The Year 10 Rugby team started their season against a well drilled Ramsey side. Notable performances from George Leece at Flanker and Freddie Harrison in the Second Row making countless important tackles to stop the flow of Ramsey tries. Unfortunately, no tries scored in the opener for the Saints.
The 2nd game saw the Year 10s travel down to Castle Rushen. Captain Travis Bradshaw at Inside Centre rallied the boys against tough opposition, organising the defence line and pressing as a team. Line speed was something the boys highlighted from the previous fixture against Ramsey as an area to improve which developed considerably from the previous game. However, despite the commitment and togetherness displayed by the boys, the scoreline at the end of the game still favoured Castle Rushen.
Onto the 3rd game, KWC at home. The best performance of the season with last minute drama, heroics, and lots of Year 10 debutants. The team played some excellent rugby, moving the ball quickly through hands, exploiting spaces in the KWC line and working hard at the breakdown to turnover or protect the ball. Captain Bradshaw scored an incredible try from the centre of the pitch, dancing past three onlooking KWC players to score under the posts. Zohar Shalem fended off a pack of KWC defenders 5 metres from the try-line, bulldozing his way to score. The game ebbed and flowed with KWC seemingly edging ahead towards the end of the game with a 7-point lead. 1 minute from time, Olly Cassidy burst from full-back to score in the corner, Liam Blake under considerable pressure slotted the conversion to tie the game, 24-24. From the restart the Saints won themselves a lineout 5 metres out from the KWC try-line but time was not on their side as they settled for a well-deserved draw.
The 4th game saw a highly contested Douglas derby against Ballakermeen. The boys found themselves a couple of tries down at half-time. However, fought back with 2 quick fire tries after half-time. The Saints seemed to have the momentum with tries surely going to follow being camped in the Ballakermeen 22 for the majority of the 2nd Half. However, the tries didn’t arrive and Ballakermeen regrouped to edge the contest by a try.
The final game of the season saw the boys play away at QEII. QEII dominated the game for vast periods and ultimately won by a clear margin.
It has been a pleasure to work with this talented group of boys throughout the season and see their skills develop. I urge them to continue their Rugby journey outside of school at local clubs and get involved with Senior Rugby next year.