Rugby Reports for 2006-7 Season

The Judd School lead the way in sevens
02 April 2007

The Judd School of Tonbridge enjoyed an unprecedented level of success in rugby sevens' competitions this season, with three teams unbeaten in sevens' matches and the other three teams performing above expectation.
Following on from Judd's victories in the U14 and U15 Kent Cups in December, the school's teams retained both the U14 and U15 Kent 7s trophies becoming the first school in the county to have held all four Kent trophies in the same season. Beyond that, the school's sides put in an excellent performance at the Wooden Spoon National Schools' Sevens Tournament at Rosslyn Park.

Judd have been regular visitors to the Nationals and can usually be relied upon to qualify for the knock-out rounds, but the results this season were the best ever for the school. The week started promisingly when the Under 13 side, unbeaten in all forms of rugby - 15s, 12s, 9s and 7s - over the past two years, became the second Judd side in consecutive years to reach the quarter-final stage at Rosslyn Park, defeating RGS High Wycombe 22-0 to qualify for the second day.
The team was many people's favourite to win the tournament. Last year they had won the Dulwich 7s and John Fisher 9s and this season had added tournament wins at The Judd 7s, The St Olave's 7s and most significantly, The Berkhamsted Collegiate 7s. The Berkhamsted tournament with its 48 team field is regarded as the best warm-up tournament for the Nationals and in defeating London Oratory (17-12) and Wimbledon College (twice) to win the tournament Judd laid down a marker for Rosslyn Park.
The second day began with a re-match against London Oratory that Judd won 33-12. In the semi-final they faced the now familiar Wimbledon College and despite a late fight back, Judd's defence held firm to win 19-12. The field of 108 teams from England and Wales had now been whittled down to Judd and Bro Morgannwg from Barry. The Welsh side gifted Judd a try from the kick off and the team led by Rob Eades never lost the lead with Judd's tries coming from Will Grist and Ryan Redman. This was the first time Judd had ever progressed through to the final and the first time in over twenty years that the Nationals had been won by a side from Kent.
On Wednesday the Colts' (Under 16s) tournament took place and Judd won their group before being knocked out in the final round of the day by St Peter's of York. However, the previous Sunday had seen Judd representing Kent Schools in the London Irish All Counties 7s tournament at London Oratory. As winners of last season's Kent 7s, Judd were the sole representatives of the county and put in a tremendous performance under captain Luke Baldwin, reaching the final where they lost to a very strong team from Millfield in Somerset.
Thursday saw the turn of the 1st VII at the Nationals and they performed way beyond their expectations putting in a best ever finish for the Judd 1st VII in the school's history by reaching the semi-finals, where they lost to the eventual winners, Colston's of Bristol. However, Judd were the only side to score tries against Colston's on day two and had defeated a Llanelli Scarlets' academy side 15-14 in the tightest of quarter-finals when Tom Wade and captain Chris Clemmow just did enough to force the Llanelli player to step on the touchline as he was breaking away for what would have been the winning score. In terms of matches won at this year's Nationals, which is the largest sevens' tournament in the world, Judd finished as the most successful side alongside Colston's of Bristol. The U13s, U16s and 1st VII won 16 matches between them and the Girls' VII earned Judd's first ever match win at the Girls' tournament.
National successes aside, the Judd under 13s, under 14s and under 15s sides stayed unbeaten throughout the 7s' season. In addition to the Kent 7s the under 15s won the Dartford 7s and the under 14s won the tournaments at St Olave's and Beths. The year 7s also acquitted themselves well by reaching the semi-finals at the Dulwich 7s in their first outing on the sevens circuit.

