Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 961St xv team report Boy’s rugby has achieved a solid year of performance and learning. Under the guidance of the various coaches all teams have shown excellent progress with a number going on to achieve great results. The 1st XV under Captain Adam Huxford started the season with great enthusiasm after a busy and successful tour of Canada. The success of the season was down to the efforts of the players and their desire to improve which was testament to their work rates and efforts. Special performance across the season saw the team destroy Bishop Veseys, compete with NatWest Cup Winners Bromsgrove and firmly dispatch Princethorpe. The Bablake fixture ended the season and a comfortable 12-0 victory doesn’t really tell the story of how dominant the team were. A man of the match performance by vice captain Dan Collier helped the team to achieve one of their primary objectives in getting hold of the Hibberd Shield. Special thanks must go to all the players and all the coaching staff who supported the team and their efforts over the season. 2nd xv team report After a promising pre-season, hopes were high for the start of the season. The strength of the 1st XV meant that a number of talented players were available for the 2nd XV, as opposed to some previous seasons. The opening fixture against Fairfax saw us win convincingly with the young backline scoring some excellent tries. However, injuries to the 1st XV then robbed us of this backline which meant that our next four games were spent desperately trying to find players that had the ability to kick the ball a long way off the pitch so that it took the opposition longer to score. A combined total of 264 points against us in those 4 games with a solitary try scored by us tells a very emphatic story. The return to fitness of captain Alex Richards marked a turning point in the season and his leadership and defensive bravery were key in encouraging others. Alistair Whelan’s move into the pack gave us some much-needed aggression and Akhmad Iqbal’s elusiveness gave us a creative outlet. A narrow defeat against Princethorpe was followed by a great win against Wrekin. The loss of some key U16 players to the 1st XV meant that other players had to step up. Luke Monnington and Callum Gill formed a diminutive but brave centre partnership and Haroon Rashid was hugely effective with his powerful running. Will Gregory was another 6th former who set a great example to the younger players. Results do not always tell the full story of a season and a record of only two wins looks disappointing. However it was great to see so many boys willing to give their time to the school, and support each other playing a demanding sport. Many of the players gained recognition for their efforts by being picked for the 1st XV and the U16 players dealt well with the huge increase in pace and physicality of U18 rugby. My undoubted highlight of the season was in the final game against Leicester Grammar, a side that had already beaten us convincingly early in the season. Shorn of our half backs, we then lost another player five minutes into the game because of the 1st XV’s call for a replacement. A scratch team then fought superbly against a much more experienced and much bigger set of players. Although the result didn’t go our way, the character and resilience the boys displayed showed exactly why sport is so important in the curriculum. My thanks go to Mr. Fitt and Mr. Wilkes for their help and support, to Mr. Holmes and his team for making Swamp Meadow (the 2nd XV pitch) playable in the worst of weathers, the catering staff for the much-needed food after games and to all the parents who came to watch so regularly. rUgBy 82 | the Coventrian