Monday 29th February saw the first of the Rugby District finals at Hitchin Rugby Club, as the Year 7 Rugby squad battled against a strong Thomas Alleyne School.
Both teams came into the final in good form, with KTS only losing one league game this season against… Thomas Alleyne! With the team wanting to seek their revenge on the school, the squad travelled to the match with high hopes and determination.
The first half saw a close encounter between the two sides, with equal pressure being mounted, particularly from the forwards. KTS came close on many occasion, with the ball even being held up on the try line and disallowed. Despite the valiant defence from the opposition, Joe Ince found a gap to squeeze in KTS’s first try of the match - just before the half time whistle blew.
KTS brought their confidence from the end of the first half into the second, with some strong runs made by the back line and great support play from the forwards. However, it was not to be all that easy for KTS, because of the strong breakdown and mauling from the Thomas Alleyne boys. However, confidence prevailed for KTS. The great kicking, scrum downs and offloads were just too much for the opposition at the end of the day. In the dying embers of the game, KTS scored a fantastic team try. It was finished by the Scrum-Half Joe Ince again as the reds triumphed 10-0.
The man of the match award went to the Number 8 and Team Captain Will Goldsmith for his superb tackling, discipline and leadership throughout the entire game.
As the final whistle blew, the team exalted into pure joy and happiness knowing they have won the league, something which some members of the team would have never imagined happening. After the match, the team collected their medals, as well as the cup that they were all aching to lift up in the air.
The team were greeted after by their victory by relatives and a large group of Year 7s, who provided fantastic support. Thanks to all those students that gave up their time after school to cheer on the team and give them that extra confidence!
From the awful first training session to the league final, the progress that the lads have made over the last six months has been phenomenal. The team to start off with were ill-disciplined, naïve and felt disconnected with each other back in September. But the team that played in Hitchin was truly a team, full of confidence technique and team spirit.
Coaching this group of students has been a pleasure. It has really develop as a coach and I really could not do that without the amazing tutoring from Mr Barrows and Mr Bradley. I’m sure this team will go from strength to strength.