Berkhamsted victory sets Judd up for National Schools' 7s



15 March 2007

Judd defeated Wimbledon College twice to record their second victory at the Berkhamsted Collegiate 7s' tournament last Sunday. In so doing, they established their reputation as one of the favourites for the National Schools' 7s at Rosslyn Park on Monday.
The Berkhamsted 7s provides the toughest test in the south prior to Rosslyn Park. The 48 team field included Warwick, Manchester GS, St Benedicts, RGS High Wycombe, St Joseph's Ipswich, Dwr Y Felin and Amman Valley from Wales, and St Joseph du Loquidy from Nantes. To emerge as winners after 7 matches during the day was a tremendous achievement.
The match of the tournament was undoubtedly Judd's quarter-final against London Oratory. It was Oratory that flew out of the blocks from the kick-off. They charged downhill and after three minutes of pressure forced a turnover when Judd's fly-half was overpowered by three tacklers. A try under the posts was duly converted for a 7-0 lead. More pressure followed before Judd managed to string a series of passes together. From a set-piece in Judd's half the ball was sent left and Jerry Cummins gave a dummy and cut through the gap on an angled run. Breaking clear he sprinted up the hill to pull Judd back into the game just before half-time.
The deficit increased within a couple of minutes as Judd pressed. The inside defence appeared to have Oratory hemmed in but their winger ran almost the length of the field to score (12-5).
Judd were now fighting to stay in the competition and to maintain their 100% record in all rugby games over the past two years. The benefits of the slope were now beginning to tell and Judd scored through Ryan Redman (12-10). With the clock ticking down and play just inside the Oratory half the ball was sent left and good handling drew in the tired Oratory players and freed Henry Croft on the left wing. He powered the 30 metres to the line to score in the corner. 30 seconds of overtime were on the clock and Rob Eades slotted the conversion to give Judd a hard fought 17-12 victory.
The remainder of the tournament was straightforward. Despite a soft try being conceded in the semi-final, Judd ran out 26-7 winners against a Reigate team, unbeaten at 15-a-side rugby but one that has now lost twice to Judd in 7s this term. The second semi-final saw Wimbledon overcome an RGS High Wycombe team that the day before had won the Bradford Tens tournament.
The finalists had met in the group stages when the result was Judd 21 Wimbledon 7. Both sides had beaten RGS Guildford and Reading Blue Coat School to deservedly progress to the tournament proper and Wimbledon showed their quality in reaching the final. Judd went behind in the final after a mistake from Redman but Cummins, as he had done in the quarter final, made a searing break through the channel between winger and centre to bring the scores level. Judd's pressure defence then forced turnovers and Grist capitalised. He scored a hat-trick as Wimbledon were unable to deal with the man possessed. He chased down then turned over College possession for one try before good handling from the centres gave him space for another. Wimbledon scored at the death but the Berkhamsted Tournament Winners' plaque went home with Judd.

Group stages:
Judd 36 - 12 RGS Guildford
Tries: Redman; Grist (2); Livett; Vincenzini; Morten Cons: Eades; Livett (2)

Judd 24 - 0 Reading Blue Coat School
Tries: Morten; Redman (2); Hair. Cons: Eades; Redman

Judd 21- 7 Wimbledon College
Grist (2); Croft. Cons: Eades (2); Redman
Second Round: Judd 42-0 Warwick School
Grist (2); Eades; Livett (2); Cummins. Cons: Eades (4); Redman (2)

Quarter Finals: Judd 17 -10 London Oratory
Cummins; Redman; Croft. Cons: Eades

Semi-Finals: Judd 26-7 Reigate
Grist; Croft; Redman; Eades. Cons: Eades (3)
Final: Judd 22 - 12 Wimbledon College
Cummins; Grist (3). Cons: Eades

Squad: Rob Eades (c); Josh Livett; Will Grist; Ryan Redman; Jerry Cummins; Sam Hair; Henry Croft; Craig Morten; Luca Vincenzini; Fred Greehy; Josh Brockman.

Player of the Final (as chosen and awarded by Ben Johnson and Kevin Sorrell of Saracens RFC): Jerry Cummins.

Judd maintain their dominance
in Kent Rugby Cups
Judd Rugby achieves Kent Cups' Grand Slam

12 Dec 2006

The Judd School, Tonbridge completed an exceptional year of rugby on Wednesday 6 December by winning their 4th Kent Schools' rugby trophy of 2006. Already the holders of the Kent U14 and U15 Sevens' titles, Judd's U14s followed the success of the U15s from the previous week by winning the 15-a-side Kent Cup at Gravesend RFC. This is the first time that any school has held all four trophies in the same calendar year.

