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A report by Mr Andy Maguire, Head of Rugby

For the senior sides away at Tonbridge, the day would prove to be a struggle. The 1st XV started their game brightly, scoring first, forcing a number of errors, and ending the half trailing by only a small margin. Unfortunately, however, the team struggled to carry their intensity through to the second half, with slow defensive line speed ceding territory and momentum to Tonbridge. Inevitably, this allowed the scoreline to snowball, resulting in a loss of 54 – 12. The Paulines were naturally disappointed with their efforts, but I have no doubt they will pick themselves up before facing Radley College next week. It was a similar story for the 2nd XV and 3rd XV who, despite their best efforts, suffered defeats of 69 – 7 and 38 – 0 respectively.

The other away fixtures were played by the Under 14s, who fared much better. The U14 A team continued to build their form, winning a tight game 17 – 24. The B, D, E, and F teams also followed suit, each producing strong victories with a margin of 25 points or more. Unfortunately, the Cs and Gs were not able to leave with a win but played some great rugby nonetheless.

Turning now to the home games, the Under 16 A and B teams battled against tough Tonbridge sides, with both unable to secure a victory. However, both sides improved upon their performance from the previous week and will no doubt strengthen further as the season progresses.

Finally, the Under 15s once again found themselves with a clean sweep of wins, displaying plenty of attacking flair and defensive grit to produce emphatic scorelines all round. Their continued progression throughout the season will undoubtedly be exciting to watch. Once again, we saw fantastic work from the players and staff in the U15 A, B, C, and D teams.

Congratulations to the winning teams and commiserations to those who lost. The variety of results is a testament to how competitive and unpredictable schoolboy rugby can be, and each side will no doubt look forward to demonstrating their improvement in the reverse fixture against Tonbridge later in the season.

As always, I would like to give my thanks to Owen Evans, Nico Kirschstein-Smith, Ryan Blake, Ruth Morris, Sophie Thomas and HATS Medical for their outstanding professional care, and to Dene Hey and his grounds staff for their tireless efforts in ensuring the pitches were once again in brilliant condition.

Thanks to Nikos and the catering team for continuing to provide fantastic match teas for boys, staff, and parents.

Again, I would like to finish by thanking all the staff involved on Saturday for their outstanding care of the boys from both schools to ensure that a great afternoon of rugby was enjoyed by all.

Next week, SPS face Radley College. Good luck to all the players and staff involved in their forthcoming preparations.

SPS v Tonbridge School Saturday 21 September

Tonbridge School (Home)

U16 A lost 10 – 24

U16 B lost 10 – 34

U15 A won 33 – 12

U15 B won 33 – 3

U15 C won 36 – 17

U15 D won 41 – 34

Tonbridge School (Away)

1st XV lost 54 – 12

2nd XV lost 69 – 7

3rd XV lost 38 – 0

U14 A won 17 – 24

U14 B won 10 – 43

U14 C lost 43 – 7

U14 D won 0 – 47

U14 E won 0 – 50

U14 F won 25 – 50

U14 G lost 10 – 0