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SPORTS 13
Senior Rugby Season Review Rugby
Alex Pentecost, U6S
The season began undesirably with
a loss against Brentwood and, more
significantly, the season-ending
shoulder injury to our fly half Jonny
Bluff in the opening minutes. Jonny
had been a cornerstone of our
continued development since the
Prep school. However, every cloud
has a silver lining and the 10 shirt
was subsequently offered to Danny
Moran who grasped the opportunity
with both hands and become a
stalwart of the squad.
The First XV played twelve games and
secured a final tally of eight wins. The First’s
results reflected the on-going unity created
within the squad with wins against King
Edward Grammar, St Ignatius, St Dunstan’s,
Saffron Walden, Enfield Grammar, Richard
Hale, Hockerill and Verulams. A hard fought
draw was achieved against Coopers’ Coborn
and defeats by only Brentwood, Colchester
RGS and UCS.
The Second XV played eight games in total
securing four wins and one draw. This was
also a positive season for the Second XV
which is populated with predominantly 5ths
and Lower Sixth. Particularly notable were
significant victories against St Dunstan’s 58-0
and Brentwood 37-0.
The camaraderie within both teams was
outstanding throughout the season, driven
by a very open minded and committed group
of players. Many of these players have been
together since the age of 7.
The season gave us the opportunity to play
familiar opposition with a structured and
experienced approach, achieving victory
against some for the first time in a number
of seasons. Playing these quality opposition
teams has expanded the squad’s rugby
experience and will benefit everyone in the
future either at school, university or the
club environment. I sincerely hope that
in the future Bancroft’s squads will take
inspiration from this past season which has
been the most successful for a number of
years, and has been a positive experience for
all players involved.
The quality of the pitches, facilities
and post-match refreshments cannot be
underestimated in their roles in our success.
Thanks must be extended to Mr Faiers and
Mr Pollard who have relentlessly invested
time, expertise and faith into this group of
players for many years.
The season concluded with a
memorable squad dinner the details
of which are censored.
U12 Welsh Tour 2016
Max Pollard, 3N
On the 16 December the U12 rugby
team arrived, bleary eyed, under
the tower at 6am. All suffering
from lack of sleep due to over
excitement, we met Mr Hitching,
Mr Faiers, Mr Greenidge and Mr
Dickinson who herded us into two
minibuses for our long journey to
Wales, our home for the weekend.
Upon arrival, we lugged all our kit out of the
buses and hurried into the changing rooms for
our first match of the tour against Pendarren,
a strong local side. We were extremely lucky
to be able to play on a 4G pitch – the first
time we’ve ever done this and it was really
cool as we didn’t get as muddy as usual! We
started the game off strongly, scoring a lot
of early tries and continued to dominate the
first half. However, they pulled back the score
and we ended with an unlucky loss. After a
short presentation when we
exchanged gifts, we set off to
our accommodation for the
next two nights. Upon arrival
we were all really pleased
with how amazing our hostel
was, and looked forward to
exploring more.
That evening we went night
orienteering which was
good fun and we all loved
exploring the forest in total
darkness and getting startled
by the nature - there were loads of owls
around! On Saturday we all looked forward
to the day ahead. First, we walked to the
climbing facilities in the hostel grounds – the
climbing was great fun. After a memorable
morning we set off to watch Ospreys versus
Grenoble. We wrapped up warmly and it
was a great way to spend the afternoon all
together. The Ospreys won 70 – 3, there was
lots of tries. That night we all sat (or laid) in
a roomwith a screen and watched
Captain
America, Civil War
- everyone loved it.
Sunday morning saw us all up by 7:30am
having had breakfast and ready to go to
our next match against Blackwood. After a
gripping first half and some great tries were
scored, we won due to great performances
from everyone. Thank you to Mr Faiers, Mr
Greenidge, Mr Dickinson and Mr Hitching for
such an amazing experience.