U15s win back to back cup wins

29 November. Judd's U15 side became the first team from the school to win back to back cup wins with their 32 - 17 victory over Ravens Wood. Last year's U14 Kent Cup Winners ran in six tries in a repeat of last year's final. Will Burke-Nash (2), Joe Todman (2), George Yeomans and Joe Thomas, finished off some excellent play to ease to a comfortable victory. Judd's forwards, inspired by Man of the Match Tom Reeson Price, provided a solid defence that limited the well organised and powerful Ravens Wood side to three scores.
The U15s, captained by Richard Pulsford have lost only one game in the last two seasons, a narrow 5-3 defeat at the hands of Tonbridge School. They went through the entire U14 15-a-side and 7-a-side season unbeaten and are now in the penultimate regional round of the national, Daily Mail Cup, having beaten Skinner's in their previous match.

U14s' success testament to strength of development
6 December. An historic double was recorded at Gravesend RFC when Wes Bryce-Borthwick led Judd's U14s to a tense 13 - 8 victory over BETHS in the U14 Kent Cup final. After over 40 schools entered the competition Judd reached the final with a semi final victory over Kings Canterbury School). Not only did Judd retain the trophy that the school won in 2005 (and become champions of Kent for the 4th time in 5 years) but never before has the school held both the U14 and U15 Kent Cups in the same year.

The final was a fiercely contested match with BETHS relying on their powerful centres and forwards. Judd showed all the characteristics of their school's teams, uniting quick recycling of the ball from the forwards with sharp handling and pace in the backs. Sam Tan opened the scoring when, from a standing start, he sprinted past his opposite number to touch down in the left corner. A penalty from BETHS saw them cut the lead to 2 points before, on the stroke of half-time, Judd's number 8, Will Grist, took a switch from Bryce-Borthwick, to power through the BETHS tacklers to extend the lead to 7 points.
The second half was played out largely between the 22s until an error in Judd's defence allowed BETHS to gather a kick ahead and score their only try. A Bryce-Borthwick penalty edged Judd 5 points ahead again and the last 8 minutes saw Judd dominate. Charlie Nohre had a try disallowed as the referee was unsighted - a similar fate had befallen Alex Maynard in the first half, and Grist was held up over the line.

Next year, Judd will have two Kent Cup titles to defend and will be looking to claim the U14 Kent Cup for the third consecutive year in a row. Judd's current U13s are unbeaten in their time at the school - at both rugby and cricket. They are the current John Fisher 9s' and Dulwich 7s' champions and two of their side were part of the U14 squad in this year's final. They will be looking to claim the Kent Cup with their own team-mates next December.

Judd U15 Squad
R. Pulsford (c); H. Blamey; W. Drinkwater; J. Walsh; S. O'Mahoney; W. Burke-Nash; J. Todman; C. Gregory; J. Thomas; G. Yeomans; J. Mutch; N. Hall; J. Dennis; H. Fearon; J. Harber; M. Johnson; M. Pallot; T. Reeson Price; T. White; G. Smith; T. Crane; M. Tibbs; M. Woods
Coach: Mr D. Joseph

Judd U14 Squad
Squad: Wes Bryce-Borthwick (c); Alex Wellbelove; Mike Foreman; Chris Williams; Elliot Slaughter; Alex Maynard; Charlie Nohre; Ryan Redman; Sam Tan; Alex Jones; Richard Beet; Charlie Drew; Sam Hafford-Robson; Alex Hurst; Chin-ho Mai; Alex Medhurst; Tom Dowding; Will Grist; Tom Carter; Sam Wing; Jack Ilott; Ben Harvey.
Coach: Mr. S. Fraser

