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We have fixtures against Cheam tomorrow with a festival at Cheam School on Friday for the Under 8s and 9s (Years 3 & 4).

Later today (as I write), Fraser and Alfie (Year 7) will run in a district cross-country meeting this afternoon, although the rain has been such that we’ll know soon if it goes ahead.

Year 7 players enjoyed a water polo taster yesterday evening. This series of water polo meetings at Twyford from 1700-1800 finishes next Monday with:

• Monday 11 March – U13 A & B (Year 8)

Teams have been selected on SOCS. If your son has been selected for the fixture, and can’t make it, please alert me so another may have the opportunity. As the game is a mix of swimming and contact rugby, this is what has informed my initial selections.

Also, in the pool, on Thursday afternoon, swimmers compete in the regional qualifier of the IAPS Swimming championship, with the opportunity to progress to the finals in the summer term.

Enjoy the Exeat this weekend.

Team	Opposition	Venue Details	Start	Return
Wednesday 06 March 2024
U13 XIII	Cheam School	Home | Bailey	14:30	16:30
U12/13 A Touch	GAMES - Coaching	Home | Gater Field	14:00	15:30
U13 B XIII	Cheam School	Home | Middle	14:30	16:30
U12 XII	GAMES - Coaching	Home | Gater Field	14:00	15:30
U12/13 B Touch	GAMES - Coaching	Home | Gater Field	14:00	15:30
Colts A IX	Cheam School	Away	14:30	17:30
Colts B IX	Cheam School	Away	14:30	17:30
Colts C IX	Cheam School	Away	14:30	17:30
Colts Touch	Cheam School	Away	14:30	17:30
Foals A VIII	Cheam School	Home | Wolvesey	14:30	16:30
Foals B VIII	Cheam School	Home | Wolvesey	14:30	16:30
Foals Touch	Cheam School	Home | New Piece	14:30	16:30
Under 9 Rugby Group	GAMES - Coaching	Home | Grid	13:50	15:30
Skiing Group	Skiing	Neutral | Alpine Snowsports, SO16 7AY	14:00	16:30
Thursday 07 March 2024
Selected swimmers Years 5-8	IAPS Swimming Regional Round at Brockhurst & Marlston House	Away | Marlston Rd, Hermitage, Thatcham RG18 9UL	15:15	18:30
Friday 08 March 2024
U9 A VII	Cheam Rugby Festival	Away | Cheam School RG19 8LD	14:00	16:40
U9 B VII	Cheam Rugby Festival	Away | Cheam School RG19 8LD	14:00	16:40
U9 Touch	Cheam Rugby Festival	Away | Cheam School RG19 8LD	14:00	16:40
U8A VI	Cheam Rugby Festival	Away | Cheam School RG19 8LD	14:00	16:40
U8B VI	Cheam Rugby Festival	Away | Cheam School RG19 8LD	14:00	16:40
U8C VI	Cheam Rugby Festival	Away | Cheam School RG19 8LD	14:00	16:40
Monday 11 March 2024
Year 8 Water Polo	Twyford School	Away | Sports Centre: Sports hall and swimming pool	17:00	18:30

Match Reports

Wednesday 28 February

U13A XIII vs Farleigh
Won 15-5 (James P, Neil C 2)
Finally, a performance and result happily combined. It was a belter of a match, both teams sensing they had something in it all the way through in an evenly contested game.

Pilgrims’ first try came from tryline pressure. Farleigh gave away a penalty through lifting players in the maul, resulting in a penalty five metres out. James took advantage with a quick tap, and over he went unopposed. The half bubbled with each tackle and breakdown fiercely contested. Drama continued as Barnaby kicked through a dropped ball to create chaos. Sammy P followed up, but the ball just went dead before he could score – although that didn’t stop him claiming it! Neil was marked heavily and endured a great try-saving tackle on the right wing.

He converted some pressure into a try fairly early in the second half, with the sense that the momentum was swinging narrowly in Pilgrims’ favour. Still, with penalties and not getting back ten quickly enough conspired to do us some damage. A penalty in Pilgrims’ favour went to Neil, who did go over for a second. The excitement continued, with Tobi found to be in touch before he crossed the tryline a little later. As the half was coming to an end, a Farleigh player found himself in possession as the ball came loose and was through to score. Nevertheless, with seconds to play, our boys could be sure of the win as the game drew to a close. Congratulations on the win, boys. AJS

U12B XII vs Farleigh
Lost 45-10 (Chenhan Z 2)
A tireless effort displayed through the harsh weather conditions by all boys. We started off really strong in the first half with a 10-10 draw thanks to Chenhan’s strong running and hand-offs that gave us both tries, and Yashk’s countless efforts in getting the opposition into touch when they broke our line. Through the wet and cold conditions, the boys grew fatigued but still gave their all-in attack through the second half and were unlucky on numerous occasions on the opposition's try line. Special mentions to Gleb and Ennis with their relentless tackles that kept the game alive and the score close. AZ

