Weekly Update - The Sun is finally shining….
What a great weekend of rugby with both senior mens teams winning in sparkling sunshine, the women’s team may have lost on the field to Wasps but I think won off the field with their post match celebrations and the U16s won the Bucks Plate final. Not bad for a weekends work…
Panthers in Full Flow:
The Panthers kicked off proceedings on Saturday vs a Wasps XV. With sisters Poppy and Bryony Cleall coaching on opposite sides it was always going to be a special occasion. Whist Wasps proved too strong on the day, both sides enjoyed themselves post match and partied into the night. Having both ladies and mens matches on the same day created a really nice vibe and atmosphere in the clubhouse post match, occasions we will try and recreate more often.
2nd XV Remain Top:
The 2nd XV beat Slough on Saturday 40-24, keeping us top of the table by one point but with a game in hand. It was a tough match against Slough’s 1st XV and we were made to work for every point. Congratulations to Alex Springer who got man of the match. Next Saturday we play Marlow away, one of the sides we have dropped points against this season, so quite a key match.
1st XV Beat Teddington Away:
Any away win is a really positive results but boy we had to work for this one, eventually winning 35-46. The effort from the boys was monumental, in particular in defence, as Teddington ran hard lines all day with some powerful runners. Three players in particular who stood out as our primary defensive wall were Benjamin Smythe, Callum Saganoski and skipper Henry Revill. Also two special mentions, firstly to Louis Graham, winning his 50th cap and also at the other end of the scale to current Colt player Ethan Horne, who made his senior debut and looked very much at ease playing half the match at fly-half.
County Finals:
The club hosted three Bucks Plate Finals on Sunday, with our own U16s taking the honours in the final match vs Drifters. The match was played at great pace and we won the match in the first half where we were simply more effective with possession scoring four tries to nil. Drifters though put up a really good fight and the end scoreline flattered us a little. Well done everyone in the U16 squad, coaches and management for a fine victory. Also a special thanks to Matt Jordan who put a huge effort into ensuring the whole day was a success.
Other Junior Results:
The U13s unfortunately lost in their final vs Oxford Quins. A great day out for the boys, they drew a curtain raiser 6 tries each but lost the main event. The whole squad have had a fantastic season and will undoubtedly learn from this experience.
U14s lost in a friendly against Reading RAMs. A good close match but Reading sealed the win in the final quarter.
The U15s lost to Chess Valley 42-22 away, in a tough match against a big physical team but we showed some real promise running in some nice tries.
Next Weekends Matches:
Our 1st XV remain in 2nd place in the league but we play Belsize Park who are breathing down our neck and this is likely to be a cracker of a match. Match kicks off at 3pm.
If anyone fancies the pre-match lunch there are still tickets available. To book please click on the link below:
https://www.sportmember.co.uk/public_ticket_events/1st-xv-vs-belsize-park-pre-match-lunch-28th-march
Our 2s are away at Marlow and on Sunday the Panthers are playing Reading Abbey at home, kick off at 2pm (tbc).
Happy days
Noel