Terrington Hall School

Saturday 17th March, 2012.

A very pleasant journey saw us arrive at that most picturesque of settings: a Sedbergh untroubled by rain, unusual but rather welcoming! The pitch was a little heavy underfoot which didn't really suit our stylish modus operandi, but we set to the task and kicked off. We were the more skilful outfit, but a combination of woefully inept finishing and a resilient Sedbergh keeper ensured that the scoreline was untroubled by half time. Joe Browne was bossing midfield, while Alex Chalton and Charlie Blackburn were causing the home defence problems.

The second half saw Tom Jones come on for Alex and he finally broke the deadlock with a fantastic volley from the edge of the area. This was soon followed by a well worked team goal and we were cruising at 2-0. Sedbergh finally scored, as George Breese was beaten at the far post and a nervous few minutes ensued before the final whistle went.

We watched the A's edge a narrow win (again, thanks to Tom) before a hearty feast and a pint of Lancaster Amber Ale for the elated coach. Many thanks to Sedbergh for being such excellent hosts, Mr Langley for his company and excellent driving (!), the persevering parents and all the chaps who made a long day a most enjoyable experience.

Terrington Hall 2 - Sedbergh 1

Nick Witteveen.

We have been extremely busy of late, both hosting and entering several tournaments around the North; here is a summary of what has been an enjoyable but tiring few weeks.

MALSIS: The weather was foul: cold, wet and very muddy. It is fair to say that not all the squad were too pleased to be there and we suffered a heavy defeat against St Martin's Ampleforth in our first match. Some pride was restored with strong performances against the hosts and Ghyll Royd, both of whom were dispatched with minimum trouble. We than came  into a tough semi final against Magdalene House from Cambridge, who played a very physical, forwards-based game. We never really won much ball, as a result we spent the game defending and our line was finally breached. We showed glimpses of potential, but we lacked a real "flyer" to finish off any breaks, losing 0-21.

Man of the Tournament: Max Twiddle.

DURHAM: A perfect day for rugby, spoilt somewhat by being placed in a very tricky group! We narrowly lost to St Martin's Ampleforth (again), Barnard Castle and Dame Allen's, before  beating Bow "B" and taking a bit of a hammering from a very strong Cundall Manor side. Despite the losses, we played some excellent rugby, again just lacking some pace to finish off the moves. There were some positive signs however and at least we were starting to try and play proper sevens, which is vastly different to the 12-a-side format.

Man of the Tournament: Gabriel McGill.

ST MARTIN'S AMPLEFORTH: Another very pleasant day saw us on the short trip over the hills. Yet again, we played the hosts and were four tries down at half time-most disconcerting. The second half was a complete reversal; we started to do the basics right, recycling quick ball and supporting well, resulting in two fantastic team tries. Next up were Moorlands, who we defeated fairly comfortably, and Mowden "B", again a reasonably easy win. This put is in the Cup semi final against Cundall Manor; we came second... As a result of this, we were in the Plate final against Mowden "A" and it was a superb game. Either team could have won and the final score was 12-12, meaning "sudden death". We came close, very close, but Mowden made a break and with excellent handling and support, they scored a well worked try and took the trophy.

Man of the Tournament: Jack Clark.

WESTVILLE HOUSE: Our final trip took us to Ilkley RUFC and it was a lovely day, in all respects. Most of the teams are not on our circuit, so it was hard to gauge the opposition's strength. First up was Highfield Prep, a big side but not one that had grasped all the basics of sevens; we ran out 35-0 winners. Next were Sedbergh, who always try to play attractive, flowing rugby. On this occasion however, we denied them any space at all, and when the inevitable mistakes were made, we pounced, ending up with a 56-0 victory-quite a feat in 12 minutes! Our last group game was against Belmont Grosvenor and we duly demolished them too, 49-0. This took is into the semi final against Ghyll Royd and although we didn't quite play as well as previously, we still did enough to win 19-0 and set up a final against Ashville College. The opposition had just won their semi 42-0, so were feeling rather confident, but we knew that if we played properly and kept the ball away from their strong pack, we were in with a shout. We played brilliantly: we retained the ball, stretching their defence, we communicated well and we knocked them backwards whenever they had possession. All the hard work of recent months paid off and we blew the hapless opponents off the pitch, winning 35-0 and claiming the impressive silverware in the process. Played 5, won 5, Points for 194, Points against 0. Good stuff!

Men of the Tournament: Everyone, but George Black finally reminded us why I keep picking him!

The following lads have represented the school superbly: Jack Clark, Gabriel McGill, Max Twiddle, George Breese, Albert Pollard, Joe Osborne, Tom Jones, Max Wainwright, George Black, Charlie Blackburn and Alex Chalton.

