Match report by the Junior School’s Mr Cartwright & Mr Mason.
Bright sunshine and blue skies were a welcome sight after the postponement of the U11 AJIS Rugby Festival due to water logged pitches seven days prior.
CHS were grouped with teams from Kings Macclesfield, Merchant Taylors and AKS. Mr Cooke and Mr Cartwright looked concerned when Merchants scored within the first minute of CHS’s opening fixture but they needn’t have worried. This was the wakeup call the squad required, firing the boys into action; scoring seven tries through Davies, Jones, Ashworth and Vaughan.
CHS played even better against Kings, scoring another seven tries and were able to keep them from scoring until the very end of the game when Kings persistence and determination paid off allowing them to score in the corner.
In addition to our group games we managed to fit in an additional fixture against St Marys – a strong opponent with powerful runners – who were able to break the CHS defensive line on two occasions.
The CHS squad showed great resolve and worked had defensively; as a result they were able to seize their opportunities when able to turn the ball over in contact.
In the final game against AKS, CHS had found their rhythm and there was no stopping them. Dan Jones and Archie Vaughan completed a number of choke tackles, forming mauls and turning over possession. This, combined with brilliant passing from Ashworth in midfield, increased the CHS try tally for the day.
Special mentions go to Dan Jones for excellent tackling and pace and Oscar Davies for excellent leadership, truly leading by example.
All the boys involved really enjoyed themselves, played good rugby and have shown great progression since they entered the upper juniors in Year 5. We look forward to watching them develop as rugby players as they enter the Senior School in September.
Team: Oscar Davies (C), Joe Ashworth, Archie Vaughan, Rio McArdle, George Heywood, Johnnie McCrory, Dan Jones, Oscar Lynn, Jack Naylor, Joe Waller.
