Stopfordian 2010â2011 - Stockport Grammar School
Stopfordian 2010â2011 - Stockport Grammar School
Stopfordian 2010â2011 - Stockport Grammar School
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The <strong>Stopfordian</strong> 2010–2011<br />
injuries. They returned fresh and fit and performed strongly<br />
to beat St. Bede’s College 48-0, before meeting King’s<br />
Macclesfield in the next round of the cup. It was a great<br />
advert for schoolboy rugby with two very evenly matched<br />
teams working very hard for the win. Unfortunately King’s<br />
scored in the last 10 minutes and converted to win 21-19. I<br />
have no problem with losing as long as we have played well<br />
and we had certainly done that!<br />
From my perspective the performance of the season came<br />
against Audenshaw in mid November. The year before<br />
Audenshaw had comfortably beaten <strong>Stockport</strong> 35-0, but it<br />
was very different this year. Again a determined team effort<br />
was the key with Sangeet Dangol carrying the ball superbly<br />
and again Tom Morton directing play with increasing maturity.<br />
<strong>Stockport</strong> reversed last years’ defeat with a 39-15 win. A<br />
week later another good contest saw the team narrowly<br />
defeated by a well organised Wakefield outfit. The cold snap<br />
then hit and two games against Bolton and Crossley Heath<br />
were cancelled due to the snow. Christmas was now upon us.<br />
This squad seem to play at their best after a long rest and the<br />
Christmas break certainly gave them that. They returned with<br />
three very good back to back wins against Calday 15-12,<br />
Wilmslow H.S. 29-7 and finally against Birkenhead 50-7.<br />
I thoroughly enjoyed coaching this small squad of talented<br />
individuals and I am sure a number of them will go on to<br />
bigger and better things, but some of them need a special<br />
mention. The pack of forwards although workmanlike always<br />
competed with huge commitment, and on their day they<br />
were a match for any side. Sanjeet Dangol, Zac Brooks,<br />
Courtney Howell, Ben Hague, Nick Dove, Alex Curran, Qez<br />
Hussain, Jed Holloway, J.P.Tyrrell, Marcus Hodson, Connal<br />
Gorman and Alex McKeown always gave their all.<br />
The backs although thin on the ground are full of quality.<br />
Simon Hardy and Tom Morton make a great half-back pairing.<br />
The centre partnership of Oliver Woodside and Michael<br />
Schofield complemented each other perfectly and a pacey<br />
wing and full back combination of Ciaran Johnson, Simon<br />
Fullerton, Cathal Berragan, Ryan Jude and Shola Odusayna<br />
were always more than capable of scoring tries.<br />
Thank you for proving to me there are other ways of coaching<br />
rugby sides and best of luck to you all in the years to come<br />
and please keep on playing rugby in the future at whatever<br />
level you can.<br />
A. S. Hanson<br />
UNDER 14 RUGBY<br />
PLAYED WON DRAWN LOST FOR AGAINST<br />
17 16 1 0 723 77<br />
The Under 14 Rugby team at <strong>Stockport</strong> <strong>Grammar</strong> <strong>School</strong> has<br />
once again remained undefeated. This team has grown in<br />
confidence and skill over the course of the season. I am<br />
pleased to report that this team has taken full advantage of the<br />
program and has worked with dedication and commitment<br />
for the duration of the season. These boys have been an<br />
absolute pleasure to work with for the past two seasons and<br />
they have made my role very enjoyable, educational and<br />
rewarding. It is not the victories that impress me the most, it<br />
is their enthusiasm, enjoyment for the game and support for<br />
one another, on and off the pitch that is most commendable.<br />
These boys define teamwork and have become role models<br />
for the younger members in the rugby programme at<br />
<strong>Stockport</strong> <strong>Grammar</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
This team has had 35 consecutive wins over the past two<br />
seasons. The last time they lost, it was to Lymm High <strong>School</strong><br />
in September 2009. They lost 21-19 in the closing minute of<br />
the game. This sour taste has stayed in their mouths for two<br />
consecutive seasons and they have made a statement in<br />
schoolboy rugby ever since. There are not many teams in<br />
Cheshire who do not know who these boys are. We out<br />
played our opponents in terms of possession, defence and<br />
points in nearly every single game. Our final game of the<br />
season in the Cheshire Cup Final competition at Wilmslow<br />
Rugby Club proved to be different. For the past two seasons,<br />
we have met Lymm High <strong>School</strong> in the final and we were the<br />
titleholders. On this day, we faced a different Lymm team, a<br />
team who gave us a challenge, a team who wanted to win and<br />
hand us our first defeat and show that they should be<br />
crowned Cheshire champions. Our boys faced this challenge<br />
and had to come back from being down on two separate<br />
occasions. It was a battle of the forwards and the backs were<br />
making some impressive hits and contributions. It was also<br />
the first time we were put under real pressure and had to<br />
show what we were really made of. The game ended 14-14<br />
and we had to share the title with Lymm. This game and<br />
result was a true testament to the game of rugby. This was also<br />
a good opportunity to reflect upon our past and start to focus<br />
on next season. For the first time we realised that next season<br />
was going to be different.<br />
I would like to take this opportunity to wish the team every<br />
success. I look forward to this team doing well in the Daily<br />
Mail National Competition and having continued success for<br />
80 Sport
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