Lancastrian-2015-WEB

immense individual skills but they all played for each other
and developed into a very good unit.
The sevens season was also very successful and exciting.
The team won the Giggleswick sevens, lost in the final of the
Warwick sevens against Millfield having beaten some very
good sides on the way. They also reached the semi-finals of
the Macclesfield and Bradford sevens. Will Fraser-Gray was
the pick of a great squad and his performances in this form
of the game proved to be the deciding factor in him winning
the player of the year.
All of this wouldn’t have happened without the great
commitment of the boys – they were a credit. Mr Viney’s
assistance with the coaching and the management of
the team was essential to our success. I would also like to
thank Mr Stewart and Mr Wilkinson for their help with some
specialist sessions. Finally the parental support was second
to none – they went all over the north of England to watch
the team. Thank you to you all.
Mr ID Whitehouse
U15B RUGBY
This season was tough, but rewarding for the U15Bs. It saw
us develop as a team, achieve convincing wins against 6 of
our 8 opponents, draw another and unfortunately lose to a
very strong Morecambe High team.
The first home game was against QEGS Wakefield. It was a
cracking start to the season, in which Connor Parkinson (4G)
led the team to a mighty 45-5 victory. The backs rattled the
opposition both out wide and through the middle, bringing
tries in the first half for Judd Bennett (4L), Josh Wheatley
(4R) and Jia Yang (4B). With the momentum behind us,
George Fishwick (4L), Andrew Hughes (4S), Parkinson,
Callum Rowley (4L) added to our early lead, scoring
try after try, barely giving the opposition room to run.
Parkinson kicked 5 out of 7 conversions, adding 10 extra,
and well-deserved, points to the final count. We eventually
succumbed to exhaustion and conceded a try in the final
play of the game. The whistle blew, and we left the pitch
with our heads held high, knowing that in that moment of
triumph, that we could be proud of our performance and
that we had a strong season ahead of us.
The next game was against a tough King’s Macclesfield side.
The breakthrough came just before half time, when both
sides put points on the board. Their fly half put a 3 point
penalty through the posts and Jake Taylor (4R) scored a
dramatic try. With the game on a knife edge at half time, Mr
Viney delivered an inspirational speech, which gave us the
courage to go out and not just play well, but outstandingly.
Our early efforts in the game fatigued the opposition and
this combined with the burst of inspiration injected by Mr
Viney, let us to another victory.
The third game, a mid-week one, saw us clash in a hardfought
game against Kirbie Kendal, in which we fought to
the end, managing to keep hold of a 17-17 draw, with strong
captainship throughout, keeping us together as a team.
During this game, you could see top class performances in
the team as key players started to shine.
The next two games were ones that saw us recover from
the draw, with two great wins. The first game was a much
deserved one in a close game against a strong opponent,
Leeds Grammar School, ending 17-7. Following this game,
was an outstanding game against Kirkham, which showed
the team just what they could do when it really mattered.
The team never faltered and came away with a 41-10 victory.
Then came defeat... The whole team felt saddened and
deflated as we lost by just two points. We played hard but
lost 32-30. In the changing room after the match, was an
atmosphere like no other. Every player thinking about what
they could have done differently in their own performances.
Every time they were a step too late, every time that they
were a step too fast or slow and did not quite catch it.
Silently, we vowed that day, never again. We stayed true to
that vow through the rest of the season.
Next was the Sedbergh game, which despite the 19-12
victory is a game that many are keen to forget. Just before
half time, Rowley saw that the opposition had the ball and
ran in for the tackle. He planted his foot and brought down
the player, but the thick mud clamped down on his foot and
saw him out for the rest of the season with a broken and
dislocated ankle. Sadly, Parkinson too had been taken out
for the rest of the season just prior to the game. But what
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