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The Stopfordian 2011–2012
It is often the players that get the attention and praise for
certain performances; however, all this could not have been
achieved without the huge amount of dedication and effort
that has been put in by the coaches, Mr. Corbett and Mr.
Urwin. I would just like to say a huge thank you for doing so
much - the season would not have been anywhere near as
successful as it was without the support, dedication and
passion that you both gave throughout the year.
Finally, I would like to finish by saying that it was a huge
privilege and honour that I could spend my last year at
Stockport Grammar School as 1 st XV Rugby Captain. I believe
myself to be very fortunate to have had that role and the
privilege of playing along-side my team-mates for the past
seven years and I would just like to thank them all for their
commitment over the years, namely Chris Spencer, Sam
Fraser, Jake Lee, Will Chance, Bikash Deb, Alex Wetters,
Alistair Ramsay, and Andrew Garton.
James Flynn (U2)
2ND XV RUGBY
2nd XV Rugby Squad
Played 9 Won 8 Lost 1 For 333 Against 73
As always there was a sense of great anticipation at the season’s
start. A talented and exciting back line promised tries aplenty
if we could secure enough possession. The transition from
U15 to Senior rugby is most obviously seen in the difference in
size of the opposition. Fifth Formers are suddenly up against
Sixth Form boys. However, my reservations about securing
possession were unfounded as a superbly courageous, not to
mention tenacious, pack led admirably by Nick Dove, met the
physical challenge head on. Outstanding throughout the
season were the indefatigable Holloway and Tyrell who tackled
everything that came their way and scavenged loose ball with
great skill. Ferguson also made his considerable presence felt;
this combined with an impressive turn of speed, resulted in
him bagging a number of excellent individual tries.
To have half backs of the quality of Hardy and Barnes in a 2 nd
XV was a real bonus and the two of them played exceptionally
well all season. The pace and skill of our back line cut swathes
through the opposition as early wins were secured against
Cheadle Hulme 59-5 and Newcastle Under Lyme 59-0. The
first real test came against Wirral GS and though they put us
under pressure up front, we did not buckle eventually running
out deserved winners 21-17. MGS are always formidable
opposition as the number of boys they can call upon is far in
excess of ourselves. In a close fought game we eventually
went down 11-17 despite some heroic defence. This was to
be our only defeat of the season – quite remarkable. Further
wins were recorded against a very talented St Ambrose side
22-17, where in a high scoring game Sanchez-Cappuchino
bagged a hat trick of tries and Ramsey was immense in the
forwards. St Bede’s 40-0, Audenshaw 66-5, and Bolton 46-
0 were also put to the sword.
As has become depressingly familiar in the last few seasons,
inclement weather put paid to all but one of our fixtures after
Christmas; in our only fixture King’s Macclesfield were
vanquished 18-12, despite fielding the biggest schoolboy
rugby player I have ever witnessed. At 22 stone it seemed that
he could have scrummaged against our entire pack and given
a good account of himself. The look of horror from our front
row when he came on to the pitch told its own story.
Even allowing for the cancelled games against sides who would
have given us a very competitive game, this still constitutes a
wonderfully successful season. My thanks to the whole squad
who enjoyed the experience as much as I did; thanks
especially to Henry Barnes for captaining the side and to those
Upper Sixth boys whose loyalty was so important. A special
mention must also be made of Tom Fraser who left the school
at the end of his Lower Sixth year. His consistent performances
at outside centre made him invaluable to the 2 nd XV .
P. A. Urwin
82 Sport