Girls U14
Although many of the girls were yet to have their first match of rugby, they headed to Rosslyn Park with no fear.
They played their first game together at 10 am, playing some great rugby throughout the group stages, beating Bohunt 26-10, then putting an outstanding performance up against the Welsh Bryn Celynnog 40-0. Their final group game was against Perins School, where they secured the top spot of the group with a 24-0 win. They topped the group with an impressive three wins out of three and a positive points difference of 80.
Their knockouts started with a good win against Taunton School, winning 22-5. Then beating Kingsbridge 26-22.
Their semi-final was an outstanding performance with the Flint girls scoring 6 tries between them helping Oakham beat Tredegar 42-12.
The final was a classic gritty game of sevens rugby. Hollie F put the ball down under the posts after just 4 minutes to get the scoring started. The next portion of the game saw the girls provide a valiant defensive effort before scoring one of the best tries of the tournament. After a defensive stint of over 10 tackles, Georgia F made a try-saving tackle 5 metres out before turning the ball over. With space on the opposite wing, the girls spread the ball where Lucy showed her pace and went around the defender on the outside before making the 95 metre run all the way to beneath the posts.
Although the girls lost by 1 point, they made an incredible effort against a team that play sevens as their main sport while the Oakham team had only played together for the first time that morning.
An absolutely amazing effort from the girls as they returned to Rutland as second in the country. A very promising future for this team and for girls rugby at Oakham School. Congratulations!
U16 Girls
The U16 girls began their season winning the Oakham Sevens triangular with great teamwork and determination to secure their first tournament of the sevens season.
The girls then qualified for Rosslyn Park with an impressive 22-7 win over a strong Taunton side.
The girls drew a tough group at Rosslyn Park with both Millfield and Monkton Combe fielding strong, well-drilled sides.
Unfortunately the girls could not move through to the knockout stages of the tournament, however, the girls showed great resilience and teamwork and played fantastically.
U14 Boys
The U14 boys started the season with a trip to Leicester Grammar for their first tournament. Winning the first game against Bablake, they hit the ground running.
A tough game against The King’s School and a narrow loss to neighbours Stamford saw the squad head into the semi-finals of the Bowl. After a convincing 41-7 win against Queen Ethelburga’s, the team met the hosts in the Bowl final. The boys dug deep and overturned a good Leicester Grammar side and on their home soil the boys brought home the Bowl.
The next stop, Rosslyn Park, saw the boys just miss the knockout stages after losing a tough 2 opening games. The boys kept their heads high and won the last game of the group stages with a great 21-7 win over Stowe.
The boys brought home some silverware and finished on a great win; a great season and a great benchmark to build upon for a physical U16 season next year.
U16 Boys
The U16 boys started their sevens campaign with an impressive trip to Leicester Grammar. With 2 wins in the group stages, scoring 72 and only conceding 7, the boys overturned Culford School in the cup semi-finals. The boys continued their momentum and brought home the cup after a great performance in the final to beat a great Samuel Whitbread Academy side 17-7. A great start to their sevens season.
The lads continued their momentum as Oakham hosted the next tournament. The team stunned opponents with an outstanding start to the day. Over the 3 first games of the group stages, the team scored 150 points and didn’t concede! The boys powered through the group stages and into the knockout stages of the cup where they met Eton in the semi-final. After another incredible team performance contributing to a 40-5 win, the lads were into yet another cup final.
The squad overturned Bloxham 31-17 in the final who were unbeaten to that point, winning the cup on home soil.
Soon came Rosslyn Park and the confidence was high due to an unbeaten season so far. The boys powered through the group stages and into the knockouts to beat a strong Kingswood side 27-17. Next came day 2 of the tournament and the group stages start up again, and so did the unbeaten season up until the third game of the day when the boys just came up short against a strong George Watson’s College.
The day didn’t stop there as they got back to their winning ways, all the way until a mature performance in the Plate final where the boys left the field as victors.
1 game off an unbeaten sevens season and the boys plays immensely. Well done, lads.
1st VII
The 1st team had a good start to the season on home soil winning the Plate. The boys came up against a strong Bedford side in the semi-finals, clinching a tight 19-17 win with the boys needing to dig deep right until the final whistle.
The boys made an impressive surge in the final winning 28-7 against another strong side in St Edward’s. Confidence was high following their first silverware on home soil.
The squad drew a very tough group at Rosslyn leading to them not quite being able to progress out of the group and into the knockout stages. An impressive 24-17 win against Gosforth Academy finished the day on a high.
The boys played extremely well throughout the season; it just wasn’t to be at Rosslyn Park this year. Congratulations on another great season of rugby.