U13s remain unbeaten
November 2006

On one of the most ambitious tours undertaken at Judd the U13s maintained their unbeaten record with defeats of Aylesbury GS and Q.E. Barnet.
Judd defeated a well-organised and creative Aylesbury team 43-14, with Will Grist scoring a hat-trick and Rory Mawdsley, the B-team captain, rounding off the game with the try of the match. Forwards and backs combined to send play from the right to the left and Smith and then Cummins offloaded for Mawdsley to run the ball in under the posts. The game was secured for Judd by a strong, driving performance from the forwards. Mark Grimshaw was named man of the match for his efforts at retaining and stealing possession for Judd, and John Austin, Charlie Towers and Luca Vincenzini all made key tackles and carries. Given a solid platform, the backs made good use of the ball and Josh Livett and Ryan Redman exploited gaps to score their tries whilst number 8 Henry Croft also scored.
The match against Q.E. Barnet saw two undefeated sides provide a great spectacle of rugby. Both packs were strong and fiercely competed at breakdowns whilst both sets of backs had man with real pace. In the end it was Judd's better tackling and fitness that enabled them to withstand a determined comeback from the hosts. Judd established a 17-0 lead at half-time with two tries from Grist and a number 8 pick-up from Croft but Q.E. responded after the break. It was the then that Judd showed their real ability. Ryan Redman, Will Grist, John Austin and Henry Croft led by example in defence and backed up by Towers, Craig Morten and the rest of the team, limited Q.E. to just two tries. In between times, Redman scored, neatly stepping inside and under a tackle before Grist completed his hat-trick with the last play of the match to give Judd a 27-14 victory.

Judd 43 - 14 Aylesbury G.S

Tries: Grist (3); Livett; Croft; Redman
Mawdsley
Cons: Redman (2); Eades (2)
Man of the Match: Mark Grimshaw

Judd 27 - 14 Q. E.Barnet

Tries: Grist (3); Croft; Redman
Cons: Redman
Man of the Match: Grist

Awards

Player of the Tour: Ryan Redman
Most improved player: Will Chapman
Tourist award: John Austin

The match was fiercely contested and neither side played to their full potential but this made for an intriguing contest. Judd took the lead after 5 minutes when their winger Sam Tan outpaced his opposite number to score in the left corner. BETHS then seized control and the next 15 minutes were played largely in the Judd half. However, a determined defensive performance, started by Elliot Slaughter who brought down BETHS' centre as he threatened the line, saw that the Bexley side came away with only a penalty on the scorecard.

Playing into the wind in the first half, Judd found it difficult to clear their lines. Wes Bryce-Borthwick and Ryan Redman kicked sensibly and were able to relieve the pressure but a well organised BETHS' team drove forward again and again. Judd's forwards, led by Richard Beet and inspired by Will Grist were called upon to stem the tide and it was the forwards who created the opportunity for Judd to pull into a 7 point half-time lead.

Capitalising on ill discipline, Judd drove into BETHS' half with hooker Charlie Drew and Beet carrying and then presenting the ball well. Judd gained another penalty just outside their opposition's '22 and scrum-half Alex Jones threw a dummy to the forwards and sent out a perfect pass to Bryce-Borthwick. The captain ran across and switched with Judd's number 8 Grist who took an excellent line cutting inside and then outside to power through and score on the stroke of half-time.

The second-half was equally tight and BETHS scored a deserved try with their centre collecting the loose ball after a mix up in the Judd defence. With their lead cut to two points Judd pressed forward with Charlie Nohre and Mike Foreman running powerfully in the backs. Judd's substitutions enabled them to rest their forwards and the physical fitness began to tell as the second half wore on. After their try, BETHS failed to break into Judd's '22 again and the remaining points of the match came from a Bryce-Borthwick penalty. Judd were unfortunate and had a try ruled out in each half for lack of video replay. Nohre crossed the line with 2 minutes to go but the referee was unsighted, as he had been in the first few minutes when Alex Maynard had sprinted past his winger and dived over the line. Judd played with enterprise throughout and held on to claim a victory that is testament to the attitude and improvement of the team.

For the fourth time in the last five years, Judd's name was engraved on the Doug Wardell Trophy for the Kent Schools' U14 Cup.

Judd 13 - 8 BETHS
Tries: Tan; Grist

Pens: Bryce-Borthwick

Squad: Elliot Slaughter; Alex Maynard; Charlie Nohre; Ryan Redman; Sam Tan; Wes Bryce-Borthwick (c); Alex Jones. Richard Beet; Charlie Drew; Sam Hafford-Robson; Alex Hurst; Chin-ho Mai; Alex Medhurst; Tom Dowding; Will Grist. Reserves: Alex Wellbelove; Mike Foreman; Chris Williams; Tom Carter; Sam Wing; Jack Ilott; Ben Harvey.

