Rugby 1977-78

FIRST XV

The opening game of the season against the Retiring Captain's side consisting of fourteen Old Peterites proved to be a popular innovation. The power of the O.P.'s pack dictated the early play but as the game progressed the School's backs, who had hitherto defended strongly, were able to demonstrate pace and versatility to run in six tries by C. Burdass (3), N. Squire (2) and N. Denison.

In the following match against Headingley Colts played under blustery conditions on a hard ground, the School failed to capitalise on ample possession and could only manage two tries by K. Kerr and K. Clarkson. Clarkson, the fastest back by far, broke a collar bone and did not play again for the rest of the term. This was to herald the start of a disastrous season of injuries in which by half term only one of the regular backs had managed to play all the games.

Against Silcoates, the School started very lethargically and a reorganised back line looked disjointed. particularly in defence. There was a lack of support particularly by the forwards who did not maintain the continuity when the ball was in the hands, a characteristic which persisted in some senior players throughout the season. The resultant win by two penalty goals scored by J. Hughes was indicative of a poor display by the School.

The intervention of Sports Day proved costly. R. Prudom, a strong running centre, pulled a hamstring; however, it allowed I. Hindhaugh, a talented fifth-former, to play his first game against Woodhouse Grove. Despite the close scores, St. Peter's were comfortably on top with an early try by R. Turner, who was consistently prominent in the loose, and two penalties by J. Hughes. J. Wilson, who had made such a promising start to the season and had secured the scrum-half position despite severe competition, had to leave the field with a shoulder injury. The reorganised side lost their fluency and allowed the opposition to come more into the game.

After four consecutive wins the School were forced to defend for most of the game against Bradford G.S., the strongest opposition of the season, the only score coming from a dropped goal by C. Burdass. To the School's credit it should be noted that Bradford were made to defend desperately during the last quarter of the game.

Against Ashville, the School's forwards dominated the game from the start with tries by J. Ellison, M. Gargan, J. Wilson and R. Prudom but an entertaining first half was followed by a complacent, disjointed second half.

The final match before half term at Denstone saw an extremely depleted team put up a determined first half without scoring against a sound defence. In the second half, Denstone gained the ascendancy to outrun the School's makeshift threequarters despite the acres of ground covered by J. Ellison in the unaccustomed role of full back.

It was hoped that half term would relieve the injury problem, but against one of the best Giggleswick sides for many a year in which the School were outplayed for most of a fast, open, clean game, four players hobbled off the field and were unfit for the following Saturday against 65

King's Pontefract. The School were further handicapped by the loss of skipper M. Gargan and although the seven man pack continued to dominate up front, the lively Pontefract backs were quick to take advantage of any mistakes by the School.

Despite losing 12-18 against Ampleforth the match was to herald better times. Playing with the wind the first half, the School built up a 12-4 lead with three well judged penalties by J. Hughes, whose place kicking was outstanding throughout the season, and a neat dropped goal by C. Burdass. Despite territorial advantage, the School failed to cross Ampleforth's line due to their superb cover defence and with the wind at their backs in the second half, their backs ran in three further tries from clean second phase possession.

A ragged display against a weak Barnard Castle side in which the School should have trebled the score was followed by a dismal, lethargic display against Durham in which the forwards were well beaten in the scrums by a formidable Durham front row.

A home game against Worksop saw the School put on a much better display in which the forwards were dominant and in which K. Kerr, N. Hare and R. Turner had outstanding games. Again several promising attacking moves did not produce tries, more due to lack of continuity than pressure from the opposition.

The following Saturday at Pocklington produced one of the most exciting matches of the season. The game was full of fast, skilled rugby but both sides defended so keenly that neither side was able to score. The nearest either side came to scoring was from a long-range penalty by J. Hughes which struck the cross-bar and rebounded into play for Pocklington to clear. On the day neither side deserved to lose although the School may rue their wasted chances which in this game proved costly.

The last School match against Leeds G.S. resulted in a narrow defeat for the School. Leeds scored early against the run of play and went further ahead with a try immediately after the resumption. Yet again, it was a case of periodic lapses of concentration which were heavily penalised by the opposition. Although the School were well on top at the close and replied with tries by M. Tyson and I. Hindhaugh, Leeds' lead was too much for the School to overhaul.

