Aluredian
65
Rugby
1st XV
by Nick
Gresswell
B
eset by injury during the first
half of term, the 1st XV
struggled to find their form and
playing style, but still showed
signs of the obvious potential
they possessed. After half-term,
and with renewed vigour and purpose, some
outstanding and record-breaking performances
were delivered as the 1st XV exploded into life.
The first match against Canford showed
impressive skill with the ball in hand by an
exciting back three. Ed Nash scored twice - he
finished top try scorer - as well as Jake Parish on
debut in a dynamic display from full-back. Alex
Raleigh, with limited 1st XV appearances, always
threatened to ghost around defences out wide.
A 24-27 loss to Clifton was pivotal in the
season and one which disrupted confidence.
King's raced to a 14-0 lead with fantastic tries
from Charlie Marr, whose brilliant place-kicking
allowed him to notch up 131 points, and
Charlie Close from second row. Close, voted
players' player of the year, was tremendous all
season with consistently high levels of
performance and a very positive character to
have around. Clifton refused to lie down and
the lead changed hands twice. In the dying
minutes, after Charlie Marr landed a penalty to
push narrowly in front, King's bravely tried to
run from deep in their own half instead of
clearing the lines, and Clifton pounced on an
error scoring at the death. Heartbreak.
Psychologically it was a tough blow and one
which affected the whole team. There were
lacklustre underperformances in three tough
away fixtures against Plymouth College, Bristol
Grammar School and the always difficult
Sherborne, where there were some rays of hope
in dark times. Josh Isaacs and Tom Lewis
performed well all season as they competed hard
for the prop berth, and Tom scored against
Sherborne and could have had more as he and
Miles Lenygon, who grew with assurance into the
No 8 role, worked hard against the onslaught.
Ben de Figueiredo distributed with pace and
accuracy all season at scrum-half, Chris Morris
and Matt Bray at their rampaging best both
showed power and pace from second row and
back row, whilst Greg Moody took his
opportunities when injury struck and he
produced dynamic and destructive
performances to claim the open-side flanker
position. Will Sharp at prop was an
immoveable object, and as the season went on
he contributed effectively with the ball in hand
and at the breakdown, while his partner in
crime Grant Little was a tenacious thorn in the
side to every defence he played against.
It felt that we limped to half-term, recording a
win against Blundell's. Nathan Smith showed
incredible potential in the second row, forcing
himself into a starting position with athletic ball
skills and power. Max Harvey, Richard
Dawson, George Lock and Alex Barrow all
made their mark, while Isaac Jay remained our
unluckiest player through persistent injury.
After half-term the change was phenomenal
and it is worth mentioning captain Callum
Stonier. An incredible leader on the field,
Callum played at prop, hooker, No 8 and
ultimately inside-centre during the season.
Capable of scoring outstanding solo tries, none
better than against Monmouth, there was
always an air of excitement when he took the
ball. At inside-centre he gave structure and
purpose in combination with the ever-excellent
James Scanlan. The number of tries we scored
out wide mark James out as an unsung hero.
Averaging over 50 points a game, all before
them fell; Monmouth, Queen's and King's,
Bruton were convincingly beaten in incredible
Skipper Callum Stonier
bursts through the Clifton
defence
team displays of fabulous
running rugby. Jos Buttler at
full-back and Luke Gavin,
young player of the year, on
the wing were excellent, their
raw power and awesome
side-stepping troubling
defences all season. The
highlight will remain the alltime
King's College record
points victory of 85-0 over
Taunton School in a
breathtaking and pulsating
match. Just reward for a
group who worked so hard to
overcome adversity, and
succeeded brilliantly.