Rugby at New Hall Preparatory School
New Hall Preparatory School, Under 11 47
St Hugh’s Preparatory School, Under 11 7
A team of Year 5 and 6 boys enjoyed an excellent debut performance in rugby against St Hugh’s Preparatory School, Ware, Hertfordshire. The team was eager to make an excellent performance as this was the first time that a rugby team from New Hall Preparatory School had played a match. A number of the boys have been part of the Senior School Year 7 team but for some it was their first match.
New Hall were on top from the kick-off and it was not long before the captain of the team, Conor McCaffrey, scored a try to get the team in the lead. Ciaran Moore was almost faultless in the match and converted this try. In total he kicked 6 conversions and also scored a try. New Hall dominated in the scrum with Conor McCaffrey playing as hooker. Cameron O’Hare and George Climie were the props and they used their height advantage to best use in line-outs. These two players were ‘Trojans’ and as well as being involved in many tackle situations they also posed a threat as strong ball carriers. Cameron burst through the defence twice to score two tries. In cold conditions the ‘Junior Griffins’ played some exciting running rugby. Their ball retention skills were excellent and they played with great maturity, mixing a kicking with a running game. Joshua Jones was always dangerous a scrum-half and managed to score two tries himself as well as ensuring that the backs were fed with quality possession. Ciaran Moore was very effective at fly-half where he found a good mix of kicking, distributing to the outside backs and offering a threat himself. In the centres Darius Roohi and Sam Odell were solid in defence and dangerous in attack, some determined running was rewarded with an excellent try for Darius. On the wings were Oliver Osgood and Daniel Cotton. These boys had not played before, but both played their part in the team win with some sound ball handling skills and good defensive efforts.
This was the last rugby match of the season but, as many of the Preparatory School boys move on to the Senior School, it is clear that the future for rugby at New Hall School is promising. There will be boys’ rugby coaching by Mr Sweeney for Years 3, 4 and 5 on Monday evenings from 4.15pm – 5.15pm in the Summer Term.
Emerging Schools Tournament
Well done to the New Hall Griffins who have qualified for the London North finals of the Daily Telegraph Emerging Schools tournament. This will take place on Wednesday, 21 March at Colchester Rugby Club. This is the final round before the National Finals so we wish the team well for the match next week.
vs Bower Park School
New Hall came out on top against Bower Park School on Six Acres on Saturday, 27 January. A special mention to Ciaran Moore, who kicked one conversion and made excellent attempts on the others, and to Joshua Jones who scored his first try of the season.
Final Score: New Hall 45 Bower Park 0
vs Brentwood
New Hall Griffins 17
Brentwood School 15
The Griffins recorded probably their best win of the season against a very successful Brentwood School side on Six Acres on Saturday, 20 January. Despite wet conditions underfoot, the sun shone for the morning and inspired the New Hall boys to produce a performance which was full of skill and determination.
The game started slowly for the Griffins as the physically larger Brentwood team went on the attack from the first kick-off. A scrum on the 22 was well won by the Brentwood team who attacked on the blind-side and after 3 missed tackles from the New Hall backs, Brentwood touched down in the corner. The conversion was missed and, as they made their way back to mid-field, it was quite clear that the New Hall spirit was about to be unleashed. A good kick-off put the Brentwood team under pressure and after a number of very physical ruck and maul encounters, the ball arrived in the hands of the top Griffins try scorer, Franklin Bruno, who powered his way past the Brentwood defence to touch down for an impressive team try. The reliable boot of Ciaran Moore did not desert the Griffins and as the ball went through the posts, the large home support urged the Griffins to give them more to cheer. A series of off-side infringements in mid-field gave New Hall the opportunity to find good field position. The New Hall Scrum, despite being physically, smaller was performing well and the props Sam Jones and Franklin Bruno gave our talented hooker, Conor McCaffrey, the opportunity to hook the ball regularly for scrum-half Joshua Jones to set exciting attacks on the way. Recent work in preparation for the sevens rugby season was starting to show as the Griffins moved the ball wide regularly and with captain and fly-half Callum Fletcher working well with inside-centre Callum Kidd the backs looked a lot more dynamic than in the past. Wingers Darius Roohi and Cameron O’Hare and full-back Freddie Benson made some good-half-breaks and were secure in defence. After a period of concerted pressure the Brentwood defence was breached again just before halftime when Franklin Bruno crossed and the conversion was successfully kicked by Ciaran Moore to make the score at halftime 14-5 to New Hall. The Griffins had taken good advantage of a fairly strong wind but knew that a big second half performance would be needed to hold the lead.
Brentwood started the second half with determination and took the game to New Hall. However, a series of knock-ons meant that they could not build up the head of steam required to break down the impressive New Hall defence. The second row partnership of William Kitteridge and George Climie from New Hall were ‘tigerish’ in the loose and successfully turned over Brentwood possession to give the Griffins much needed time in the Brentwood half. The New Hall forwards generally dominated in the loose and were awarded for their efforts when a Brentwood played held onto the ball for too long on the ground. Ciaran Moore kicked an impressive penalty from 30 metres out against the wind to make the score 17-5. Both teams continued to work hard but scores were hard to come by as both defences held firm. A New Hall mistake in kicking possession away when they had a knock-on advantage gave Brentwood the chance they needed and as the New Hall team were out of shape the Brentwood team produced some good linking play to score in the corner. The conversion was missed but this brought the scores closer and helped to intensify the atmosphere, 17-10. The final 10 minutes of the match saw New Hall dominate and come close on numerous occasions to scoring a decisive try. The Brentwood defence held out and as the match entered the final minute a speculative kick was not dealt with by the New Hall back 3 and Brentwood scored in the corner to make it 17-15. This meant that a successful conversion would have resulted in a draw. The kick was missed and on the final whistle there was great joy for the New Hall players and disappointment for the previously undefeated Brentwood team. Both sides had contributed to an excellent match and the Griffins probably deserved to achieve a narrow victory.