U12/U13 Touch Rugby triangular
The return fixture saw us take three teams to Farleigh for a series of quick fire games. Our A team set the tone early, playing some good, attacking rugby, moving the ball well and using the pace of the wide men to stretch the Farleigh defence. Our B and C team also enjoyed some success, looking to gain territory by keeping it tight through the first couple of phases, before spreading play wide and utilising the space. Highlights included Johnnie B making a searing run up the wing, only to literally trip himself up with his own shoelace having done all the hard work with the try line begging! However, all the games were played in good spirit, and all Pilgrims’ teams enjoyed success against their opponents. It’s exciting to see the boys play good, attacking heads-up rugby, and some of the supporting lines we created were excellent. All in all, a positive experience and a clear demonstration of the boys’ burgeoning skills – well done to all. WD

U12A VII at the Boundary Oak 7s
Lost two group stage games, won two group stage games.
Progressed to the “Bowl” competition and won two of two matches.
In the group stages, Pilgrims’ narrowly missed out to Boundary Oak A’s in what was a really tight, back and forth game. We didn’t play our absolute best, but I asked the boys to focus on defensive line speed and organisation (a weakness this season) and to their credit, this was vastly improved in all our tournament games. In our second match, with no break between, we played Fores Sandle Manor and again the game was very tight. Fores' inside centre was an outstanding player and was a real difference maker in our fixture. We then played Ryde B and The Prebendal School. Winning our fixture against Ryde by two tries and winning against Prebendal in a dominant fashion, scoring 12 tries to nil.

In the Bowl fixtures we played King Edward's Witley, winning a sloppy game by one try. Our final game of this triangular was a rematch against Ryde, and we stomped to a decisive victory of 9 tries to 1. Each team was asked to nominate their player of the tournament and our decision was an easy one; Finn R. played outstandingly on both sides of the ball and sprinkled in some moments of magic throughout the tournament. AC

Colts A IX vs Farleigh
Lost 20 – 45 (Farid A, Archie W 3)
Once again, for the Colts A, this was a game of two halves. They had a strong, big and skilful side, exactly the right balance for Rugby. Pilgrims’ tackled and rucked with real ardour, but the Farleigh attack was relentless. They fielded two big centres who they used to crash repeatedly into Pilgrims’ defence. Each Pilgrims’ boy gave his best, but eventually, inevitably, Farleigh broke through. The first half was tough, Pilgrims' went in 0 – 25 down. However, not one member of the team gave up. In the second half, Pilgrims’ really took the game to Farleigh, and whereas Farleigh's bigger players were tired, Pilgrims’ players were more nimble and agile and ready to pounce. With some electric running and tremendous support play, Pilgrims’ scored several tries in quite quick succession, putting them 15 – 5 up. Farleigh were taken aback and took a good ten minutes to get back into the game. Reverting to their crash tactics, they ploughed through to score another three tries. Thankfully, Pilgrims’ scored one more, making it 20 – 20. It was difficult to choose a man of the match, but with three tries and an excellent display of leadership, Archie W gets it this week. Anton S, who is playing rugby for the first season in his life, came in a close second. PB

Colts B/C IX vs Farleigh
Won 25 – 15 (Harry C 4, Ethan Y)
The Colts Cs gave an excellent account of themselves against Farleigh on Wednesday, and they can feel very proud of their efforts. We played an adjusted fixture as illness had cut our numbers down significantly. The boys must be commended for the manner in which they were able to adapt to the conditions.

The run of the match was always in Pilgrims’ favour, and our boys put on an excellent display of running rugby. It has been good to note how their confidence has improved over the past few weeks, and they have displayed excellent determination in all their matches.

We look forward to this week’s fixture against Cheam. CXC

Colts Touch IX vs Farleigh
Won 5-0
Colts were one again in fantastic form. Thier efforts in games this term and their familiarity with the rules of touch union have seen them be far superior. A comfortable win, with some excellent running from Alfie H and Albert F. Well done boys. JB

Foals A VIII vs Farleigh
Lost
Foals A played with a great deal of determination throughout the fixture. Despite the scoreline, this group of boys have come on leaps and bounds from the start of the season. Teamwork, structure and technique have all developed. The boys play with much more confidence and conviction. Rio C and Benjy C took their opportunities well to deservedly go over the line. Farleigh were a physically bigger side, and therefore managed to break through some tackles to run their tries in. The team remained engaged and up for the fight. I was very proud of how they approached this fixture. Keep it going. MTG

Foals B VIII vs Farleigh
Lost 55-30 
Foals B went into Wednesday’s fixture at Farleigh with a great deal of improvement, which we were hoping to convert to confidence against a Farleigh team that was not too far from our level. It was great to see so many of the boys running with the ball in hand, making ground and presenting the ball rather than looking for the passes. Some great aggression from William S, Marek and Toma meant that the pressure was put on the opposition, particularly in the second half. Inigo, and particularly Jacob Stiles, led from the front in defence, putting in several outstanding tackles and often putting the pressure onto the opposition. New to the contact game, it was great to see Lucas ease into the different elements of the game and transition well from touch, and the boys should be proud of how they have done. CAL. 

Foals Touch VIII vs Farleigh
Draw
Foals touch had a very impressive first half as they were up 7-3. By the end of the match, the score had evened out to 11-11. All the players were involved in the match and at times showed great rugby awareness. IB

Andrew Short
Director of Sport