King’s St Albans – Hockey, rugby and gymnastics news
23 Oct 2018
IAPS HOCKEY
We travelled to Nottingham Hockey Centre where Beestons Hockey team play in the premier league. Impressed by the facilities and the chance to play on a water based astro, the girls were keen to get going after quite a noisy journey.
Their start to the tournament was delayed due to our opponents arriving late which gave Miss Symonds and myself a little more time to talk to the girls. We had three main objectives for the girls to think about. The first was to maintain a high work level. They all did this but Clarisse was awarded player of the tournament by us, as she worked tirelessly throughout the tournament. Our second aim was to get the girls to ‘jump back’ behind the line of the ball after losing possession which they did well in the first couple of matches but struggled to do as they grew tired. We also asked them to pick their passes carefully and not panic on the ball. This improved with many of them and you could see more thought going into them trying to stretch the pitch wider.
We managed to go through to the plate competition closely finishing fourth in our group of six but lost in the knock out stage. The journey home was a lot quieter with some very tired girls.
J Clark
RUGBY V BROMSGROVE
U11A v Bromsgrove
What a match! This was schoolboy rugby at its very best, played on a lovely wide pitch in the autumn sunshine! Bromsgrove, as ever, were a well-drilled team with plenty of boys and a desire to move the ball. Our boys, however, showed no regard for reputation or home advantage and started strongly. Consistent line speed and secure individual tackling, both strengths of this team, led to early errors for Bromsgrove and turnover ball. Our boys capitalised and scored two early tries without reply. Shocked into action and playing a strong rucking game, Bromsgrove came back into the game and unleashed the one attribute it is hard to counter – genuine pace. Our boys have developed into an excellent team with flair, rigour and order, but the one thing we lack is out and out ‘gas.’ Bromsgrove had two such players and they proved a real thorn in our side throughout. The game ebbed and flowed; no quarter was asked or given. Seth had a blinder, Sufiyaan put in some big hits and Charlie A scored the cheekiest of interception tries. On a big pitch and with an injury, the nine boys ‘put in a shift’ and kept working and tacking for the whole forty minutes. In such games, the score hardly matters but an 8-7 loss was perhaps one score off a fair result. A super performance from a developing team. Well done!
R Chapman
U11B V Bromsgrove
On Wednesday afternoon our U11B team went over to Bromsgrove for a rugby fixture. After not seeing the boys play since last season, I was extremely impressed with the rugby the boys played for the entirety of the match. Special mention to Ben G for an excellent display of tackling. Also, Eddie C and Solomon U for some superb solo running efforts which ended in St Alban tries. The team as a whole were tremendously impressive against a very strong Bromsgrove side and didn’t deserve the 4-7 score line. The boys seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves and it was a great afternoon of rugby.
C Hooman
U11C v Bromsgrove
The boys had a very hard match against Bromsgrove on Wednesday. They struggled throughout the game to get any passes to link together but the energy levels and determination shown from the boys up until the final whistle were outstanding. Will G came off the match battered after putting in crunching tackle after tackle. Monty who captained the team so well, keeping the boys motivated regardless of the score, never stopped chasing the ball. James who is relatively new to the game showed great determination in the rucks and had some good runs with the ball. John worked hard and showed a good understanding of the game trying to get the boys organised on the pitch into the right positions. It was great to finish the match with an excellent run from Alex to score a last-minute try. A valiant effort from the boys.
J Clark
U10A v Bromsgrove
In a 3-way tournament between KSA, Bromsgrove and Magdalene College School, Oxford, KSA played some excellent rugby. In the first match against MCS the boys drew 6-6. Fabian D returning with 5 tries.
Next, KSA played Bromsgrove where tiredness played a key role. Peter was man of the match and ran in a superb try which saw the home team win by 9 tries.
Mr Benham
U10B v Bromsgrove
This week’s fixture for the U10 Boys saw them come up against two very strong teams in Magdalene College School and Bromsgrove. The first game was against MCS and the boys set the tone in this game with the quality of rugby being played at a very high level, using the width to their advantage. A mention in this game goes to Tom H for superb tackling and determination to get the 5-1 win. The second game was against the hosts Bromsgrove and this was a fierce affair. Two brilliant tries, one from Harry C and the other Henry G, again both came from using our width well. Every single one of the boys played with sheer determination and worked fantastically as a team to secure themselves with two wins out of two. Well done boys, you should feel incredibly proud!
J Taylor
GIRLS’ GYMNASTICS:
On Wednesday afternoon a group of 10 enthusiastic pupils from the junior school were invited to a friendly gymnastics competition at Flics gymnastics school against RGS The Grange. The children had practised a short routine of moves (including a cartwheel and round off) which they had to perform in front of their peers. They also had two vaults and were also judged on this. The children had a lovely afternoon performing on the sprung floor and all received a participation certificate. This is a new venture which we hope to repeat in the future. Well done children, it was a lovely afternoon.
Mrs Hind.