The Hallifordian - 2016-2017

71 to that of the opponent but the boys were victim to conceding possession at crucial times and were pun- ished as a result. The season started with the usual trip to King Edward’s Southampton for a tourna- ment where a big squad was taken and everyone given a chance to impress. On the back of this we were on the road again to play a full match against KES in which the forward pack shone on an other- wise miserable day, to earn the side a draw in a set piece dominated affair. The side then had a string of tough fixtures and were blighted by unavailable players and injuries, yet they never gave up and showed real spirit and togetherness. The lineout was very impressive throughout with a number of moves outwitting the opposition including the infa- mous ‘Krame train’ and it turned out to be a huge weapon for the team and was the main reason for the more successful second part of the season. Half term gave the boys a much needed rest and the team returned with some more familiar faces available to play. An epic game at Wellington set the tone for the last handful of games and despite losing out by just three points the lads gained great confidence from their performance. Winning three out of the remain- ing four games was credit to the endeavour the team had shown throughout and on the back of a season where heads could quite easily have dropped, was an impressive finale. There were some great individual performances throughout the season including Ar- chie Laird for his 17 tries and consistently tenacious performances, to Eden Richards for his strong car- ries and great leadership and to James Clarke for his outstanding lines of running and great goal kicking. The U15B team enjoyed a fantastic season with some vintage performances and one or two ma- jor upsets. It started with an emphatic win at King Edward VI with a convincing 20-7 victory. This was then followed by a 10-19 loss to Reading Blue Coat, although the boys missed some opportunities to win the game but they clearly learnt from this and went on a four game winning streak. Gunnersbury, City of London Freemen’s, Wallington County and Wellington College all failed to topple to an in form side. The highlight of these matches was a fight back from 0-19 down at half time to win 22-19 against Wellington. However this form was hard to maintain and the last two fixtures of the season were against Churcher’s College and Emanuel who both managed to put a stop to the success enjoyed in the previous fixtures. Many boys put in great performances but Eddie Whicker’s running and Joe Sheddon’s leader- ship were often the difference between winning and losing. U14 The U14 rugby squad turned up to pre-sea- son showing plenty of promise for the season ahead. There were a few positional changes including Har- ry Gibbons to scrumhalf, Harry Curtis to flank and Jack Walsh trying out different positions as well as the introduction of new talent into the squad with Brandon Paul creating selection dilemmas at out- side centre/wing. Unfortunately, a very cold and wet journey to Southampton resulted in a disappointing start against a strong King Edward team (7-24). Les- sons were learned early on and the team bounced back to draw against a determined Reading Blue Coat team (10-10) in a game that should have been theirs for the taking. A slight hiccup against Hamp- ton (0-44) was the only blemish in a 4 game win- ning streak as the boys dispatched Gunnersbury (52-19), Gordon’s School (17-14), Salesian’s Col- lege (45-0) and City of London’s Freeman’s (26-13) before going down to a feisty Wellington College team (5-22). The exceptional victory over Walling- ton Grammar should have restored the confidence as the team romped home to a 32-0 victory. Unfortu- nately a couple of disappointing displays followed leading to losses against Churcher’s College (12-24) in Petersfield and at Emanuel School (10-29) in an all-round bad tempered match. The final game of the season was a comfortable win against Ewell Cas- tle (42-7) in a match that showcased the talent and depth in the squad. Stand out players for the season were Conor Manzi, Josh Lawrence and Jed Aldridge with stalwarts Jonah Peppiatt and Ollie Parsons con- tinuing to keep the team on the front foot. Most im- proved player of the season was, without doubt Will ‘Wheels’ Wheeler. This year there was a surprise return to rug- by from Josh Holland whose intimidating frame sent ripples of fear into the opposition as he exited the team bus. Ably led by Chris Jones and inspired by Gallagher Dillon, there were a few new faces who bolstered the team in Ben Cooper, Joseph Roberts,