Thursday 9th July 2009
On Sunday July 12th a squad of 28 boys and 4 members of staff fly to South Africa for a three week rugby tour. The squad is made up of a mixture of boys who have just finished the Upper Sixth year and those who will be returning for the school rugby season in September. Travelling to Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown and Cape Town, Tonbridge will play 6 fixtures. The fixtures are listed below and results and match reports will follow as each game has been played. On Saturday 1st August the Tonbridge tourists will be visiting and training with Vulindlela Rugby Club (for underprivileged Cape Town teenagers). The school has raised just under £600 for this charity.
Wednesday 15th July vs. Woodridge College Won 24 - 5
A largely Lower Sixth team of boys who are returning next season began the tour in encouraging fashion with a 24 - 5 win over Woodridge College. Having not played since the end of December the Tonbridge team was a little rusty but always in control of the game. We dominated field position and might well have won more convincingly had we been a little more clinical close to their line. 4 tries were scored (Ben Ransom grabbed a hatrick and Max Wilson also crossed the line). Henry Johnstone converted two of the four tries. St Andrews, who have four of their team in the Eastren Province Craven Week squad, will prove much tougher opposition on Saturday but many senior players are desperate for their first start on tour. We were superbly hosted at Woodridge and must thank all those at the College for their hospitality. Having lost our two hookers to injury before playing a single game (McCaul ankle and Carter hamstring), we are hoping to have at least one back fit for the next fixture. Josh Payne, who deputised at hooker, will certainly be glad of a return to the back row.
The starting team against Woodridge was as follows: Wright, Payne, Shee, Wilson, Colegrave, Liddicoat, Hamel, Wish, Johnstone, Brown, Segun, Baillie, James, Taylor, Ransom.
Saturday 18th July vs. St Andrew's College Won 17 - 12
Having arrived in Grahamstown on Friday afternoon, our boys were treated to the traditional Friday evening school sing song where all St Andrew's boys practise their chants for the support of the 1st XV the following day. This was a special moment on tour as our squad stood in front of the grandstand and listened in the evening darkness to 400 boys repeatedly calling out 'WE WANT TONBRIDGE'. The game itself was played with width and pace. We were caught defending too narrowly at first and allowed a pacey St Andrew's back division to get outside us on an exceptionally wide pitch. Two tries from St Andrew's in the first 20 minutes left them 12-0 up. We played some good rugby in the remainder of the first half and had two or three very good chances to score. A lack of match practice after 7 months off saw rather too many opportunities go begging but we were well in the game. The boys showed great spirit and belief in the second half and we began to dominate the match. We scored very early in the second half when Jamie Lavers crossed in the far right corner. This was soon followed by Hugh Robinson scoring in the opposite corner and, with neither try converted, it looked as though a penalty kick awarded in front of the posts and 35 metres out might be our one opportunity to seal the win. Unfortunately Henry Johnstone pulled the kick wide and it was left to the last five minutes for George Moss to finish a sweeping move in the left corner after not being held in the tackle. Henry Johnstone converted to take us into a 17 - 12 lead. These two extra points were crucial as desperate defence in the last 3 minutes of the game saw three kickable penalties awarded against us, none of which St Andrew's took as they were now 5 points behind. St Andrew's were short of one or two senior players, who had spent the week in East London playing in the Craven Week festival, but this was an excellent win from a side that had not played rugby since early December. Hugh Robinson, Jamie Lavers and Luke Wallace all had outstanding matches. Once again we were hosted quite superbly by the St Andrew's boys and staff.
The following started the game: Naismith, McCaul, Lomax, Sims, Lineham, Payne, Wallace, Gower, Johnstone, Flint, Robinson, Baillie, Moss, Lavers, Ransom.
Tuesday 21st July vs. Grey High School Lost 43 - 13
After a season ravaged by injury we came across Grey High following a three week break in which a number of their key players had retuned to fitness. In fact the side that took the field for Grey was the strongest they had fielded since April. With three players contracted to the Free State Cheetahs in their back row, as well as the SA Schools tight head prop, this was always going to be a stern test for Tonbridge. We started the game in confident fashion and Jamie Lavers was able to grasp hold of a loose pass from a Grey counter attack and run in under the posts from 40 metres out. Stuart Flint converted to give us a 7 point lead. Pressure from the Grey team led to turnover ball 5 metres from our line and their brute of a blindside (in his second year with SA Schools) crashed over from short range. The rest of the second half was very evenly contested and when Flint slotted a penalty kick to take us into a 10 - 7 lead it looked as if we would still be in the ascendency at half-time. Unfortunately a charged down box kick was regathered by their left wing who scampered over to score. 14 - 10 at half time.
