Pangbourne College’s 1st XV produced its
performance of the season so far to triumph in the Area Cup Final, cantering to
a 45-10 victory over LVS Ascot.
Playing in bitter cold under floodlights at Maidenhead RFC,
Nick Riley took Pangbourne into an early lead with two well-taken penalties,
before Ascot responded with a try to bring the scores within a point.
Pangbourne was the more dangerous side in a back-and-forth
first half and soon extended its lead, with tries coming from Edward Farish and
Dan Simmons. Despite dominating, a momentary lapse on the stroke of half time
led to an Ascot try and the teams went in 20-10 at the interval.
Shortly after the break, Simmons, who put in an excellent
all-round performance throughout, produced the moment of the game. Picking up
an Ascot kick just inside his own half, the number nine broke several tackles
in a mazy run, exchanged passes with a supporting teammate, before driving over
the line.
This set the tone for a comprehensive second-half display
which saw tries from Ben Knight and two from substitute, Hamish Owen, propel
Pangbourne to a 45-10 victory.
In what has been a difficult season for the 1st
XV, this was a tremendous performance to provide the side with a confidence
boosting trophy.
Following the match, coach of the team, Mr Roger Cheeseman,
said: “Obviously the boys have had a tough season. There wasn’t a lot of good
fortune at the start but slowly they’ve built a winning mentality. We’ve won
the last couple of games and got ourselves into this final with a lot of hard
work from the guys in the upper sixth particularly, although there are some
very good players in the lower sixth. This is a very worthwhile victory for
them and it’s great for the school.”
Selected 1st XV vs LVS Ascot (Licensed
Victuallers’):
1.
Luca van der Wyck
2.
Christian Tivey
3.
Andrew Bissett
4.
Nick White
5.
Michael Gipson
6.
Seth Grieve (Vice-Captain)
7.
Edward Farish
8.
Ben Knight
9.
Dan Simmons
10.
Jack James
11.
J.J. Sugden
12.
Sasha Efimov (Captain)
13.
Nick Riley
14.
Joel Fletcher
15.
Fred Hobby
16.
Arsian Dzhumamuradov
17.
Will Hebbes
18.
Jude Beebee
19.
Hamish Owen
20.
Kyle Swire-Thompson
21.
Max Sharpe-Matthews
22.
Oli Rayner
Coaches: Mr R Cheeseman & Mr C Sutton
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