Rugby Report

Year 7 Rugby Report

It was a rainy and windy day last Thursday which saw a fresh crop of fourteen year 7 students take to the field at John of Gaunt school, in a training fixture which for many, was their first experience of rugby. Considering the weather conditions on the day, the enthusiasms levels were through the roof and the boys were raring to go. The weather conditions certainly didn’t impact the level of rugby on display from both teams. There were moments of brilliance in attack and defence and this was highlighted by the close nature of the fixture. There were some fantastic performances within the team and with the players voting for the individual who made the most progress on the day, there were 3 individuals that arose... Dayton, Reggie and Luca. Not only did these pupils show brilliance with the ball, but what was most impressive was their strong desire to help and support their peers’ development. Rugby is a well-known team sport and this group of players really withheld the core values of rugby, most notably, teamwork and respect. The level of respect the students demonstrated towards the referee, their opponents and their peers was truly enough to label this as an extremely successful introduction to the game of Rugby Union. The following day, we had 19 students turn up for training, another 4 who hadn’t played rugby before. This topped off a very successful week for year 7 rugby, having introduced eleven year 7 students to rugby, in addition to the year 7 rugby family.

Year 8 Rugby Report

Last week, the newly formed year 8 rugby team had an opportunity to take part in a training fixture involving John of Gaunt and St Augustine’s, who formed as one team for the day. It was a wet and windy Tuesday which only fuelled the Clarendon players with excitement and enthusiasm, as they turned up to St Augustine’s school ready to go. For this fixture we had fourteen students and for six of them, it was their first experience of Rugby Union. This was not obvious from watching it all unfold, as the group took the opportunity with both hands to maximise their development and enhance their understanding of the game. There were elements of brilliance throughout the game, with Clarendon spreading the ball wide on numerous occasions and managing to dot down in the corner. However, the resilience and determination on display from John of Gaunt and St Augustine’s meant that the fixture was evenly contested. A big thanks must go to the referee on the day, who made sure there were lots of learning moments and opportunities for the players to deepen their understanding throughout the fixture. There were some fantastic individual performances on display, but most importantly, the team really did come first with this group of players and this is testament to their attitude and respect towards each other. Every pupils represented Clarendon Academy in great fashion and they can be extremely proud of their efforts.

Next week, the group travel to Kingdown school for another opportunity to develop their skills and understanding, in what promises to be another effective and successful training fixture.

One very happy and proud teacher.

Mr Collier