The Year 7 Rugby team enjoyed a brilliant, rugby filled afternoon at QEII this week for the end of season festival, which brought together teams from all six secondary schools on the island. With over 150 boys taking part, it was a fantastic celebration of school rugby, and our players were exceptional, both in performance and in the way they conducted themselves throughout the event.
St. Ninian’s entered three teams, all of which were very impressive. Our C team were the standout performers of the day, winning all of their matches and scoring a series of superb tries. Their teamwork, energy and commitment were clear to see in every game.
The B team also played some excellent rugby, starting strongly in each of their fixtures and taking control early on. Fatigue set in during the later games, leading to a few late tries conceded, but they still finished with only one loss in five games, which is a brilliant achievement.
The A team opened with a confident win over Ballakermeen, moving the ball well and playing exciting rugby. Earlier in the season they suffered a heavy defeat to KWC, but the boys showed just how far they’ve come by turning the tables and beating them with some excellent, expansive play. A narrow win against QEII set up tough final tests against Ramsey and Castle Rushen. With tired and cold bodies, the boys were beaten at the breakdown and slipped off a few tackles, conceding some late tries, but their effort never dropped.
The Attitude Award for St. Ninian's was received by Ben Bradshaw for his outstanding leadership, positivity and work rate across the afternoon. With the highest try count and votes from several opposition teams, Seb Dosser was awarded the Player of the Tournament trophy. Seb has been fantastic this season and thoroughly deserved this recognition at the festival after a superb series of performances .
The boys have made fantastic progress throughout the season and will have even more opportunities to develop and enjoy their rugby in the coming months. Well done to everyone involved, another great afternoon for St. Ninian’s Rugby!