Coach: Mr. S. Fraser

Judd record historic County Cup win!
5 Dec 2006

For the first time in the school's history a team from The Judd School has won back to back county cup wins. Last year's U14 Kent Cup Winners once again overcame Ravens Wood School to win this year's U15 Kent Cup 32 - 17.
The large crowd at Gravesend RFC were treated to a wonderfully entertaining match, well refereed by Mr T. Cox. Ravens Wood concentrated on a disciplined, forwards dominated game whilst Judd utilised the pace in their back line to stunning effect scoring 6 tries to Ravens Wood's three.
Judd took the lead in the eighth minute and never let their hold slip. A quickly taken penalty by Jack Mutch set up Will Burke-Nash for the opening score and the conversion by George Yeomans was followed by Judd's big centre, Joe Todman collecting a kick from Yeomans after the restart to run-in from the half-way line. Ravens Wood responded with a score near the posts but Judd regained their 12 point lead with a copy of their second try. Yeomans put in a cross-field kick, this time Joe Thomas collected and he offloaded a perfect inside ball for the charging Todman. On the stroke of half-time, Yeomans ran a perfectly executed double dummy switch before leaving the opposition fullback standing, to score in the corner. 22 - 5.
The second-half was more even with Ravens Wood's halfbacks linking well with their forwards. Ravens Wood's centre Lyle Boenke scored his second try to cut the gap to 10 points but Judd edged ahead again with a fortunate try by Joe Thomas. Last year's losing finalists were playing catch-up put their forwards were working tremendously hard and forced their way over Judd's line for a third time with a controlled, driving maul. The pressure was maintained until Wood's 2nd row took a quick tap and was unceremoniously dumped into touch by Judd's hooker, Tom Reeson Price. From the resulting lineout, Reeson Price drove Judd forward. The pack, that had worked hard all evening, recycled the ball and quick hands from Yeomans, Todman and Marcus Tibbs drew the defence in to allow Burke-Nash to sprint past 4 defenders to score with the last play of the match.
That Judd won the cup for only the third time in its 35 year history was the result of a solid team performance. The front row of Tom White and Mike Pallot were excellent in the scrum and at the breakdown whilst the back row of Mike Woods, Tom Crane and Marcus Tibbs offered options for fly-half George Yeomans. Jack Mutch supplied quick ball for his halfback partner and the devastating pace of Todman, Thomas and Burke-Nash meant Judd finished off the hard work of the forwards and the clever play of their halfbacks. Stephen O'Mahoney looked secure at full back and ran the ball back well and Charlie Gregory, Gavin Smith and captain, Richard Pulsford supported play to good effect.
Yeomans was undoubtedly the outstanding player, taking decisions and varying his play with a mixture of passing, kicking and breaking but to be effective he needed a solid platform in front of him and the main reason that Judd had this platform was the brilliant performance of Tom Reeson Price. Playing with controlled aggression, Judd's hooker was a constant thorn in Ravens Wood's side. He drove them back in the tackle, turned over ball at the breakdown and at mauls, struck against the head four times in the scrum and stole lineout ball, providing an inspiration for his team mates. After missing last year's final, Reeson Price put in the most influential performance of the night and was deservedly nominated as man of the match.
This was the fourth year in a row that Judd's U15 side had competed in the final and next Wednesday Judd will be at Gravesend RFC again as their U14 side take on BETHS in the final of the U14 Kent Cup.

Judd 32 - 17 Ravens Wood

Tries: Burke-Nash (2); Todman (2);
Yeomans; Thomas
Cons: Yeomans.

Team: O'Mahoney; Burke-Nash; Todman; Gregory; Thomas; Yeomans; Mutch
Pallot; Reeson Price; White; Pulsford (c); Smith; Crane; Tibbs; Woods
Reserves: Hall; Dennis; Fearon; Harber; Blamey; Drinkwater; Walsh
Coach: Mr D. Joseph

Click here for U15 Kent Cup fixtures
Updated 5 December 2006

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