Sporting Highlights: Hockey & Rugby

Match Reports 

Tuesday 15th September 

U8 Hockey v RGS 

The U8 girls enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of hockey at the festival against RGS The Grange. With the sun shining throughout, the girls threw themselves into every game with great enthusiasm and determination. 

As this was their very first hockey fixture, it was wonderful to see how much confidence they gained as the afternoon progressed. The team showed excellent effort in every match and demonstrated significant improvement from game to game. In particular, the girls worked hard on their tackling skills, learning how to win the ball back safely and effectively, and this led to several promising attacking opportunities. 

Their growing understanding of the game was rewarded with a number of well-deserved goals, which were celebrated with great excitement. Most importantly, every player showed a positive attitude, encouraged their teammates, and had lots of fun throughout the festival. 

A brilliant first experience of competitive hockey for the girls, and a great foundation for the season ahead. 

 

U9 Hockey v RGS & KH 

The Year 4 girls enjoyed their first hockey matches of the season in glorious sunshine, making for a fantastic afternoon of sport, fun and teamwork. It was wonderful to see so many families on the sidelines supporting and encouraging the girls throughout the matches. 

There were some excellent individual performances across the team. Alice impressed with a number of powerful hits from the back, helping to move the ball forward and relieve pressure. Livi, who is new to hockey, showed great confidence and skill, producing a brilliant drag to the right to beat a defender. Lakshmi worked tirelessly in defence, demonstrating fantastic tenacity and determination as she tracked back and challenged for every ball.  

Another newcomer to hockey, Imogen, showed real strength on the ball along with excellent control, giving her team an effective outlet in attack. Molly also put in a superb effort, working hard to stay with her player and making several strong tackles. 

Most pleasing of all was the way the girls supported one another throughout the afternoon. Their positive attitude, encouragement and teamwork were outstanding. It was fantastic to see such a united group of Year 4 girls working together, learning new skills and representing the school so brilliantly in their first matches of the season. 

 

Wednesday 16th September 

U10 Rugby v RGS 

The U10s travelled to RGS for their first contact rugby fixture of the year, and it was fantastic to get the opportunity to mix with King’s Hawford. It was a great chance for the boys to start building friendships and become accustomed to playing alongside each other. 

The game started really positively, with the boys playing some excellent rugby in possession. Hugo and Charlie both showed great power and agility in attack, making some fantastic runs through the RGS defence to score tries. It was particularly pleasing to see Hugo recognise a 2v1 opportunity, draw the defender towards him and then release the ball to Charlie to score. 

Phoenix was also playing in his first ever contact rugby match and what a debut it was! He showed incredible pace, using it brilliantly to get around the outside of the defence and score three fabulous tries. 

At half time, the focus was on improving our work off the ball and becoming stronger at the breakdown. The boys responded brilliantly, showing a huge improvement in these areas during the second half. 

The RGS member of staff and I both agreed that this was some of the best standard of U10 rugby we had seen at this stage of the term. It was a fantastic start to the term, and there was plenty for the boys to be proud of. 

Player of the Match: Phoenix, for an outstanding first ever contact rugby game. 

 

U10 Rugby v RGS 

It was a real pleasure to be able to support our joint King’s St Alban’s and Hawford U10 rugby team in their fixture against RGS The Grange on Wednesday afternoon. Rugby is a sport that places great emphasis not only on skill and determination, but also on teamwork, respect and sportsmanship, and our boys exemplified these values throughout the match. 

All of the players conducted themselves superbly, representing their schools with maturity, enthusiasm and excellent behaviour both on and off the field. While there were naturally some early nerves, it was a joy to watch the boys grow in confidence as the game progressed. With every tackle, pass and run, they became increasingly assured and began to play with real determination and belief. 

Particular congratulations should go to Joe U, George R and Reuben R, all of whom are new to the sport of rugby this term. It was wonderful to see them throw themselves into the action with such enthusiasm and commitment. They embraced every challenge, learned rapidly as the game unfolded and made valuable contributions to the team’s performance. 

The match itself was closely contested and played in an excellent spirit by both sides. Congratulations to all the boys involved on a fantastic team effort, with King’s just edging the contest 3-2. It was an encouraging start to the season and we look forward to seeing the team continue to develop in the weeks ahead. 

 

U11 Rugby v RGS and Blue Coat 

On Wednesday afternoon, the Year 6 boys from King’s St. Alban’s and King’s Hawford joined forces to form two combined teams from the two schools. 

Bertie, Harvey, Max C, Theo (and Oscar in the second match), along with Edward, Isaac, Rupert and Thomas from King’s Hawford, made up the U11 B team, which travelled to RGS The Grange to play two full-contact rugby matches against Bluecoat School and RGS The Grange. 