The final match of the season against the Old Peterites produced another exciting finish with the School going down by the narrow margin of 15 points to 17 points. It was pleasing to see two O.P. XV's turned out. It is hoped this will be a regular feature.

Overall, the season was disappointing. After a promising start matches were lost through injury to key players, particularly against Denstone and King's Pontefract which could easily have been won with a full strength team. In other matches, for example against Leeds G.S., the team's own mistakes let them down whilst against Giggleswick and Bradford G.S. the opposition were markedly superior on the day. It is unfortunate that the season is compressed into about three months. Anyone who is injured for several weeks in reality misses a substantial part of the season. The intrusion of Athletics in the Autumn Term has been regarded as a further handicap in the development of an efficient 1st XV who play against sides which are able to prepare and play their future 1st XVs during the Spring Term. 66

With this in mind, the School were able to turn out on two occasions last Spring Term a side consisting mainly of potential 1st XV players against sides from Nunthorpe G.S. and Scarborough R.U.F.C. This provided an opportunity to experiment with a view to the following season and was a very beneficial exercise.

During the Christmas vacation, J. Hughes, J. Ellison and N. Hare attended Yorkshire Under 19 Schools trials. Although none made the final trial, both J. Ellison and N. Hare will have a further chance this season and with a little luck both should catch the selector's eye and make further progress.

Colours were awarded to: M. F. Gargan,* A. R. Turner,* J. J. R. Hughes,* K. W. Kerr, J. N. Denison, J. N W. Hare, J. F. Ellison, R. M. Prudom, C. P. Johnson, I. D. Hindhaugh, C. Hawkswell, J. D. Gair, M. J. Tyson, C. W. Burdass, G. W. Tait, N. Squire, S. W. Humphreys. (*Caps). J.W.R.H.

MORRIS-McGRATH TROPHY

As usual this was a difficult trophy to award. Several established players made a marked improvement, none more than J. Hughes whose sound defence and reliable goal kicking was impressive throughout the season. Three fifth-formers eventually established regular 1st XV places, namely C. Burdass, J. Gair and I. Hindhaugh. All were worthy of the award but for all-round improvement the award went to I. Hindhaugh. J.W.R.H.

SECOND XV

The season started off well with a comfortable win against Silcoates, but with injuries to both 1st XV and 2nd XV players, often over a quarter of Game 1 were injured for any given match and including positional changes as many as a third of the team changed from match to match. Those who took part gave of their best but against reasonably settled sides this was often not enough. Perhaps the Denstone match illustrated the frustrations endured by the 2nd XV during the first half of the season. A "scratch" side found themselves down by twenty points in as many minutes, but undaunted they stuck at it, only conceded one second half try, and had the opposition under considerable pressure without managing to score.

After half term, with the exception of the Ampleforth game, the side performed creditably and were generally more settled. Against Barnard Castle, the School were able to capitalise on the opposition's mistakes and kept territorial advantage, whilst at Durham in a thrilling encounter both forwards and backs played well in open "end to end" rugby. The improvement was maintained with a good win against Worksop and a narrow defeat against Pocklington.

The best game of the season came in the match against the O.P.s with some potential Game 1 players moulding well in a team that showed discipline under pressure and lots of flair. The game was a great success and an enjoyable way to round off the season.

SENIOR COLTS

On paper the XV was a good side but never quite lived up to expectations. The departure of Ian Hindhaugh and James Gair, to the 1st XV halfway through the season did not help.

The team started with two sound wins over Barnard Castle and Ashville College with Ian Hindhaugh scoring the majority of the points. Following this there were only two victories until the end of term, but one of these against Ampleforth College was most creditable. When Nigel Chapman had to move to the vacant fly-half position he rose to the occasion and looked most promising. John Cooper was the replacement in the three-quarters and scored some fine tries to justify his inclusion. Scrum half and captain Mike Johnston always worked hard to lead the side, and a similar example was set by Cliff Irwin in the back row of the the forwards. However, the side never lost the will to win and came back with a fine victory over Pocklington in the final match.

The following played and were awarded colours.

R. M. Barron, J. Cooper, J. H. Howie, J. Guy, C. N. E. Butterworth, N. J. Chapman, M. W. Johnston (Capt.), S. P. Longthorp, D. E. Gardner, T. C. Stephenson, R. M. Craig, W. G. Nettleton, I. G. Wilson, P. J. Nicholls, C. E. Irwin. B.A.