New Hall Rugby has made much progress in this first year. It has taken a lot of hard work by the entire squad of players to achieve a result like this and considering that 6 of the ‘A’ squad were from Year 6 in the Preparatory School in this match, the future is bright. Special mention today must go to Franklin Bruno for his two tries and to Ciaran Moore for the vital conversions and penalty. This victory was achieved by a fantastically gutsy team performance and Sam Odell and Tobias Tay-Smith made promising second half appearances and have been additions to the squad this term.
New Hall Griffins
Forwards Sam Jones, Conor McCaffrey, Franklin Bruno, William Kitteridge, George Climie
Tobias Tay-Smith (Replacement)
Backs Joshua Jones, Callum Fletcher (Capt), Callum Kidd, Ciaran Moore, Darius Roohi, Cameron O’Hare,
Freddie Benson
Sam Odell (Replacement)
Rugby Trip
Mr Sweeney (Head of Rugby) is organising a trip for all rugby enthusiasts in the Senior and Preparatory Schools to watch London Irish play London Wasps at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on Sunday, 18 March. This is certain to be a fantastic day out for the family as there will be lots going on in celebration of St Patrick’s Day. If you are interested in going on this trip please email Mr Sweeney at newhallrugby@hotmail.co.uk letting him know your name, how many tickets you would like to order (Child and Adult) and if you would prefer to travel by coach or by car.
Rugby Report
The Under 12 ‘Griffins’ rugby team have enjoyed a busy and successful half term. In their regular local fixtures they have played 8 matches since half term and have won 6 of them. They kicked off with a convincing 52-5 victory against local rivals King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, but were brought back down to earth by a talented side from St Columba’s College, St Albans. The Griffins’ character was shown when they bounced back from this defeat to enjoy victories against Tabor High School (10-7), Bishops Stortford High School (25-10) and Orwell Park School (41-10).
These promising performances gave the team hope as they left on Tour to the North of England. In Yorkshire, the boys were hosted by the parents of the Woodhouse Grove School Under 12 team. The match against Mr Sweeney’s old school was played in horrendous weather conditions and, after a hard fought encounter, the Yorkshire school came out on top 29-7. The boys and their large supporter club then enjoyed a visit to Blackpool Pleasure Beach before moving on to St Mary’s Hall School, Stonyhurst, where the boys stayed in the boarding house. The previous day’s match seemed to have taken its toll as the host side, St Mary’s, were well ahead at half time. Despite eventual defeat, the New Hall boys dug deep in the second half, resulting in a score of 22-17.
This was a historic tour and has set the tone for future tours. The team know where improvement is needed and are determined to win some of these matches against established rugby-playing schools. The players were excellent ambassadors for New Hall and were well led by Callum Fletcher, Captain. Awards were presented to Franklin Bruno, Joshua Jones (Year 6) and William Kitteridge for their performances in the matches.
After the tour, the boys faced an undefeated Old Buckenham Hall School team and, despite a good effort, could not stop the opposition from completing an undefeated season. However, they bounced back with a very convincing 45-5 victory at home against Monks Walk School from Welwyn Garden City.
The final fixture this term saw the Griffins face the Royal Hospital School, ending the term with a victorious 43-0 win.
Rugby – Derby Win for New Hall
Report by Mr Sweeney
After a well deserved half term break, the New Hall ‘Griffins’ followed up their away win in Cambridge against the Leys School with a convincing win against their opposition from KEGS, Chelmsford, in a highly anticipated derby match. The convincing nature of the score line is testament to the progress that the New Hall boys have made this term.
Playing in their new kit which was kindly sponsored by Wilson Construction, New Hall made a bright start. Some excellent tackling and scrummaging saw the ‘Griffin’ forwards take control of the game. The back division was led by Joshua Jones (6H) and Ciaran Moore (6H), and displayed a more disciplined defensive line. Callum Kidd and Freddie Benson in the Centres were secure and on the wings Harry Roberts and Arun Budahn were both a threat in attack but also secure in defence. There was an adventurous approach adopted by New Hall for this game and where possible the boys tried to offload the ball in tackles. Some sustained pressure in the first period of 3 saw the New Hall boys take a comfortable lead. The KEGS players were trying hard but struggled to break the New Hall defence and with some excellent tackling and rucking by the ‘Griffins’ they were able to turn over a lot of KEGS possession.
New Hall used a squad of 24 players in this match and, despite the numerous changes, were able to maintain a stranglehold on proceedings and continue to score and create scoring opportunities. The ‘B’ team players were able to get game time which will no doubt help them in their matches this half term. Indeed, many of these players made strong claims to be included in future ‘A’ squads.
The final score was 52-5, with KEGS scoring a deserved try with the last play of the match to reward their efforts. Franklin Bruno was captain for the day in the absence of Callum Fletcher and led by example scoring 5 tries. Ciaran Moore was once again very reliable and kicked 6 conversions. Callum Kidd, with a break from inside his own 22, was again on the score sheet while Sam Jones and William Kitteridge deservedly scored their first tries of the season.
This was a fantastic performance from the ‘Griffins’ and augurs well for the rest of this term when among many other matches they will travel north to Yorkshire and Lancashire on tour.
Arun Budahn, Callum Fletcher and Harry Roberts are former New Hall Preparatory School pupils.
