Rugby - Term 1 Roundup

The 2024/2025 senior rugby season has started off on a good path. After a long break, the boys kicked off pre-season with a week of training, to set ourselves up for success in Norwich for our first major test of the rugby season. Excited to train with new faces, a good intensity was brought to training, enhancing a positive attitude to what came ahead. Our pre-season week consisted of two rugby training sessions, a crossfit session at NWK Crossfit and a team bonding session at Ninja Warrior UK. This prepared us for the challenges at the Norwich Festival to come.

The Norwich Festival started off very strongly as we played the host’s first team in which we beat Norwich School 5-0, then without rest we went straight into the next match. We faced Bedford, ending in a narrow loss of 5-10. With no rest between games, we played Framlingham, which resulted in a draw. As we entered the final game with a mixed bag of results, we faced Samuel Whitbread which ended in a narrow loss of 0-5. Whilst this took place, the second XV played a full 70 minutes against Norwich School’s second XV where we were victorious with a 25-20 win. Ultimately, concluding a good pre-season warm up.

Moving into our final pre-season match away to Eltham College, the boys were looking to make a big impression ahead of the first block fixture; however, we fell short to a strong Eltham side in a tight 5-15 loss for both first XV and second XV. The senior teams left Eltham with their heads held high, knowing there is room for improvement. Now entering the first block fixture to start our 24/25 season, the teams were excited to play an improved Maidstone outfit. The first XV opposition started fast, securing an early lead. However, with a short pep talk from Mr Robinson about ebbs and flows, we dug deep to pull ourselves ahead. However, Maidstone responded quickly, scoring another try, therefore changing the flow of the game and ultimately leading to Maidstone securing the 15-27 win. With the loss of our first game in our main season resonating, the boys took initiative and decided to do early morning Conditioning before school, as a main take away from Maidstone was that our conditioning needed a bit of work. This put us in a new head space for us to focus on our efforts in our next game, Simon Langton Grammar School.

The hard work paid off with a very successful win against Simon Langton’s first XV winning by 21 points (40-19) with Vice Captain, Harrison Dean, scoring four tries. The second XV played in an intense and close match, unfortunately coming on the wrong side of the result, losing by one try (31-36).

Next came an important game, the 1st round of the National Bowl against St Olave’s 1XV. The boys came prepared both physically and mentally, which enabled us to win 36-19, advancing us further into the National Bowl Competition ready for a home regional final next term. After St Olave’s, we played Ravenswood. The results didn’t go our way for both the first XV, second XV and the U16s; however much can be taken away from the games, as it showed the Senior Squad the style of rugby we are aiming to achieve—an example is replicating the way Ravenswood played their phases of rugby, and how to exploit space with go forward ball and how to take control of a game.

Before our most recent game, the boys helped out with Years 7, 8 and 9 House Rugby, in which they showed great potential for the future of rugby at Gravesend Grammar School. The boys enjoyed refereeing and managing matches, which put us in a positive frame of mind before our game later on in the day.

Finally, bringing us up to date, our most recent block fixture was Duke of York's Military School. The U16s played in a competitive game, resulting in a draw 12-12. The second XV came against a strong Duke of York second XV ultimately ending in a loss; however, the game has highlighted areas of improvement on which we will work in training. The first XV game was a quality game of rugby, both teams matching each other's desire to win. The game was very physical, played at a high intensity and a great game of rugby. Sadly, the game was abandoned in the second half due to a nasty injury sustained by Max Ellis 13JLW—we wish him a speedy recovery.

Whilst the first XV, second XV and the U16 games against Duke of York were being played, the Senior Girls played their first game against Dartford. In an intense match (the first ever game of rugby for many), the girls narrowly lost in a well fought game. This is showing Senior Girls Rugby is continuously growing and improving at Gravesend Grammar School.

A good first start for rugby at Gravesend Grammar School for all teams. All are looking forward to improving further before our next matches and all are ready for what’s ahead.

Matthew Bailey 12MXP, Tom McManus 11Q and Harry Lewis 13BS