KIRKHAM GRAMMAR SCHOOL RUGBY RESULTS V MANCHESTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL

SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2011

1st XV

Won 15-0

Playing their third game in a week Kirkham Grammar School 1st XV faced a talented Manchester Grammar School side at their Ribby Road ground. Despite tiredness and with a number of players carrying injury niggles KGS were always in control of the game. Scrum half Charlie Swarbrick had an excellent game, making numerous cover tackles and also kicking intelligently. It was Swarbrick who combined cleverly with outstanding flanker Elliot Crowe to allow Crowe to score the opening try after an excellent break from winger Precious Nwakomah.  Vice-captain Phil Cringle destroyed the Manchester front row with some very powerful scrummaging so KGS were always on the front foot. Manchester defended very well as KGS launched attack after attack, eventually their line was breached by a fine individual try from KGS captain Tom Hurst which Swarbrick converted. Young centre's George Brookes and Ben Swift defended well and were at the heart of many positive KGS raids into the Manchester half. Leading 12-0 just before half-time KGS improved their lead to 15-0 with a Swarbrick penalty after Manchester had persistently offended around the ruck area. Despite dominating the second half KGS did not increase their lead as fatigue set in and some very aggressive defence from Manchester halted KGS on the try line. KGS were able to blood some younger and less experienced players in the second half which bodes well for the future.

2^nd XV

Won38-7

The score does not reflect how close this game was, with the difference being how clinical the KGS team were in finishing off chances. For the first fifteen minutes of the game Manchester seemed to be in control of various aspects of the game and it was only when their prop made an error at the breakdown that KGS attacked and with some swift hands Lewis Leech crashed over for his first try. Again from kick off Manchester made a mistake and from a scrum Harrison Moulding fed Sam Hargreaves who slid over in the corner. With the control of the game firmly with KGS, the pack started to create inroads in the Manchester ranks through Rhys Williams, Joseph Wareing and Luke Woodward. A fine break by Jordan Horgan led to Lewis Leech crashing over for his second try and the team turned round 17-0 up.

Once again Manchester took control of the opening ten minutes of the second half and only some ferocious tackling by Henry Hargreaves and Fraser Burnie stopped any possible points being conceded. A fine break by Jack Smith and Callum Paley led to Lewis Leech scoring his hat trick and with Harrison Moulding scoring a good individual try it was left to Lewis to wrap up proceedings with his fourth try of the day. A pleasing team performance.

U15A (Daily Mail Cup)

Won 22-14

A hard fixture in the fourth round of the Daily Mail Cup against Manchester Grammar School. KGS was on the back-foot straight from the start. MGS piled on the pressure and forced KGS to make an error, in which MGS took advantage and scored under the post. However KGS needed to wake up call and responded immediately, an excellent individual try from Connor Scott. Both team scored again just before half time, which made the game very even at half time, the score was MGS leading 14-10.

After an inspirational team talk from Connor Wilkinson at half time, KGS came back all fired up. Manchester did not get past KGS 22 once; the team defended courageously making MGS force the game and making basic mistakes. Oscar Twitchett took advantage of a slick backs move and put KGS ahead. Special mention must go to Daniel Radford, Wilfred Rhodes and Daniel Broughton for their hard work round the park and numerous turn-overs.

U15B XV

Lost 5-39

KGS started well from the kick off with strong tackling from flankers Harry Welch and Oliver Connor Burrow. This was then followed by a five minute lapse in concentration from the KGS side which allowed Manchester to score two quick tries. KGS captain Jamie Baldwin motivated his players to tighten up the defence and managed to hold out the constant attacking threat from Manchester until half time. Early in the second half KGS managed to score a well worked try moving the ball from left to right resulting in Ellis Clark touching down in the corner. Manchester then dominated possession for the remainder of the game scoring two further tries. Although the KGS team displayed great commitment and effort, decision making when in possession of the ball will need to be addressed in training this week.

U14A XV Lancashire Cup

Lost 26-21

Despite this being one of the finest team performances of the season from the U14’s, and without doubt an absolute incredible all round team performance, it was a very difficult and frustrating game to watch and report upon.

There were so many positives and Charlie Abbott opened the scoring with a fine run from a set piece, after excellent work from the consistently hard working Ollie Kitchen, Tyrone Cartmell, and Nick Coleman. The opposition equalled the scores with a penalty on the five metre line. Manchester seemed to have a lot of possession in the KGS half from continuous infringements at rucks by the KGS backs. Nevertheless, the KGS defence was quite magnificent, with the scum half Carter, Todd Roper at No.10, and both centres Matt Thomas and Jack Edwards, making the KGS 22 metre defensive line similar to a Legionnaire’s fortress.

KGS went ahead again with a fine try from Matt Thomas, who gets better by the game. The KGS forwards turned over a Manchester ruck, and with some outstanding play by the KGS Captain Abbott, released the standoff Roper, who with a perfectly timed pass, sent Thomas away for a second and fine KGS try. Manchester equalised from a penalty for offside, but despite some frantic tackling Manchester squeezed over the try line. At this stage it must be said that the reserves who came into the A team, Ben Le saint and Matt King, who were thrown quite literally into the lion’s den, had magnificent performances, and were certainly worthy of “Mention in Despatches”.

