategui added some warm humour, flair, and spice to the backs, both proving time and again that they are talented handlers of the ball. Other players who have greatly contributed to the fine spirit of this team include Whit Cook – a fast and philosophical player at every stage; Henry Dixon, an agile dancer of a back, and Max Morgan Stark, who celebrated his debut at St Edward’s playing as prop.

Huge thanks to Mr Adams and Dr Hall without whom this season would not have been half the fun that it has.

RG Adams, F Social and SA Hall

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TEAM PHOTOGRAPHS We are very grateful to Gillman & Soame for supplying team photos. Parents can purchase team photographs (those featuring a watermark in the bottom right corner) by contacting Gillman & Soame directly as highlighted below.

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