UNDER 15 XV Christmas Term

This was a term of mixed fortunes. Three defeats out of the first four matches necessitated a change in tactics, and later results were much better. By the end of the term, six matches had been won and five lost.

The strength of the team lay in the pack supported by the captain, Stubbs, at scrum-half. The pack, though lacking height, was strong in the tight and formidable when the forwards were handling the ball. The front row of Johnson, Watson and Brierley won a lot of ball, especially in the fine win against Ampleforth. In the second row CarderGeddes was a tremendous worker and the loss to the Under 16 XV of Longthorp was offset by the emergence of Fallow as a first-class mauler. In the back row Webb and Sellers were always at the heart of things, whilst at No. 8 Iveson, when fit, was a great strength. Unfortunately he missed several matches, though in his absence McDonald was an able deputy.

Behind the scrum, Stubbs kicked superbly, particularly when playing back to the pack. Outside him, the backs were always outsized and usually outpaced. It is to their immense credit that they tackled superbly and it was only against the talented Pocklington team, when both first choice centres were unfit, that the defence was unreliable. At fly-half and inside centre, Kettlewell and Lister showed considerable promise. Kershaw was always strong and difficult to tackle. On the wings, Lee improved with every game and has a lot of natural talent, whilst Dixon, if rather frail, never lacked courage. Behind them, Noyes was reliability itself in defence and showed potential in attack.

Team: D. M. Noyes, G. F. Lee, A. H. Kershaw, R. W. Lister, A. J. Dixon, T. S. Kettlewell, C. J. Stubbs (Capt.), J. N. D. Brierley, J. D. F. Watson, P. E. Johnson, A. D. G. Carder-Geddes, D. C. Fallow, M. I. Sellers, S. W. C. Webb, R. H. Iveson. D.K.

UNDER 15 'B' XV

The team enjoyed a reasonably successful season winning four and losing three of its matches.

As with last year's team, they found the opening fixture against a relatively strong Nunthorpe 'A' XV, a difficult affair and never really threatened the home side. In their second match, however, at Ashville College, they came back strongly from a one-try half-time deficit to score two late tries, both largely individual efforts by Pell. Webster added the goal to one of them. Their next match at Durham was, despite losing, a most enjoyable game. The windy conditions made life difficult, but both teams worked hard for openings which never really came in a game played in excellent spirit and very well handled.

Hymers were really no match for the team at York and the tally of three tries could have been greater. Probably the best performance came against a useful Read School 'A' XV under severe pressure much of the game, a break by Ibbotson from a maul tipped the balance our way and the defence, in which Beaumont and Webster were outstanding, stuck bravely to the task of containment.

A very pleasing win against Pocklington, away from home, in heavy rain looked to have set them up for a grand finale to the season but the return with Hymers was unaccountably lost against a side quite comfortably beaten in the earlier part of the season.

A satisfactory season all round, notable for gritty team effort rather than any individual brilliance, although Pell did emerge as an effective centre and top try-scorer.

The following represented the team:

Beaumont, Blacker, Booth, Chapman, R., Dee, Etches, Gee, Hitchenor, Rjort, Hobson, Hopkinson, Ibbotson, Linton, McDonald, Megginson, Pell, Reed, Schofield, Taylor, J. P. M., Webb, Webster, Wright. A.W.R.

UNDER 14 COLTS

The principal difficulty with the Under 14 Colts this year was selecting the best side with boys in their correct positions. There were few, if any, outstanding players and the fact that boys played for the A team reflects the situation. The other problem was rather more serious—we couldn't score tries! The forwards could certainly match the opposition for size and in the tight, but they were slow around the field and reluctant to run at the opposition—a problem common to the backs also. The result was that players seldom received the ball on the burst and hence sufficient momentum was not achieved. The backs handled and tackled well and eventually learned to attack and defend as a unit.

The potential of this side is good. In the second row, Richard Dibb and Robert Gair are both over 6 feet already—Richard was rarely beaten in the line. Russell Broadbent is a quick striking hooker and Tim Hills a tireless open side flanker. With John Pulleyn strong at prop and John Farrow learning to channel his enthusiasm at No. 8 there is the basis of an excellent pack. What a pity that Richard Bell is small at the moment and that we were without his services for so long through injury.