Many thanks to all the parents for their unwavering support, the gorgeous girls in the kitchen for the super pack ups, all the other schools hosting tournaments for inviting us, Mr Langley for all his help and the chaps for their hard work and splendid spirit, not to mention their superb behaviour both on (and off) the pitch.

Nick Witteveen.

Wednesday 1st February, 2012.

I always enjoy travelling up to Mowden; yes, it is a long trip, but it's a lovely school, the pupils are fantastic hosts and the staff are equally welcoming, even if their choice of football teams is rather agricultural. Luckily, the Tractor Boys had enjoyed a 5 - 1 win on Tuesday, so Mr Weldon was on better form than usual...

We, however, were not! All season we have tried to play proper football: control, passing, communicating, tackling and even the odd goal. Today everything that we have learnt was immediately forgotten. The control was dire, the passing non existent, the tackling pathetic, but the odd goal was stunning - thank you Charlie and Alex. Mowden were a class act: their pace and skill left us bewildered and their finishing was top drawer too. It wasn't a complete disaster - the sausages and chips were excellent.

Thanks (as ever) to our hosts, both pupils and all the staff. Apologies to Mrs Kobylka for having to endure 40 minutes of sporting torture and to the opposition for having to put up with such an abject performance from ourselves.

Mowden Hall 8 - 1 Terrington Hall. 

Nick Witteveen.

Nick Witteveen.

Saturday 28th January, 2012.

A glorious day greeted us as we welcomed our opposition from down the road. We knew this was going to be tricky, but our play of late has much improved, as we have concentrated on control and communication. From the kick off we looked to pas the ball around and play into space, but we quickly dicovered that Easingwold were a very handy and pacy bunch. George Breese was soon in action and he coped well, but it was a question of when not if they would score. At half time we were 4 - 0 down, but had actually displayed some skill in adversity.

After the oranges, we continued to try and press the opposition and Charlie Blackburn's goal was well taken and well deserved. The large crowd from both camps was hugely appreciative of the efforts of all the boys and I was delighted with the attitude of our lads. The Easingwold chaps were also a most pleasant group and it was a real pleasure to host them in match tea.

Terrington Hall 1 - 6 Easingwold Town F.C.

Nick Witteveen.

Wednesday 25th January, 2012.

Well it had to happen some time - our magnificent winning streak (2 matches) finally came to an end against a very talented bunch from Durham. It was clear during the warm up that it was going to be tricky: the opposition could pass and shoot and run, often at the same time, so I was most relieved and a little surprised when we opened the scoring after five minutes, Captain Tom Jones coolly slotting home after some good build up play. Bow pressed for the equaliser, but a potent combination of Joe Osborne's kamikaze defence and George Breese's lightning (honest) reflexes repelled wave after wave of Bow attacks. The inevitable finally came to pass and George was beaten to make the half time score 1 - 1.

This pattern was repeated for much of the second half, although we were rather profligate in front of goal. We soon went a goal down, so we threw everything into attack and were in the ascendancy as the final whistle drew near, only to see Bow break out from under seige and hammer a final goal past the hapless George. It was a most entertaining spectacle, witnessed by many parents from both teams alike and the spirit of the game was superb - all the lads were committed but sportsmanlike, whether in victory or defeat. The better team won, but it was as close as the score line suggests.

Thanks to Mr James Wainwright (the calm referee), Mr Andrew Hawke (the stout Bow coach), all the parents and chaps and (finally) the ever cheerful gals in the kitchen.

Terrington Hall 1 - 3 Bow Durham

Nick Witteveen.

Saturday 21st January, 2012.

A bright day and an enthusiastic crowd saw us welcome a combined Bramcote and Woodleigh team, but rather than have our substitutes hanging around, we opted to play 7-a-side instead, so we really played against a combined Bramcote, Woodleigh and Terrington team! The boys have made super progress with their basic skills: passing, controlling and moving into space and it was evident from the off that we were a little more skilful. However, Max in the opposition's goal was a man possessed and we did not break the impasse until just before half time. The second half saw Andrew Downes and Tom Matthews back in yellow shirts, while Tom Combe and Harry Welch donned blue to help out the friendly foe.

More of the same followed in the next period; Tom Jones, Albert Pollard and Charlie Blackburn caused all sorts of problems, then big Joe Browne came on to terrify the opposition with his size, pace and (occasional) touch of skill. The vastly improved George Breese also had his moment in the sun, walloping the ball all over the pitch, sometimes in the right direction too! Alex Kobylka is also much more assured and he rarely threatened his own goal this time - thankfully...

Many thanks to all the persevering parents, my lads for bolstering the opposition with nary any complaint and the girls in the kitchen, who managed to cater for over one hundred starving sporting stars.

Terrington Hall 7 - 0 Woodleigh and Bramcote.

Nick Witteveen.

Thursday 20th January, 2012.