The first match was against Bluecoat School. The King’s boys played some excellent rugby at times, but they allowed a couple of Bluecoat’s players too much time and space on the ball. This enabled them to build up speed, making them difficult to tackle and allowing Bluecoat to score a couple of early tries. 

The boys responded well, remaining composed, some strong runs from Bertie and Theo down the wing. Max C showed great strength and determination to power over for King’s first deserved try of the match. However, containing Bluecoat proved to be an literal uphill struggle on such a steep and wide pitch, and the opposition scored another couple of tries to extend their lead. Harvey then pulled one back before Bertie scored out wide, allowing the boys to finish the match on a positive note. 

Understandably disappointed with the result, the boys were determined to deliver a stronger team performance in their second match. Following a thorough team talk with Mr. Jenkinson, during which they identified several key areas for improvement, the boys were soon fired up and ready to take on their counterparts from RGS The Grange. 

From the opening whistle, the King’s boys played with real intent, with Max and Harvey scoring early tries. The team worked extremely well together and spent the majority of the match attacking with the ball. New addition Oscar made a real impact, playing his part both in defence as well as helping the team score several further tries, courtesy of Bertie, Max and Harvey. 

The effort, teamwork and dominance displayed by the combined King’s team put the match beyond RGS The Grange’s reach, resulting in a relatively comfortable victory. This was an excellent team performance, of which the boys were all quite rightly very pleased with, and it more than made up for the disappointment of their earlier defeat against Bluecoat School. 

Both matches provided valuable opportunities to identify areas for further development, including pressing up more quickly as a defensive line and protecting the ball more effectively when taking it into contact. The boys will continue to work on these aspects during their Games lessons and rugby club sessions throughout the term. 

Well done to Bertie, Harvey, Max C, Theo and Oscar, along with Edward, Isaac, Rupert and Thomas from King’s Hawford, on a very positive first performance as a joint team. Thank you very much to all the parents and relatives who came along to watch the matches and support the boys. Your support is always very much appreciated!

 

U11 Rugby v RGS and Blue Coat 

It was an amazing performance from the boys on Wednesday. Facing tough opposition, they pushed through and secured a well-deserved victory as well as a hard-fought performance in their second match.

Throughout both games, the players showed grit and determination until the final whistle. Oscar and Daniel R showed great speed and awareness on the attack, while Henry W, Max M, and George N steadied the team in defence. Rudy W and Jack J also demonstrated fantastic vision and sharp passing skills, directing the flow of play from the middle of the pitch.

Overall, it was a great opportunity for the boys to get back into the mindset for competitive fixtures. Despite the tough first game, there were plenty of really positive signs suggesting we’re going to have a fantastic season.

 

U10 v The Elms and Hereford Cathedral 

The U10 girls enjoyed an exciting afternoon of hockey against The Elms and Hereford Cathedral School, producing some excellent performances across both matches. 

The first game against The Elms was a thrilling end-to-end contest. Maddie made a cracking start to her goalkeeping career, showing great bravery and confidence in goal. In defence, Rosa and Maren worked tirelessly to protect the circle, making some important tackles and interceptions. Nell was outstanding at centre half, covering much of the pitch as she linked defence and attack with her relentless running. Once the team had settled into their positions, Tiegan, Hibah and Olivia became a real force going forward, creating numerous attacking opportunities and putting the opposition under constant pressure. Their efforts were rewarded with a well-earned 1–1 draw. 

The second match against Hereford Cathedral School was equally entertaining. A slight tactical reshuffle saw Rosa move into attack, while Olivia dropped back into defence. Hereford proved very effective at finding space and getting around our defenders, but Maddie continued to impress with a number of excellent saves. The girls battled hard throughout, but Hereford eventually edged the game 3–2. 

A special well done goes to birthday girl Tiegan, whose outstanding effort and positive attitude earned her the Player of the Match award. Well done to all the girls for a fantastic afternoon of hockey. 

 

U11 v The Elms and Hereford Cathedral 

The Year 6 girls travelled to The Elms for their first matches of the season, taking on both The Elms and, Three Choirs School, Hereford. Blessed with beautiful weather, the girls produced an outstanding display of hockey, teamwork and determination. 

It was an absolute goal fest, with an impressive total of eight goals scored across the two matches. The girls attacked with confidence and purpose, creating numerous chances and showing great skill in front of goal. Their passing and movement improved throughout the afternoon, resulting in some excellent team goals. 

At the other end of the pitch, Savannah had full control of the goal; she cleared balls from danger with confidence and accuracy, providing a calm and dependable presence in defence. Savannah was also put to the test on a number of defensive short corners, particularly against a strong Three Choirs side.  

Every member of the squad gave maximum effort from start to finish, and I could not have been prouder of their attitude and commitment. This was especially impressive given that several girls had already completed early morning swimming before school and were heading off to club netball afterwards.