On a blustery Saturday morning before Christmas, the King’s players traveled to Cheltenham for the last game of the season and for many, the last ever game of their King’s career. However, for a certain U6 player this didn’t quite go to plan as he was ‘removed’ from the field of play early on in the 1s game. On the 2s pitch, the team were having better luck and had scored early through George H and the new Vice-Captain, James P. The 2s continued to dominate the Pates’ team but tries were hard to come by with the dreadful pitch and poor handling not helping our case. Nevertheless, the 2s went into HT with a 10-0 lead as the 1s continued to battle with only 14 men.

On the boggy 2s pitch, King’s continued to struggle to finish off brilliant moves but eventually Pates were breached again through Shrav R. It wasn’t long until Pates got one back but, with the last play of the game, our mighty Vice-Captain James P scored a fantastic solo try to finish off a fantastic season. Sadly, the firsts ended up losing 12-8.

Overall, the season was very positive for both senior teams with the 1s having a great run in the National Plate and the 2s remaining unbeaten at home and only losing 2 games overall. For many players, this was their last season in a King’s rugby shirt but for others they look to take the positives into next year.

Big thanks to overall Head Boss, Mr Mason, Essex’s finest Forwards Coach, Mr Greenall, and of course the Mighty 2s Gaffer, Mr Wilson.

After an eventful day of running around from captains Jess W and Charlotte M and the lovely Miss Oliver, King’s were finally allowed a somewhat limited amount of spectators for the game against RGS. The game began on the brand new floodlit RGS and Worcester HC pitches and it was eventful from the off. Both teams seemed to want to let the other team attack but they each had their first looks at scoring in the first quarter. After a bombardment of short corners, one of which resulted in an injury to England youngster Bryony G, RGS finally broke the deadlock just before half-time.

After the interval, King’s continued to battle but struggled to find any real opportunities to hit the back of the RGS net. Good saves from Jaime L and Amy H and brilliant ‘wheels’ from speedster Louisa D-V kept King’s fighting in the third quarter. When the fourth quarter began, King’s looked likely to score against the weary RGS defense. Constant pressure from Milly C, Hannah W and Henny A meant chances were in abundance but King’s still couldn’t find an opening.

Brilliant midfield runs from Charlotte M, Jess W and Lucy W and a great save from Amelia T made King’s look like they could snatch a late one, however their final efforts were in vain and RGS gained the victory. All the players should be really proud of themselves as they showed great heart to keep fighting till the end. This first loss means Kings still hold a 2-1 advantage over RGS in the ‘big games’ with the Super Ball and The Challenge Cup still to come.

Player of the Match- Louisa D-V.

#UPTHEDOTS

After a splendid school lunch, the First Team Squad dispersed onto two minibuses ready to head to Ipswich. Before we’d even set off, Mr Gillgrass was heard questioning his bus’s top speed as the majority on the squad’s ‘larger blokes’ had ventured onto his bus. However this turned out to be rather ironic as it was Mr Greenall’s bus which experienced a slight issue. Having barely ventured outside of Bromsgrove, the bus’s power was lost and half the squad were left stranded in a field on the side of the M5. The boys were in good spirits nevertheless, and the creativity of many of my fellow squad members led to the creation of ‘Roadside Olympics’.

After a long delay, the second bus eventually arrived at the Premier Inn outside Ipswich. The rest of the evening was spent at a shopping centre where many of the boys obviously lingered in the vicinity of McDonald’s, Nando’s and Ask Italian.

Saturday morning brought more problems. ‘El Capitan’ Alex T was forced to pull out due to unforeseen circumstances, meaning Head Boy Josh R was pushed into the captain role and young George H was left as the only out-an-out scrum half. Nevertheless, Kings’s tournament kicked off against the hosts St Jo’s later that morning. The boys fought strongly against the opposition, which included a ridiculous drum from the home fans and a few England U18s, and were unlucky to lose 5-0 in the short 25 min game.

The following two games saw rotation implemented as Sunday was the main focus point for the squad as silverware was possible. King’s battled strongly and never gave up against Brighton and Millfield, which the scoreboard didn’t suggest, but credit to the squad as both Millfield and Brighton ended up meeting in the Trophy final where Millfield won narrowly and claimed their 7th St Jo’s festival title.