Well, what a difference a day makes: against Cundall, Charlie Blackburn couldn't hit a bull's backside with a banjo; today he scored six - the lad was on fire! Of course, this wouldn't have been possible without the other chaps playing their part and it was a very gratifying team performance, with the whole squad getting the chance to display their "skills". Joe Browne led the boys well and showed good control, although he does tend to hold on to the ball a little too long, while Tom Jones put some lovely passes through to Charlie. Albert Pollard is very skilful, although he must try not to fall over when shooting on goal, while George Breese and Harry Welch in defence are committed in the tackle - George usually rushes in, misses and collapses, exhausted, whereas Harry just karate kicks his way through the terrified opposition. Tom Matthews and Andrew Downes both came on and performed very well then George Black joined us for the second half, scoring two absolute screamers to settle the match. Durham were no slouches either and they certainly contributed to this most entertaining spectacle of end to end football.

Thanks as ever to the parents for their vociferous support, (even those that had not checked the kick off time and thus arrived late!) and to the girls in the kitchen for another hearty match tea. Saturday sees us hosting Woodleigh and Bramcote-bring it on.

Terrington Hall 9 - 6 Durham Choristers.

Nick Witteveen.

Wednesday 18th January, 2012.

Having lost the last match to the weather, we began our season with a short jaunt over to Cundall. The conditions were perfect and we started very brightly, passing the ball well and moving into space. Our opposition, however, were ominously talented: quick, skilful and very elusive. It was not a huge surprise when the deadlock was broken; it was surprising that Alex broke it, sliding home a fine shot past a startled Harry. A few more goals followed for Cundall, although if our finishing had been anything other than woeful, we would have scored three or four too. The interplay between Joe, Albert, Tom and Charlie was excellent and most encouraging, yet the shooting remained dire. In the second half Albert scored a beauty, as did Joe, but Cundall piled on further pressure forcing Andrew to smash another own goal past a bewildered George before the final whistle (finally) blew!

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the skill levels displayed by the chaps, as well as the fact that their heads never dropped. Many thanks to Mr Liley for his superb handling of the match, the parents for their excellent encouragement and the Cundall kitchen staff for rather tasty sausages and chips.

Cundall Manor 9 - 2 Terrington Hall.

Nick Witteveen.

Saturday 26th November, 2012.

So we approached the end of the season with a short jaunt over to Gilling to play our old friends at The Castle. It is a hotly contested fixture, as proved by the size of the crowd - I reckon that every single parent from both teams was in attendance and the banter was flowing nicely as we kicked off. The first half belonged to the opposition: they outrucked us and they had plenty of pace and skill in the backs too. A couple of missed tackles resulted in a half time deficit of 3 tries, with our lads unable to sustain pressure and cross their line. After the break, S.M.A. scored again, but we finally woke up, thanks to an astute tactical change, placing Joe Browne at second row for line outs. We scored immediately and suddenly we were back in the game following a brace from Gabriel McGill. At 4 tries to 3 down, we threw everything at the opposition, but left our defence a little stretched as a result; St Martin's broke out twice and their speedy centre punished us. It was a fantastic game and perhaps the better side won, but there was no lack of commitment from either team,  nor from either group of parents for that matter. I would like to take this opportunity to quash a spurious rumour that has been doing the rounds, namely that the aforementioned astute tactical change was in fact prompted by a text from Mr James Browne. Not true. At all.

Thanks to the superb parents for their support, our hosts who looked after us as brilliantly as ever, Adrian the excellent referee and Mr Peckitt for the beers afterwards.

Terrington Hall 19 - 38 St Martin's, Ampleforth.

Nick Witteveen.

Tuesday 22nd November, 2011.

This is always a tricky fixture; obviously, St Olave's have many more boys to choose from and they are always larger in size than ourselves, as they can pick their entire team from Year 6. Nevertheless, my chaps seemed "up for it" and it really was a super performance, possibly the best of the entire season. The opposition scored in the first minute, a missed tackle and their rapid centre needed no further invitation; like a German vegetarian I feared the wurst, but these fears were unfounded -  we were awesome! Our tackling was ferocious and the forwards kept the ball in hand superbly, recycling quickly and making good ground. The backs were also causing St Olave's problems and had it not been for their own superb defence, we would have scored several tries. We finally did break through with Jack Clark crashing over and we trailed 12-7 with five minutes to go when understandably we started to tire. 3 quick St Olave's tries followed to give a rather unflattering final scoreline. I was delighted that Mr Glen was able to see such a fantastic display and I was immensely proud of every single player. They really were a massive credit to the school.

Thanks are owed to so many parents (both Terrington and St Olave's) for their great support, to the splendid referee and to our hosts, who looked after us in their usual excellent manner.

Terrington Hall 7 - 33 St Olave's.

Nick Witteveen.