Outside the pack, Andrew McGrath was sound at scrum-half although he needs to vary his play and work on a quicker service. Richard Knocker, Neil Hamby (who also missed a number of matches through injury) and Rupert Smith were always dangerous. Nigel Clayton at full back saved many certain tries before moving to the wing to allow Jonathan Atkinson in at full back. Jonathan's improvement augurs well for next season.

I am sure that as this team grows up and matures, it will be a difficult side to beat.

I.J.A.

UNDER 14 'B' XV

Despite the lack of strength at the top end of the A" team this year, competition for places was very keen. The depth of players at lower 'A' team level extended thr ghout the 'B' team and even further. In fact boys la e e T's during the season, 15 of whom also played for the 'A's at some time. With this strength, it is hardly surprising that the T's annihilated all but 2 of their opponents, one of the 2 being an 'A' team anyway. The outstanding points scorer was J. M. Hall with 14 tries to his name. There were weaknesses however, in particular the reluctance of most players to tackle when the opposition ran at them. Perhaps it was the- lack of practice in defence in so many easy matches that allowed too many points to be given away on other occasions. The team will have to learn to tackle much more efficiently if their most impressive record is to continue through to the Under 15's.

D.J.R.

RESULTS

FIRST XV

Result F. A. Wed. 21st Sept. Retiring Captain's XV (home) Won 31 13 Sat. 24th Sept. Headingley R.U.F.C. Colts (home) Won 10 0 Wed. 28th Sept. Silcoates (home) ... ... Won 6 0 Wed. 5th Oct. Woodhouse Grove (away) Won 12 6 Sat. 8th Oct. Bradford G. S. (home) Lost 3 30 Wed. 12th Oct. Ashville (home) ... Won 24 3 Sat. 15th Oct. Denstone (away) ... Lost 0 28 Wed. 2nd Nov. Giggleswick (away) ... Lost 0 16 Sat. 5th Nov. King's Pontefract (away) Lost 6 18 Sat. 12th Nov. Ampleforth (home) ... Lost 12 18 Wed. 16th Nov. Barnard Castle (away) Won 16 0 Sat. 19th Nov. Durham (away) ... Lost 0 14 Sat. 26th Nov. Worksop (home) Won 13 3 Sat. 3rd Dec. Pocklington (away) Drew 0 0 Thurs. 15th Dec. Leeds G. S. (home) Lost 8 14 Sat. 17th Dec. Old Peterites (home) Lost 15 17

SECOND XV Wed. 28th Sept. Silcoates (home) ... Wed. 5th Oct. Woodhouse Grove (away) Sat. 8th Oct. Bradford G.S. (home) Wed. 12th Oct. Ashville (away) ... ... Sat. 15th Oct. Denstone (away) ... Wed. 2nd Nov. Giggleswick (home) ... Sat. 5th Nov. King's Pontefract (away) Won 35 4 Lost 3 4 Lost 0 32

Lost 4 35 Lost 0 32 Lost 10 12 Lost 0 20

Sat. 12th Nov. Ampleforth (away) Wed. 16th Nov. Barnard Castle (away) Sat. 19th Nov. Sat. 26th Nov. Worksop (home) Sat. 3rd Dec. Durham (away)

••• ••• Pocklington (away) ... Thurs. 15th Dec. Leeds G. S. (home) ... Sat. 17th Dec. Old Peterites (home) ...

THIRD XV Wed. 5th Oct. Woodhouse Grove (away) Sat. 8th Oct. Barnard Castle (home) Wed. 12th Oct. Ashville (home) ••• Wed. 2nd Nov. Giggleswick (away) ... Wed. 9th Nov. Fyling Hall 1st XV (home) Sat. 12th Nov. Ampleforth (away) ... Sat. 19th Nov. Fyling Hall 1st XV (away) Sat. 26th Nov. Worksop (home) Sat. 3rd Dec. Pocklington (home) Lost 0 48 Won 9 7 Drew 16 16 Won 14 0 Lost 6 9 Lost 0 14 Lost 14 20

Won Won Lost Lost Won Lost Lost Lost Lost

UNDER 16 COLTS XV

Sat. 8th Oct. Barnard Castle (away)

Wed. 12th Oct.

Sat. 15th Oct.

Wed. 2nd Nov.

Sat. 5th Nov. 16th Nov. Wed. Wed. 23rd Nov. lior Sat. 12th Nov.

Sat. 26th Nov.

