Aluredian 65
L
osing just the two games on our
very strong circuit is a tremendous
achievement. Our season started at
a blistering pace against Clifton, but
errors allowed them to open the scoring.
Our tries in the 14-14 draw came from
Laurie Moorhead and Aaron Williams
with Leo Goodman-Jones adding the
conversions - Charlie Rodgers tackled
well while Hamish Manger was man of
the match.
A ferocious performance by the pack took
Plymouth by surprise and provided the
platform for a pleasing 18-9 victory,
followed the next Saturday with a fluid
performance against Blundell's, which led
to a convincing 30-12 win. Skipper Will
James led by example, and there were
tries for man of the match Aaron Williams
(3), Aaron Dobie and Will James.
Our first defeat came away at
Cheltenham, when injuries to the first
team inevitably took their toll on us, but
the game was a far more closely
contested affair than the scoreline
suggests.
We then won an epic encounter against a
previously unbeaten Bristol Grammar
School side, Paddy Cartwright cancelling
out an early Bristol score by running 40
metres to score. More pressure led to an
Aaron Williams try, while Leo GoodmanJones
kicked a penalty and a conversion
to seal victory.
We conceded twice early on against
Canford, and were on the back foot for
the rest of the game. But we were in
rampant form against Queen's, scoring
tries from all parts of the pitch. Laurie
Moorhead in particular put in some
thunderous gallops to mark his return
from injury.
And to finish the season, an excellent win
against a useful Taunton side - the first
half saw good running by Charlie Snow
and Bryn Llewellyn lead to tries for Joe
Merriweather and Suriya Heepkoksong,
and further tries in the second half by
Hamish Manger and Paddy Cartwright
put the seal on a terrific term's rugby.
T
he 3rds began their season with a
physical encounter against Clifton,
which ended in a 12-7 win, thanks
to tries by Ben Pritchard and Joss Philp.
George Lumley added a conversion and
Aaron Dobie was man of the match. In a
tight match at Plymouth, we eventually
ran out comfortable 26-0 winners. Tries
were scored by Harry Catton, Alex Grace,
Morgan Smith and Harry Sharp, with Neil
Brand adding three conversions.
It was a frustrating afternoon against
Blundell's, when we failed to put into
practice things which we had worked on
in the week. Conrad Garbutt put in an
excellent defensive performance though.
And there was more frustration at Bristol
Grammar School, but we scored good
tries through speedy debutant Ayo
Olujembola and Alex Grace, Neil Brand
adding a conversion. The following
Saturday, a gutsy performance failed to
prevent a well-disciplined Canford side
winning quite comfortably.
But we had a thrilling finale to the season
against Taunton School, when we had to
come from behind twice to win by the
narrowest of margins, 27-26. Try scorers
were Morgan Smith, Ayo Olujembola, Neil
Brand, Joss Philp and Connor McKenna,
with Connor keeping his nerve to kick the
final winning conversion!
3rd XV
Henry Willis puts in a thunderous
hit for the 2nd XV against Clifton
Laurie Moorhead scores for the
2nds in their 14-14 draw
against Clifton
2nd XV