Sports Report

November continues to be an outstanding sporting month for St Paul’s. Highlights in this report include cross-country success at the Regional Finals and strong rackets victories against Tonbridge and Cheltenham. Excellent rugby performances against Eton further demonstrated the depth of talent across all age groups, with several notable wins and closely contested matches. Congratulations to everyone involved on these impressive results.

Cross-Country

Regional Finals of the England Schools Cross Country Cup – Dulwich College – 10 November

On Monday 10 November, pupils from Fourth Form to Upper Eighth travelled to Dulwich College for the Regional Finals of the England Schools Cross Country Cup. Both the St Paul’s Intermediate and Senior teams performed brilliantly, securing qualification for the National Finals later this year. A particular highlight of the day was Charlie N (Fifth Form), who placed 1st overall in the Inters race. Congratulations to all involved on an outstanding achievement.

Fives

National Under 25 Tournament – 17 – 18 October

Freddie Hammond Giles retained the singles title at the tournament held at SPS;  in an intense and exciting match, Freddie edged more of the rallies than his opponent, successfully defending the title he won for the first time last year.  He is currently ranked 13^th in the national men’s list, which may improve with this result.

Golf

ISGA Matchplay Knockout Competition – 5 November

On Wednesday 5 November, the St Paul’s School golf team continued their strong run in the ISGA Matchplay knockout competition, advancing to the next round with 3-0 victory against Kingston Grammar School. Shiv Ahluwalia secured an excellent 5 & 4 win against a strong opponent.
Kaiser Riemann maintained the momentum with a confident 6 & 5 victory. Nicolas Behroun completed the sweep recording a 6 & 5 win.
This result means the team are now just one win away from reaching the national finals for the second consecutive year.

Rackets

SPS vs Tonbridge – 4 November

• 1st Pair: Sachin Marchand and Hari Dattani starred with a 3–2 victory.

• U16: Alexei Fletcher and Rayaan Ahmad won 3–1.

• U15: Costi Poulios and Santi Rio secured a commanding 3–0 win.

SPS vs Cheltenham – 6 November

• 1st Pair: Shlok Poddar and Konstantin Vujnovic won 3–0.

• 2nd Pair: Sachin Marchand and Hari Dattani won 3–0.

• 3rd Pair: Aiden Ahmad and Vivaan Sharma triumphed 3–1.

• U15/U16: Joe Burch and Haofei Du secured a 3–0 victory.

Rugby

SPS vs Eton College – 8 November 

The block fixture encapsulated a friendly rivalry played in great spirit, finishing with with two A-team victories apiece and an overall block win for St Paul’s of 9 games to 4.

SPS vs Eton (H)

Congratulations to the U14s, who have begun the second half of the season as strongly as they ended the first. All five age-group teams secured home victories, with the U14A extending their unbeaten run with an emphatic 36–0 win. The U14B also impressed with a 45–7 victory, while the U14C edged a close contest 14–12. Eton were unable to field an U14E team, so SPS U14D and U14E each played a half against Eton’s U14D, winning 19–0 and 10–5 respectively.

The U16A enjoyed an excellent 29–5 win to remain unbeaten in what has been a strong season, while the U16C also claimed a decisive 43–26 result. The U16B were narrowly defeated 5–10 in a tense encounter, but two wins from three for the year group marks a successful day overall.

SPS vs Eton (A)

The 1st XV match was a thrilling contest. SPS led 26–25 with one minute remaining before Eton snatched victory, finishing 26–30. The 2nd XV faced a powerful Eton side and were beaten 28–7.

The U15A game could have gone either way, but Eton edged it 17–12. Both the U15 B and U15 C, however, produced outstanding away performances to win 19–7 and 33–7 respectively.