Sat. 3rd Dec. Ashville (home) ••• Denstone (away) ••• Nunthorpe G. S. (away) Pocklington (away) Ampleforth (home) Durham (home) ••• Hymers 3rd XV (home) Worksop (away) ••• Pocklington (home) ... Won Won Lost Won Lost Won Lost Lost Lost Won

UNDER 16 COLTS 'B' XV -Wed. 16th Nov. Durham (home) Sat. 3rd Dec. Pocklington (home) ••• ... ••• ... ••• .• • Won Lost

UNDER 15 COLTS XV Wed. 5th Oct. Woodhouse Grove (home) Sat. 8th Oct. Barnard Castle (away) Wed. 12th Oct. Sat. 15th Oct. Wed. 2nd Nov. Sat. 5th Nov. Sat. 12th Nov. Sat. 19th Nov. Wed. 23rd Nov. Sat. 26th Nov. Sat. 3rd Dec. Wed. 25th Jan. Wed. 8th Feb. Ashville (away) ... Silcoates (away)... Giggleswick (home) ... King's Pontefract (home) Ampleforth (home) ... Durham (away) Hymers (home) Worksop (away) Pocklington (away) ... Bradford G. S. (home) Hymers (away) ••• Won Lost Lost Lost Won Won Won Won Lost Won Lost Won Lost

15 COLTS 'B' XV Wed. 5th Oct. Nunthorpe rpe G.S. 'A' (away) ... Wed. 12th Oct. Ashville (away) ... ... Sat. 19th Nov. Durham (away) •••

Lost Won Lost Wed. 23rd Nov. Hymers (home) ••• ••• Won Wed. 7th Dec. Read School, Drax 'A' (home) Won Sat. 4th Feb. Pocklington (away) ... ...

UNDER 14 COLTS XV Wed. 5th Oct. Woodhouse Grove (home) Sat. 8th Oct. Barnard Castle (home) Sat. 15th Oct. Silcoates (away)... ... Mon. 31st Oct. Langley Park (home) ... Sat. 5th Nov. King's Pontefract (home) Wed. 16th Nov. Durham (home) ... Wed. 23rd Nov. Hymers (away) ... Sat. 26th Nov. Worksop (away) Sat. 3rd Dec. Pocklington (home) ... Wed. 25th Jan. Bradford G.S. (home) Wed. 8th Feb. Hymers (home) ... Sat. I 1 th Mar. Ashville (home) Lost Lost Won Lost Won Won Lost Lost Lost Lost Lost Won

UNDER 14 COLTS 'B' XV Wed. 5th Oct. Woodhouse Grove (home) .. ... Won Wed. 19th Oct. Silcoates (away) ... Won Wed. 9th Nov. Fyling Hall (home) Won Wed. 16th Nov. Durham (home) Won Sat. 19th Nov. Fyling Hall (away) Won Wed. 23rd Nov. Hymers (away) ... ... Won Wed. 7th Dec. Read School, Drax 'A' (home) Lost Sat. 4th Feb. Pocklington (away) ... ... Won Wed. 8th Feb. Hymers (home) ... Won Sat. 11th Mar. Ashville (home) ... Lost

UNDER 14 COLTS 'C' XV Wed. 23rd Nov. Hymers (away) Wed. 8th Feb. Hymers (home) Won Won

1st XV FIXTURES 1978 Wednesday 20th Sept. Retiring Captain's XV Saturday 23rd Sept. Headlingley Colts ... Saturday 30th Sept. Silcoates ... Wednesday 4th Oct. Woodhouse Grove Saturday 14th Oct. Barnard Castle Wednesday 18th Oct. Ashville ... ... ... ... Saturday 21st Oct. Denstone (10.30 a.m.)... Tuesday 24th Oct. Royal Hospital School, Ispwich Wednesday 25th Oct. Colchester R.G.S. ... ... Friday 27th Oct. Stowmarket H.S. Saturday 4th Nov. King's Pontefract Saturday 11th Nov. Ampleforth ... Wednesday 15th Nov. Bradford G.S. ... Saturday 18th Nov. Durham ... ... Wednesday 29th Nov. Worksop... Saturday 2nd Dec. Pocklington Saturday 9th Dec. Giggleswick Wednesday 13th Dec. Old Peterites

INTER-HOUSE RUGBY

SENIOR COMPETITION Queen's 16 pts.; Rise 0 pts. JUNIOR COMPETITION School House 8 pts.; Temple 4 pts. (after extra time) 72