The Beacon U11 Rugby vs Oratory
The Colts A & B1 squads kicked off their season this week with a home triangular fixture against Oratory Prep School. The two Beacon teams started off the afternoon by taking on each other in a trail match, with the ‘Blues’ coming out on top by 5 tries to 3.
This initial 20 minutes gave all the boys the opportunity to get into ‘match mode’ for their half against Oratory – who came with a big, strong and aggressive team. Not only was there a change of opposition for the boys but there was also a change of ‘umpire’ for their second run out of the afternoon.
Michael Owen, ex Wales and British & Irish Lion, was on hand to literally take over the whistle and ref the two halves against Oratory – and the boys did not disappoint. In the first half, The Beacon team went 1 try up, thanks to an impressive solo effort from Alex H. They left a few other scoring opportunities behind them but also worked hard to keep their line intact.
For the second half, the other Beacon team hit the ground running and while also keeping up the solid defensive effort, they managed to dot down for some more tries through Alex A, Xander T-O, Sonny M and two from Thomas S.
Oratory scored a good try of their own, but the defensive effort shown by all the Beacon boys was impressive and the attacking intent and skill to move the ball into space was very pleasing to see.
5 different try scorers was also a testament to how they played as a squad and hopefully the signs are good for a successful season ahead.
Well done to all 20 boys who were involved – competition for places will be tough this year.
Reported by Trevor Powell
1st XIII Rugby Festival
Yesterday marked the first outing of the season for the 1st XIII rugby team at the St Hugh’s Rugby Festival. The squad faced a strong set of fixtures against St Hugh’s, Pinewood, Beaudesert and Winchester House, and with each game the quality of our rugby continued to grow.
The boys showed outstanding work ethic and real physicality across the day, laying an excellent foundation for the weeks ahead. It was particularly pleasing to see the team develop with every match, building confidence and cohesion while making the most of the valuable game time so early in the season.
There were some fantastic individual and collective performances throughout the squad, highlighting the depth of talent within the team. With such a positive start, I am already looking forward to our next fixture and the chance to build further on this momentum.
Well done to all involved.
Reported by Mr. A. Walker