KEQMS Rugby Results 2008 / 2009
Saturday 31st January vs. Bolton School

1stXV Won 24 - 17
Tries: Skyrme, King, Webb, Collins
Cons: Blackshaw (2)

2nd XV Won 15 – 0
Tries: Jackson, Taylor, Pemberton

U15 Lost 31 – 12
Tries: Miles (2), Higham, Dowds, Williams
Con: Arciniega (3)

U14 Lost 0  – 50

U13 Drew 19  –  19
Tries: Hesketh, Fletcher, Taylor
Con: Douthwaite (2)

U12A Won  25 – 19
Tries: Lavelle (2), McKenzie, Wilkinson
Con: Lavelle
Pen:  Lavelle

U12B Won 22 – 10
Tries: Rasselo (3), Alshebaily
Con: Cartmell

Bolton Reports

1stXV

The final game of the season was certainly one to remember for those 10 players in the side who were representing the school for the final time. With the result in the balance right up until the final first few minutes it certainly was a tense affair and a match that provided the excitement warranted for such a big occasion for these players. Against a side that matched us for size the game was certain to be won up front. The first few minutes saw KES totally on top. Our smaller front row drove their opposite number back in the set scrum and when Bolton had a defensive scrum in their own 5 metres area the pressure saw Blind side Flanker Luke Skyrme not only charge down the clearance kick and follow up to claim the score. Kicking into the wind Grant Blackshaw converted superbly from wide left.

Unfortunately from the re-start Lytham were driven back and conceded a penalty and found themselves in their own 22. From another defensive scrum Bolton broke from the base and made good yards and from the resulting loose play they drove over close to. Bolton converted well to level the scores.

Bolton continued their pressure helped by some mistakes in the Lytham back play. With a fair wind the home side put themselves under pressure by throwing out long passes which struggled to find their target. Defensively however the backline more than made up for it. Skipper Harry Ormsby lead by example making some mammoth hits to halt the Bolton backs moves. His partner Kelham O’Hanlon followed his example and as a result the centre channel was blocked totally. Unfortunately when it seemed the score would be level going into halftime a lineout close the Lytham line saw Bolton score from another charge down . H.T. 7 – 12.

Lytham realised that they were still in the game, the larger Bolton pack were struggling to cope when the pace was upped. With the fitness in the tank the final part of the second half was hopefully going to be the turning point of the game.
A levelling score for the home side came early however with the backline to the fore. Some excellent handing saw Full Back Grant Balckshaw hit a fantastic angle at pace and get held up just short. From the resulting second phase the ball was distributed well to Ormsby who drew the defence well giving right wing Kenji King the edge and he dived over in the corner.

Again it was Bolton who raised their game and from a good clearance kick from O’Hanlon the follow up wasn’t tight and the Bolton receiver made major yards into the Lytham 22. Yet again the Bolton pack were dynamic with their driving and plunged over close to.

Going into the final quarter Lytham were behind again but they suddenly took command. The pack recycled time after time and some good individual runs from second rows Lewis Williams and Ben Holland and Number 8 Dale Martin saw the Bolton defence scrambling. Twice the Lytham pack got over the line and twice the ref said they were held up. With time running out but the Lytham dominance getting more and more a scrum saw Martin feed replacement scrum half Tom Webb who used pace and power to go through the gap and score. With the scores level Blackshaw struck an outstanding conversion into the wind to add the two extra points to take the lead. With the whistle only minutes away. The coach expected Lytham to close out the game with kicking. Surprisingly it was some scintillating handling that closed out the match. Both backs and forwards contributed but the final movement saw finger tip passing put left wing Ross Collins in space and his finish was superb showing both strength and speed.

With seconds left on the clock superb discipline saw the Lytham defence hold. F.T. 24 – 17.

This was a fantastic way to finish a great season. The statistics will show one of the best 1st XV record for quite some time. If we include the results from tour then it could be a record that matches any First XV from the school ever. I mentioned in the lead up to the game that this was all from a side who had struggled lower down the age groups due to their small stature. It is certainly a just  reward for the commitment and passion that the players have given to the school.  The game itself was exciting and with the win gained late in the game it certainly was a scripted ending. I am delighted for those who will leave in July and am pleased that the rugby memories will certainly be successful ones. It has been a pleasure for me this season watching the side compete in all games this season, we did lose 4 but in all we could have won and in 3 we were leading at some point. We have certainly lead the younger sides by example this year and have only been outdone by our own 2nd XV when we look at the results.

I hope that Messrs Carrdus, Holland, Williams, Skymre, Samuels, Martin, Rees, Ormsby, King, and Blackshaw have some fond memories of rugby at KES and will continue to play at some level in their university years.

Finally a big thank you to Skipper Harry Ormsby and his Vice Ben Holland who have lead by example and quietly inspired their side. Their efforts have been a major reason for our success.


2nds vs Bolton
 
With this being our last game of the season we knew we had to win to keep up our record as we were unbeaten in 8 games going into this match. It was also the last appearance for Matt Stone, David Auty, Waleed Arshad and Stuart Kilner who wanted to leave on a win. We started strongly from the word go with some powerful rucking and good hands by the backs. However we could tell that this game would be more of a challenge for us then previous games. Unfortunately we were having trouble finishing of our moves but luckily Matt Stone was causing havoc in the scrums and flankers Edd Glynn and Chris Williams were turning ball over for fun. After a good spell of play Ed Jackson finished off a move with some strong running to score under the posts.

This try set us off and with some fast rucking and good handling found us into the opposition half for most of the half. At the last play before half time Rob Taylor picked the ball up at the back of ruck and showed his strength to run through three defenders to score our second try under the posts. Half time 10 -0. The second half saw Stuart Kilner come onto the pitch and almost immediately the ball went through the hands quickly and Kilner showed his strength to force his way into scoring a try in the corner. More powerful rucking by Waleed Arshad meant we kept a lot of the possession and David Auty went racing down the wing a couple of times but we couldn’t seem to score again. Bolton hit back with a lot of possession but we showed we don’t just attack but how strong our defence is with Sam Callaghan regaining possession with some excelling rucking and some great hits by Peter Mackay and Nick Gaunt. Whenever we turned over the ball Bolton found themselves having to attack from there own 22 with some huge kicks by Tom Richardson. With this defence Bolton could not score and a great performance ended with a well deserved win. Final score 15-0.

This was the perfect way to end a great season with us winning 10 out of 12 matches and the two we lost were lost by 2 points in each game.