Brentwoodian 2019

37 U14 B We started off the season with three amazing wins against Bancroft’s School (39-22), The Judd School (43-7) and Ipswich (35-5). Then our unbeaten streak ended after 2 losses against Skinners’ School (5-24) and Richard Hale School (5-20), which were both very close and very physical. By the end of the season we had played eight games; we won four and lost four. Overall, we scored 158 points on the board and conceded not many more. We had a very strong front row with Mathias Milki, Rory Peskett, Sam Pryor and Saqib Maqsood who all rotated throughout the season. We had some amazing performances from all of the players in the team but had some outstanding play from Freddie Wise, Devan Mistry and Kolade Alabi. Ben Pogson, Charlie Hurley and Kolade Alabi all came up from the C team early on in the season and earned their places by putting in a very good individual performances for the team. Although I was Captain I was grateful to have had other members of the team help with warm ups and drills. In my opinion our 2018 Rugby U14B Team played very well, and we all worked well on the whole together as a team and did our best throughout the season. A big thank you to Mr Clark, as well as to the players who turned up with determination to win. By Josh Peacock U13 A Following an enjoyable and successful season as U12’s, the U13 season was certainly a step-up and we needed to be committed both individually and as a team to continue our progress throughout a tough campaign. It seemed as though every player had grown by at least 12 inches, and the games in general were more challenging mentally and physically. We continued to have a fantastic team spirit which was highlighted by a growing number of participants training and playing matches, with six players selected for the Saracens/Essex development squad (William Howard, Leo Troubridge, Ross Mandie, Will Turner, Alex Pine and Will Elliss). Mr Howard and Mr Sawyer highlighted that the main focus of the season would be to work hard, have a good attitude towards training and matches, and play as a team to ensure we developed throughout the year and raised our levels of performance. We improved individually and as a team, and were reminded ’it is a marathon, not a sprint’ and to ‘build the foundations for future successes’. Following early successes against St Alban’s and Bancroft’s, we played a physically strong Judd team, and whilst continuing to show improvement, were narrowly beaten, learning some important lessons about possession. We managed to put these into practice against Ipswich, Skinners’, Richard Hale and Norwich, achieving positive results, leading up to the Essex Cup festival. With Evan Ackerman providing the vital link between forwards and backs at scrum-half, Callum Weedon providing energy and power and Tommy Idowu demonstrating a continued improvement, it was good to see players have the opportunity to showcase their talents in the A team after previously impressing in the B and C teams. Approaching the Essex Cup, we knew we were well prepared and playing well, and looking forward to testing ourselves against the best in the County. The tournament was split into eight groups of four or five teams. The main tournament had four groups with the group winner proceeding to the semi-final; the plate tournament had four groups with a similar format. Brentwood was entered into the main tournament and first up faced Coopers’. It was a close and tense match with William Howard scoring after good work by the team. A late break by Coopers’ gave them a try, resulting in a drawn first match. Next up was St Martin’s, and the team raised the performance levels, delivering a 20-0 win, with tries from Will Ellis, William Howard x 2 and Ross Mandie. The last group match was versus RGS Colchester, with the winner proceeding to the semi-finals. Brentwood took a 10-0 lead through tries from Alex Pine and Damifola Odelusi, but RGS hit back with a try with a couple of minutes remaining in the match. William Howard scored from close range to give Brentwood the victory that sent them onto the semi-final. Playing Westcliff proved a hurdle too high and the size and athleticism of our opponents proved too much as we lost by three tries to one, and finishing 3rd in the County for U13’s. The remainder of the season provided more opportunities to work hard and improve, delivering decent performances, most notably against Campion and Dartford with positive outcomes. Well done and thanks to Co-Captain Leo Troubridge, whose commitment both on and off the pitch helped to set the standard for the season. The whole squad has very much enjoyed our second Rugby season at the School, and we are already looking forward to working hard and improving our game next year. We would all like to thank our last two squad members, Mr Howard and Mr Sawyer for all their hard work and effort they have put in throughout the season. By William Howard