School Community Celebrates Sporting Triumph – Royal Alexandra and Albert School

24 Jan 2019

Since 2012, the Royal Alexandra and Albert School and Gordon’s School meet in an annual rugby and netball tournament for the Sovereign’s Cup, the Duchess of Gloucester Cup and the Patron’s Cup. This tournament is one of the highlights of the School’s sporting calendar and an event pupils look forward to every year.

Amongst cheering crowds, teams from Year 7 to the Sixth Form played against their counterparts at Gordon’s. For the first time, the School hosted all of the rugby games, with Gordon’s School hosting the netball matches.

The netball teams were excited to take to the court and match their skills against their traditional rivals. The Year 9 team confidently won their match 22-9 but their team mates in Year 7 narrowly lost theirs by 10-7, with Year 8 also taking a 16-6 loss.

The First VII Duchess of Gloucester Cup netball game was closely fought. Both teams played very well and it was difficult to determine who would eventually walk away the winner. In the end, Gordon’s took the Cup with a 14-10 win.

In the rugby, pupils in Years 7 to 10 were ready to take on their opponents in a number of simultaneous matches held in the top and bottom fields.  It was an exciting morning of rugby which saw the Year 8 A team and B team secure great wins, both teams scoring 50 points and over. The Year 10s also did very well and, in an excellent display of rugby skills, won their match 48-7.

The last game of the morning was the most highly anticipated of the rugby tournament, where the School’s First XV took on Gordon’s for the Sovereign’s Cup. For the last four years, the cup has resided at Gordon’s but, this year, the home team were determined to win it back.

It was an exciting game, with the School’s team dominating throughout. The First XV team took to the field and Gordon’s were unable to respond quickly enough. Both teams demonstrated great skills and good team work, and this was highlighted by the excellent sportsmanship and camaraderie that was displayed by all players through the tournament.

Now that the Sovereign’s Cup has made it back to Gatton, there is no intention of letting it go. Coaches and players are already looking forward to next year’s season and making plans to keep hold of the Cup.

Headmaster, Mark Dixon, said of the day, “I’m very proud of our pupils who represented the School. Their efforts for their teams were outstanding and they played their best on the day. Special congratulations go to our First XV for winning the Sovereign’s Cup; it was a well-deserved win and one that I know the players and their coaches were single-minded in their efforts to achieve.

It was also lovely to see so much support from players’ families and friends who joined us for a wonderful morning of sport as a community. Nine rugby teams played at home and it was great to see this being made possible by using our two new pitches. My thanks also to the PTA for their assistance with food and drink for the supporters.