Wednesday 16th January

Boys' U16 Rugby

On Wednesday 16th January, the U16 boys successfully claimed the inaugural Dorset & Wiltshire Rugby Schools Football Union (D&WRSFU) County cup in an enthralling final against The Gryphon School from Sherborne. The match, originally scheduled for the last week of the Christmas term, was played under lights at Dorchester RFC and despite failing floodlights, Canford held on to take the title with a 14 – 8 victory.

The Gryphon School contained 4 county players and started the game superbly by scoring a try from deep within their own half after just 30 seconds. Canford then gradually played their way back into the game and two well taken penalty goals from Tom Jenvey meant that Canford went into half time with a narrow 6-5 lead.

Recognising the need to take the game to the opposition through the forwards Canford began to dominate territory with James Stephenson and Max Bowers to the fore. A lineout close to the opposition try-line saw a trademark driving maul produce a great try and this stretched the lead to 6 points. The Gryphon responded with more pressure and a successful penalty goal reduced the arrears to just 3 points. The Canford players defended magnificently to hold out their opponents who were continuing to pile on the pressure. A superb forward drive then took Canford deep into The Gryphon’s ‘22’ where another penalty was kicked by Tom Jenvey to stretch the lead to an unassailable 14-8.

The whole squad, along with Mr Hobbs and Mr Shaw, should be congratulated on their success and the current U15’s will need to work hard next season to hold on to the trophy.




Sunday 9th December

Matches v King Edward's, Southampton


A major thank you should go out to the Master in charge of KES and their 1st XV Squad for making the effort to come across to Canford to play the game here once the match had been cancelled in Southampton.  Canford almost played the part of genial hosts too well, trailing 7-8 at half time in what was a closely fought first half. However, playing to the heavy condition, an astute kicking and driving game forced Canford back into the match and the 1st XV finished with a 22-8 victory.

The 2nd XV fell victim to the weather but the U16 A’s team secured a well deserved 22-19 win against KES. The 16B’s played against Clayesmore A’s and went down narrowly 10-22.

The U15 As produced an enthralling spectacle against King Edward’s, battling for the entire match against both their opponents and the weather to keep hold of a 6-5 victory, a result which was met with enormous cheers at the end . The Bs, sadly, were outclassed against Clayesmore, losing 0-70. The 15C’s performed admirably against the Clayesmore 15B’s but lost out 10-19.

Against the 14A’s from KES, Canford continued their run of good form to finish their season with a sound 15-0 victory. The B’s were outgunned against Clayesmore A’s crashing to a 0-54 defeat and the Cs also lost 32-0, sadly failing to build on last week’s win.

Results
1st XV: W 22-8 (KES)
16A: W22-19 (KES)
16B: L10-17 (Clayesmore 16A)
15A: W6-5 (KES)
15B: L0-70 (Clayesmore 15A)
15C: L10-19 (Clayesmore 15B)
14A: W15-0 (KES)
14B: 0-54 (Clayesmore 14A)
14C: 32-0 (Clayesmore 14B)


Rugby v Marlborough

Pride of place in the rugby club this week goes to the U14’s where the A team secured a tremendous victory 7-12 away at Marlborough. Playing to the conditions the forwards dominated the game and this win illustrates just how far the squad has progressed during the term. The B team fell to a 35-7 loss but the C’s impressively won their first match of the season with a fantastic 22-20 victory.

The U15’s maintained their terrific run of form with a narrow 7-5 win, although the score-line does not reflect the territorial domination by Canford. The greater strength in depth of the Wiltshire school saw them secure away wins against the 15 B’s (5-39) and C’s (5-38).

The U16’s turned around a significant loss from their match last year into a battling 12-12 draw. Considering two members of last year’s team have been playing in the 1st XV all season the squad should take great satisfaction from this result and it sets them up for their county cup final this week. The 16B’s were outgunned and went down to a comprehensive defeat but there was a disappointing level of spirit and commitment from the team which must be improved on in the final game.

The 3rd XV achieved another strong victory (10-0) to record a magnificent unbeaten season against opposition 3rd XV’s. The only loss was against Clayesmore 1st XV and their list of scalps also included Ryde 1st XV. The 2nd XV struggled to a 0-29 defeat and the 1st XV performed poorly in their 0-35 loss. A massive improvement is required for the final game of the season next Saturday against King Edward’s Southampton.

1st XV    L0-35
2nd XV    L0-29
3rd XV    W10-0
16A    D12-12
16B    L78-5
15A    W7-5
15B    L5-39
15C    L5-38
14A    W7-12
14B    L7-25
14C    W20-22