A mixture of very poor defending and superb running from the Grey back row trio led to us conceeding three tries in the space of five minutes at the beginning of the second half. Players went too high in contact and were brushed off with relative ease. Grey were clinical in this period and led 31 - 13 (after another Flint penalty). At this point Tonbridge looked certain to score with Wallace running a short line from Baillie only 5 metres from the Grey line. Instead the Grey centre intercepted the pass and, although he was caught by Ben Ransom, Grey eventually linked passes to score in the corner. We had gone from a potential scoreline of 31 - 20 to staring down the barrel of a 50 point defeat. In the end the Grey team gave Tonbridge a brutal lesson in running power and taking opportunities. James Lineham was immense (making several telling tackles in the game), Ben Ransom was always a threat in counter attack and Jamie Lavers and Hugh Robinson again had strong games on the wing. Charlie Naismith should take great heart from going toe to toe with an SA Schools prop. Without meaning to take anything away from an impressive Grey performance, they were certainly not 30 points better than us on the day and we struggled all afternoon with some very confusing interpretations of the laws at the break down. In addition, the new ELVs restricting the receiver from joining the lineout until the ball has been released by the hooker seem to have been totally ignored in this game as was Grey defending our shortened lineouts with as many players as they wanted.
The following started the game: Naismith, McCaul, Lomax, Sims, Lineham, Payne, Wallace, Gower, Johnstone, Flint, Robinson, Baillie, Moss, Lavers, Ransom.
Sunday 26th July vs. Langa Won 62 - 0
In today's game against a Langa Township XV the tour party returned to winning ways. Although the opposition were certainly the weakest we have played on tour, the boys should be given credit for the way in which they retained some structure in this game. 10 tries were scored (including 3 for Ali Taylor) and 6 of these were converted by Stuart Flint. The Langa side were always willing and looked most dangerous in broken play with a number of quick and elusive runners. Several of the starting fifteen impressed and Elliot Carter and Oli Smith made their first starts on tour after frustrating injuries. Oliver Colegrave, Max Wilson, Steve Wish and Patrick Liddicoat all performed well and the coaching staff have been left with a number of headaches before we choose our best XV for the SACS fixture. This is a huge game for us given the way in which we have been written off by the SA press since the defeat to Grey. For the majority of the starting line up this will be the last game in a Tonbridge shirt: motivation enough.
The following started against Langa: Wright, Carter, Shee, Colegrave, Wilson, Liddicoat, Hamel, Wish, Flint, Brown, Segun, James, Smith, Taylor, Lavers.
Tuesday 28th July vs. SACS Won 20 - 10
With a squad struck by illness and fatigue, this was a monumental effort from the boys and a great way to get the tour back on track after the disappointment of the Grey fixture. Tonbridge played with a strong wind in the first half and managed to go into the break with a 20 - 5 lead. Rory Gower and Ben Ransom both scored tries (the latter another fantastic solo effort from Ben). Stuart Flint converted both scores and kicked two penalties. We did not play especially well against the wind in the second half and struggled to secure any quality lineout ball. However, we were well worth the win after some very physical and aggreesive defence. The most encouarging element of the victory was the performances of Charlie Naismith, Max Wilson and Oliver Colegrave. All three had excellent games and look like they will be part of a formidable forward pack this coming season. Milnerton, although playing on a less demanding fixture list than SACS, have not yet lost a game this season and will provide tough opposition for a predominantly Lower Sixth side in the final game of the tour.
The following started against SACS: Naismith, McCaul, Lomax, Wilson, Colegrave, Lineham, Gower, Wallace, Johnstone, Flint, Robinson, Baillie, Smith, Lavers, Ransom.
For another report and pictures of the game take a look at the following website: sacsrugby.com
Thursday 30th July vs. Milnerton High School Won 50 - 3
The boys finished the tour in style with a convincing victory over Milnerton. The side was predominantly a Lower Sixth team and we led 17 - 3 at half time after tries from Jamie Sims, Ali Taylor and Ben Ransom. Playing with the wind the team did not take quite as many chances as they should have, especially considering our dominance of the scrum and field position. However, against the wind, some excellent running rugby was played leading to further scores from Bertie James, Dami Segun, Ben Ransom, Ali Taylor and Steve Wish. Patrick Liddicoat had an outstanding game, as did Ben Ransom. A number of other players, including Josh Payne, Justin Shee and Dami Segun had their best games on tour. Steve Wish carried the ball with his usual force and dynamism. The only negative was a shoulder dislocation for Tom Brown. Hopefully he will be fit to play before too long after our return to the UK. The boys now have a day of R&R before our visit to Vulindlela and return on Saturday night.
The following players strated the game: Wright, Carter, Shee, Sims, Colegrave, Liddicoat, Payne, Wish, Johnstone, Brown, Segun, Moss, James, Taylor, Ransom.