Wymondham College Magazine 1972 (Amalgam)

Outside the pack no-one made more impressionthan scrum-half Bishop . Here is a player of realpotential, possessing ability and a genuineenthusiasm for the game . His service from the base ofthe scrum leaves little to be desired (though heshould work to make it longer) ; but the moderngame with its tight marking demands that breaks ordiversions near the base of the scrum are invaluable .This type of play makes scrum-halves like GarethEdwards and Sid Going real matchwinners ; Bishopwould do well to remember that and work hard todevelop this part of his game . At fly-half, Scasestarted the season with a great deal of confidence,but unfortunately he sustained a bad thigh injuryearly on, and although he continued to play for acouple of games, he was forced to retire for the mostdifficult part of the season . It was very bad luck forthe team, but no doubt he will be back playingbetter than ever next season .The threequarter line was neat and swift atrelaying the ball to the wings, and all four membersexcelled on occasions; Edwards scored his usualbagful of hard-earned tries, and Alan Wright's workratewas prodigious . Shurety gave glimpses of class,but he must admit that his game was too erratic forreal comfort, while Hathway showed plenty ofcourage in never giving less than his best . As a unitthe backs lacked thrust in midfield, and here aDyer or an Oliver would have made a world of difference. At fullback, Wilson is a talented player, anotherof those natural ball players who have much to offer,but his weakness is his reluctance to commit himselfto the rough stuff, and how disastrous this couldhave been if it weren't for the often desperatecovering of Ireland and Co .Games worthy of special mentioning include avery hard curtain raiser against the Old Boys, andhere I would like to say how encouraging it is to seethis team improve its overall quality each year . Wemust thank Mr. Taylor for his organisation andplayers like John Postle, Howard Bambridge andKevin Ireland for doing so much to raise the standardof this side . If this trend continues, I can see thembeating us by the turn of the century .Once again we fell to Askes and Woolverstone ;on both occasions the forwards did enough to ensurevictory but the lack of penetration in the middle ofthe field let us down . Fine scrummaging andall-round loose play superiority by our forwardswon us the lion's share of good ball against theLondon school, but their faster and more aggressivebacks were too much for us . Yet again we wereunable to lay the Woolverstone bogey . A brilliantkicking display by their fly-half, Waight, andsuperb tackling that never wilted throughout asecond-hand onslaught gave them a well-earnedvictory .Well, I am pleased to say we have a fine basis onwhich to build next year's side, with at least sevenof this year's squad returning . I have a feeling that1972/3 will be a very good year for the College 1stXV, and both Haberdashers and Woolverstone hadbetter come well armed .The following played for the 1st XV : Wilson,K. Hathway, S . Shurety, A . Edwards, A . Wright,R . Scase, S . Bishop, K . Hewitt, D . Cox, I . Smith,P. Stasi, S . Spencer, M . Ireland (captain), G . Pettitt,G . O'Shea, D . Carlyle, A. Bawden, M. Dillon-Lee,M. Tonks, A . Southgate .Results : (College scores first)Old Boys 18-18Kings Ely 48-9Colchester. 36-0Cambridgeshire H .S . 20-9Norwich 36-6St . Josephs 86-4Haberdashers 16-33St. Mary's Hospital 4-56Greshams 16-3Woolverstone 6-132nd XVBoothroyd's boys in the 2nd XV had anotherexcellent season, under the captaincy of Glister, askipper who leads by example, and who quite latein the season found Happy (I'm-not-going-to-get-myknees-dirty-for-anybody)Holmes for a partner . Thesetwo at half-back made good use of the ample goodball supplied by a particularly mobile pack . GreenO'Shea, Alston, Robinson, Piper and Churchwardwere always in the thick of things and will notdisgrace next year's first team . As usual Mr .Boothroyd never wavered in his enthusiasm, and hissupport during matches, and I know that he wasparticularly pleased with victories over Haberdashersand Woolverstone, both away from home.The following played for the 2nd XV: A . Southgate,M . Dillon-Lee, D . Carlyle, C . Booth, A . Bawden,C . Parnham, A . Holmes, M. Glister (Captain),J . Alston, P . Robinson, D . Piper, S. Turtle, S . Storey,J . Green, G . O'Shea, S . Marfleet .Results: (College scores first)Northgate 1st XV 7-24Haberdashers 14-0Colchester 56-0Cambridge H .S . 72-0Norwich 30-0St . Josephs 29-0Cambridge G .S . 42-0Langley 24-6Greshams 18-0Woolverstone 18-0A