Rugby Report

SPS teams delivered great performances in their rugby matches against Epsom College on Saturday. Read below a report from Mr Andy Maguire, Head of Rugby.

Huge congratulations to the U15s and their coaching staff, ably led by Mr Harrison, who got off to a flying start with a clean sweep of victories for both the A and B teams, winning 20 – 7 and 38 – 0 respectively. Such results, against a strong rugby school, represent a fantastic effort. I would also like to congratulate the 3rd XV on their win, which is no mean feat when playing any senior Epsom side at the moment, such is their strength in depth. So well done to Miss Cloete, Mr Warriner and Arthur Kenny, and well done to the players for their outstanding performance, triumphing 21 – 20 in an incredibly closely contested match.

Unfortunately, the 1st XV, U16A, and U14A sides all came off second best. The 1st XV went down by 15 – 48 to a very strong Epsom 1st XV. We sadly lost our Captain Jacob Bethell (inside-centre) and Andrew Berko-Boateng (fullback) to injuries midway through the first half, prompting a makeshift reshuffling of the back line. Nevertheless, we went into the half-time break only nine points adrift, with the score at 15 – 24, and had we not given Epsom far too much respect and allowed them to score three soft tries early in the game, the scoreline and accompanying momentum may have favoured us ahead of the second half. Unfortunately, the game was to run away from us, with Epsom possessing far too much strength, power and pace in their backline. That said, I cannot fault our players for their tireless effort throughout the game, and our focus now moves on to Eton College next weekend.

The U16A’s game was always going to be a difficult afternoon’s rugby  away against a strong Epsom Colts team, but we gave a good account of ourselves, and the score line of 38 – 12 certainly didn’t reflect how well the SPS side played. Sadly, our U14s came up against another strong year group away at Epsom, and all but one of their teams began their campaign with heavy losses. However, the U14Ds showed tremendous character to come back from 10 points down to win convincingly by 32 – 10.

Commiserations to the 2nd XV (home) and the U16 Bs (away), who sadly lost very hard-fought contests on the day by 12 – 7 and 12 – 3 respectively, with the 2nd XV showing particular resilience after losing their fullback to an impromptu 1st XV call-up midway through the game.

We are all aware that rugby is a team sport, but that team does not just consist of the players and coaches in the SPS Rugby Club. Indeed, it extends far wider. No rugby match could take place without the expertise and professionalism of our superb medical team. I would like to thank Dr Owen Evans, Nico Kirschstein-Smith, Ryan Blake, Sophie Thomas and the Epsom College medical team for the outstanding professional care given on the pitch and in the medical centre yesterday.

I would also like to thank Dene Hey and his grounds staff for their tireless efforts in preparing the pitches. I thought they were in superb condition given the amount of rainfall over the last two days.

Thank you also to all the catering team for providing match teas for the players, staff, and parents, which is a huge operation on a normal match day let alone on Open Day. This outstanding team effort is, as always, hugely appreciated. Many thanks also to Miss Khan for contributing her time in the afternoon to take photos of the SPS v Epsom College home games.

I would like to finish by thanking all the staff involved on Saturday for the outstanding care given to the players from both schools, ensuring that they were able to undertake their first block fixture of the season and enjoy a great afternoon of rugby.

Epsom College (Home)

1st XV lost 15 – 48

2nd XV lost 7 – 12

3rd XV won 22 – 21

U15 A won 20 – 7

U15 B won 38 – 0

Epsom College (Away)

U16 A lost 38 – 12

U16 B lost 12- 3

U14 A lost 50 – 0

U14 B lost 43 – 5

U14 C lost 43 – 14

U14 D won 10 – 32