After a tough day, the players returned to the hotel where ice baths were done and we then returned to Ipswich town centre. This time however, the food options were different. Head Coach and proud Yorkshireman, Mr Mason was over the moon when he saw the Toby Carvery windows pasted with the message, ‘Yorkshires measured to perfection.’ Other squad members ventured into Mexican restaurant, El Chiquito, which their roommates weren’t best pleased about when returning to base.

Sunday was an early start where King’s met Cheltenham College in their first game of 3. The early start didn’t bode well for King’s as we ended up losing 10-5 in the even shorter 20 min game. However, better things were to come as the boys met Eltham College next, who were also yet to win a game. King’s dominated the whole game and finally managed a victory as the game finished 7-0. This left many of the King’s players optimistic of a rematch with the St Jo’s boys. Walking back to the buses, we saw that St Jo’s were in a shootout with QEGS Wakefield, with the Ipswich school coming out victorious.

Onto the last game of the day and of the tournament for both King’s and St Jo’s. King’s started the strongest and scored in the first 10 mins meaning it was 5-0 to King’s at the interval. In the second half, King’s continued their pressure and managed to silence the home supporters. However, towards the end as the boys began to tire, gaps opened up which began to be exploited by the St Jo’s back line. Some great try saving tackles and turnovers from Laurie C and Ben A, just to name a few, kept St Jo’s at bay, but the sustained pressure eventually led to a St Jo’s try that lit up the Ipswich crowd. Full time came and the scores were level. The players wondered around not quite sure what was about to happen until suddenly King’s were told by the referee that they had won due to them scoring first. The boys were elated and celebrations began…

But then suddenly, the St Jo’s coaches (of course!) alerted the ref that he was wrong and we would go to a shootout. (Quick side note: Ever since the tournament started in 1987, finals have always been decided by the first team to score. This year ironically was ‘different’). King’s were angry and confused amongst other things. After a period of waiting, the takers were decided but due to not finishing on the pitch, front-rower Joe C’s chance to show his kicking skills, were scuppered. The shootout finished 5-4 to St Jo’s but the result didn’t matter to Mr Mason and his boys.

Finally, credit to all the boys who took part in the shootout as they showed great courage.

All the games were filmed with commentary and can be watched on the NextGenXV YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/NextGenXV

Pitch 2, Day 2: King’s vs. Cheltenham College and Eltham:

The boys woke up on Saturday, brimming with confidence as they headed down to the fields for what they thought would be a 2.30 KO against QEH. As has been usual for this season, the opposing team turned up late, leading to a delayed start. On the mighty Seconds’ pitch, King’s were the first team to score as Joe W broke through twice to score an early brace on debut. The 2s would finish the first half strong, leading 25-7 at the interval. The 1s were also dominating, taking a commanding lead at HT.

The second half was similarly impressive for both King’s sides: the 1s ended up winning 39-18 and the 2s 39-22. Stand out performers include Oli E, who was called over to the 1s pitch mid-way through the first half and scored within 30 seconds, and ‘The Machine’ Charlie L, who continued his fine form and scored a beautiful brace to become the Senior Teams’ top try scorer. Not bad for a prop!

The following Wednesday, the 1s headed to Abingdon School and so the 2s had the pleasure of hosting KES Birmingham on the sacred First Team pitch. Due to selection issues, fan favourite Giles H managed to use his ‘charm’ and ‘good looks’ to persuade the Gaffer to give him a full game.

After an inspirational team talk from captain Felix S (and a few words from Giles ‘The Bullet’), the boys scored early through a Ben W cross field kick which was collected by yet another debutant, Ed J. Just before the interval, King’s scored one of the best team tries ever to be scored on the First Team pitch. It started with an outrageous offload from Pete D to his ‘Deadly Duo’ partner, Charlie L who then fed the ball to Cam J who used Mr Wilson and Mr Williams’s handling drills to pick out another fan favourite. Will M. ‘Moorsey’ then showed sublime skills for a prop and put fellow ‘speedstar’ Ed J into the corner for his second of the afternoon. That would leave the score 12-0 at HT.

The second half brought more of the same as King’s continued to dominate. Two more tries from the unstoppable Charlie L and fellow forward Jonah K-C, led King’s to a comfortable 22-7 win. In the huddle after the game, the Gaffer was quoted saying:

I am happy with the result but we still have lots more to improve on after half term as we look to build towards the RGS game