Rugby

Craig Newby, Director of Rugby

St John’s Rugby has enjoyed many highs throughout the 2019-20 season, both through fixtures and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for pupils, staff and supporters. The 1st XV played at the Twickenham Stoop for the first time, beating Caterham in the process. Our U13 boys trained at the home of England Rugby, Pennyhill Park. We once again hosted the premiership Harlequins in a full training day, which utilised our exceptional gym, swimming pool and training fields. And our senior girls had a fascinating trip to Loughborough University where they were treated to a day of coaching and games from the England Ladies rugby team, the Red Roses. Despite all the disruption that came later, the season incorporated some exceptional experiences for our rugby club.

RugbyOur approach to rugby at St John’s is to deliver a wellplanned development programme for teams across all age groups. Regular support coaches Adrian Silvester from Harlequins and Topsy Ojo, the former England and London Irish player, along with the inclusion of morning games lessons, has further increased the high standard of coaching offered to all our pupils. This year saw the introduction of St John’s Touch Rugby teams to create opportunities for less experienced pupils develop their skills, whilst still representing St John’s in regular Saturday fixtures. Alongside this, our traditional fixtures continue to strengthen with games against some of the best in the country, such as Hampton, Epsom, Tonbridge, Hurstpierpoint and Seaford to name a few. Over the course of the season, more than 24 teams and 330 boys and girls enjoyed rugby this year, alongside over 30 staff members.

“Our approach to rugby at St The U15 boys gained national recognition making the Vase Final at Twickenham John’s is to deliver a well-planned Stadium, although sadly this game was cancelled because of Covid-19 and so our development programme for teams boys shared the title with Northampton School for Boys. Our 1st XV lost the across all age groups.” National Cup quarter final in a close match against Dulwich College. Our brief Sevens season saw our U14 boys get the silver medal at the much-vaunted Surrey Sevens, and our U18 boys won the plate at Hampton Sevens, as well as performing very well at the Surrey Sevens. The growth of girls’ rugby has been dramatic over the past two seasons, and this year over 60 girls were regularly training at U13/15 and U18 age groups. On an individual front, our links with Harlequins, London Irish and Surrey rugby has seen and increase in the number of boys getting the opportunity to learn and develop outside of school and this continues to grow. The commitment of our value-based programme has seen participation and enjoyment levels rise, and plans to continue are well underway for the future. Pride, Respect, Enjoyment and Performance underpin all that is great about St John’s rugby. Rugby