The game was becoming fast and frenetic, when Matt Thomas burst through the Manchester defence with a chip and kick, he was hauled back from scoring by a defender, but the ever quick thinking and innovative Josh Keelan burst through to score a thoroughly well-deserved try. Manchester equalised virtually straight away from the kick.  The game very hung in the balance at 21 apiece. When KGS lost their Captain Charlie Abbott and Josh Keelan through injury, within the final minutes of the game, Manchester scored a try, from a well worked set piece.

The players were somewhat disheartened and disconsolate at the final whistle, but there was so many positives to take out of this game, the KGS players were quite outstanding, in every aspect of the game, both physically and mentally, and, in all honesty, it was an excellent fixture to play before next Saturdays fixture away to Sedbergh!

U14B XV

Lost   0–19

Another slow start for the B team in the first half unfortunately ensured some early tries were conceded.  Although general tackling and defence throughout the whole game improved this week, there were still occasions when pupils missed a tackle which resulted in a try.  At half time the score was 0–19.  A much better second half performance followed, with every player giving his upmost to stop the MGS team from scoring again. Captain Josh Eales led by example with his nonstop ferocious tackling and also Nick Matthewman had a fine game in the forwards.  In fact KGS were unfortunate not to score a try, and with a little more composure this could have been achieved.  A very positive second half performance and the boys must go with confidence into their next match versus Sedbergh School.

U13A XI

Lost 19-24

KGS were edged out on the last play of the match in this thrilling Lancashire Cup quarter final after going behind to a try after 5 minutes from a scrum close to their own line. Creditably KGS did not let this affect them as they strove forward to hit back, which they did through Henry Pearson who powered down the left to score wide out. Manchester began to regain the initiative soon after and a break from the no 8 saw the Manchester lead restored to 7 points.

The second half saw Manchester score early which left KGS a mountain to climb but the introduction of Chris Walker gave the visitors some impetus with the centre causing Manchester to defend stoutly. Indeed Walker scored to narrow the lead with an arching run; Will Bruce kicked a fine conversion from wide out. Manchester came back and looked to have a try scoring opportunity close to the KGS line but winger Pearson anticipated the danger and intercepted a stray pass to sprint 80 metres to score under the posts to leave the score level at 19-19.

As the away side KGS would have been through to the semi-final but alas right at the death a missed tackle allowed the powerful Manchester no 8 to score an unconverted try after which the whistle sounded for the end of the game. A gallant effort and comeback from KGS proved to be not quite enough but the commitment from the whole squad has to be commended.

U13B XV

Lost 22-17

The U13B's played a hard fought and thrilling match against a very competitive Manchester Grammar school. The larger Manchester forwards found KGS to be tough opposition. KGS retained the ball well and Matthew Newby made some telling breaks from no 8. Cameron Hartley impressed playing his first match at open side flanker. Caleb and Finlay Burnie scrummaged well and the ever reliable James Smith was competitive at every breakdown. Jonny Smith enjoyed the freedom of playing blind side flanker and his usual brand of uncompromising play helped the team to compete well at every contact situation.

The backs made some excellent breaks. Tom Waite controlled the game nicely at 10, with Chris Walker and Beesley looking dangerous in the centre. Toby Gilmore also impressed in the second half as a dangerous runner in the centre. The backs most pleasingly defended with determination and no little skill for long periods of the game. The organisation of the defence is improving every week, we must now endeavour to make our tackling more physical and always round the legs!

The loss was disappointing but the performance encouraging. The boys conducted themselves extremely well on both sides and the game was played in an excellent nature. The game flowed well and was enjoyed by all spectators. Overall a very encouraging display.

U12A XV

Won 20-17

KGS overturned a 17-5 deficit to record a memorable win against a strong MGS team. KGS started the game poorly and were dominated by a strong MGS pack. KGS struggled to cope with the size, power and strength of the MGS forwards. The little possession KGS gained was often wasted or disrupted by a strong MGS defence. The only bright point in the first half was a well taken try by Alfie Topping.

However, in the second half, KGS started to play with more fluency. The backs began to move the ball around quickly which moved the MGS defence around. Once again, star of the show was Wilkinson, who used this possession to run in three tries. All the team should however be praised for their efforts in the second half. The growth in confidence was visible to all. KGS then proceeded to defend well for the last few minutes to seal a pleasing win.

U12B XV

The U12B team started strongly and had a great deal of possession in the first ten minutes. However, both sides were very determined in defence and a half time score of 0-0, reflected a close contest. Oliver Fearn and Andrew Platt led the defence eventually tiring out the larger Manchester pack. Gaps started to appear for the KGS backs and two tries were scored after moving the ball wide from Lawrence Gebbie and Ran Parkinson. This was an excellent team effort and well deserved victory from a committed set of boys.