U8A Rugby vs Chesham Prep
The U8A rugby team continued their unbeaten start to the season with an impressive away win against Chesham Prep, running out 9-1 winners.
The match got off to a scrappy start, with some uncharacteristically poor handling letting us down in possession and preventing us from finding our rhythm. At the end of the first quarter, the scores were level at 1-1, with plenty of work still to do.
From that point onwards, however, the boys showed tremendous determination and resilience. Our defensive effort was outstanding, keeping Chesham at bay for the remainder of the game and giving us the platform to take control.
As the match progressed, the attacking rugby really began to click. The boys did a fantastic job of identifying gaps in the Chesham defence and moving the ball quickly, with sharp passing ensuring their defensive line never had time to reset. The result was a series of excellent team tries as we repeatedly found a way over the line.
There were plenty of individual highlights, but the real credit goes to the whole team for their defensive commitment, impressive ball movement and willingness to support one another throughout the game.
A fantastic result and another great team performance to maintain our unbeaten start to the season!
Try Scorers – Wolfie C (3), Rafa M (2), Elliot N (2), Axe T (2)
Reported by Mr Sutcliffe
U13A Rugby vs Bishop’s Stortford
After a longer-than-normal journey on the bus, we arrived at Bishop’s Stortford to a rather dramatic change in climate. It was wet, cold and certainly a shock to the system, with some very cold hands and fingers by the end of the afternoon!
With only around ten minutes between getting off the bus, getting boots on and starting the match, it was perhaps no surprise that we were a little slow out of the blocks. This was also our first game of contact rugby, so settling into the physicality and pace of the game was always going to be a challenge.
Bishop’s Stortford played some very good attacking rugby in the first half and, despite working incredibly hard, we struggled to keep them out. At half time, the scoreline read 6 tries to 0. However, there was plenty to build on, and after a brief chat and a few positional changes, the boys came back out with a completely different energy.
We really started to grow into the game. The players began making some proper hits, with Henry S and Matteo particularly standing out in defence. Their physicality lifted the energy across the whole team and suddenly we looked much more like the side we know we can be.
Arki, who put in a proper captain’s performance, got us on the scoreboard shortly after the break with a fine try. His dominance at the breakdown was excellent to see and he led from the front throughout.
Bishop’s Stortford responded with two further tries, but we continued to fight and play with real purpose. Henry L then snipped from the back of a scrum to score a lovely try, before Matteo rounded off an excellent second-half performance with the score of the afternoon. Breaking on the outside, he stepped the winger and backed his pace all the way to the corner to finish superbly. The second half finished 3–2 in our favour, which was a fantastic response from the boys after a difficult opening 25 minutes.
Although the overall result was ultimately a loss, there were plenty of learnings and, more importantly, plenty of positives to take away. Team Beacon showed real character to respond in the second half, adapted to the physicality of contact rugby and demonstrated that, when we play with energy and aggression, we can compete and cause problems.
We now roll straight into next week, where we make up for lost time with two fixtures in the space of three days: Belmont away on Monday afternoon, followed by Caldicott on Wednesday.
Onwards and upwards!
Reported by Mr Powell
U11 Combined C & D Hockey vs Gayhurst C
The Combined U11 C & D team produced a thrilling performance against Gayhurst in a game that had everything – end-to-end action, plenty of chaos and some fantastic determination from both sides.
The Beacon started brightly and were rewarded when Mary B found the back of the net to give us an early 1–0 lead. Gayhurst responded well and soon found an equaliser to make it 1–1. The visitors then took the lead through an unfortunate own goal, but The Beacon showed excellent resilience and continued to battle for every ball. Our hard work was rewarded when Gayhurst turned the ball into their own net, bringing the score level at 2–2.
As the game entered its final few minutes, the intensity continued to rise. The ball broke into the Gayhurst box and, after some outstanding hard work, determination and grit from the team, Humza I produced the decisive finish to put The Beacon 3–2 ahead. The team defended brilliantly in the closing moments to secure a fantastic home victory.
There was great progress shown across the whole team, with pupils demonstrating improved confidence, teamwork and understanding of the game.
Player of the Match – Archie D
Archie produced an outstanding Player of the Match performance, taking the game into his own hands and stepping up when his team needed him most. His determination, composure and leadership were instrumental in helping The Beacon secure the victory.
A fantastic effort from everyone involved and a thoroughly deserved 3–2 win for The Beacon!
Players: Archie D, Krishna V, Humza I, Oliver P, Kian S, Alex T, Mary B, Ayven S, Brandon S, Oscar F, George W
Reported by Mr Harris
U10C Rugby vs Davenies
On Friday 2nd October, the U10 C team played their first contact rugby fixture of the season, at home against Davenies. It was an exciting match with some excellent attacking rugby and plenty of tries – 25 in total across 40 minutes of rugby….
Xander G had a very good game, scoring a hat-trick of tries and tackling well. Patrick G was a constant threat, powering forward for five tries and putting in some strong defensive work. Senan M scored four tries and was a constant threat with and without the ball, creating problems for the opposition. Ethan D added a well-earned try, and captain Jakey H led by example with a try of his own.
Each player showed great attacking rugby throughout, and there was plenty to work on, especially tightening the defence for future matches.
Overall, a promising first game of contact rugby this season.
Well done, team!
Reported by Mr Powell
U11B Rugby vs Chesham Prep
Imagine, a rainy day… hard to believe recently but there really was one! The palpable excitement of Wednesday matches was running fierce through Year 6 this week as, for the rugby teams, a local derby match was on the horizon. The U11B team were primed and raring to go, having been set up by Mr Powell to play a fluid running style of rugby, only really seen in the school playing fields of New Zealand or the stadiums of Bristol Bears and Northampton Saints.
Playing on the Colts pitch, the space and time the team showed on the ball was a clear mismatch for the opposition with a quick try on our first attack. The ball lowed from one wing to the other, with hard lines and sharp passing getting through the Chesham defences regularly. Unfortunately a couple of handling errors near the line reprieved our opposition from further onslaught as, when we stopped kicking the ball, the tries seemed to come on a carousal.
The game ended 6-1 to The Beacon, deserved victors in the cold winds of Willsfield. Well done team, everyone contributed to this great win!
Reported by Mr Porter