Rugby – Regrettably, the 1st XV’s undefeated season and National Cup ambitions came to an end this week with a 13-21 defeat against last year’s champions Harrow. Billed as a physical encounter, this match did not disappoint. The tackle count on both sides was phenomenal. Credit must go to the Epsom pack, who for much of the game managed to nullify their much larger Harrow counterparts with some great set piece play and counter-maul work. That said, as the game wore on and bodies became tired, technique waned, and the Harrow pack applied increasing pressure in the final quarter. Sam Thirlwall did the majority of the leg work for the only Epsom try, breaking the Harrow line and chipping over their back three before leaving Arthur Garfield with the simple snipe to score. This was a contest Epsom could have won, but too many errors in key positions meant that momentum was rarely achieved and the team will look back at key moments that ultimately decided the outcome of this game.
Football – The 1st XI suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss at Wellington College in defence of the ISFA Trophy they won last season. Despite dominating possession and pressurising the home defence, the team could not find a way to get through. A testing fixture against Bradfield College awaits on Saturday.
Hockey – The Girls’ 1st XI returned from half term with a tough match away to Sevenoaks in the EH Tier 1 league. After a fast start, the girls found themselves 1-2 down at half time. Fortunately, they found sparkling form in the final stages of the match to run out convincing 7-2 winners, with Amie Hunt and Phoebe Howe scoring twice.
Netball – The U14 girls performed well on Monday to win their 2nd Round plate match against St Teresa’s 36-25. Recovering from a slow start, the team came together and quickly turned it around to progress to the next round.
Cross Country – Thirty-five pupils competed in the District Cross Country Race held at Nonsuch Park. The weather stayed dry, however, the ground underfoot was slippery and very muddy, perfect cross country conditions. All pupils ran hard and demonstrated high levels of determination and grit. There were some amazing individual performances, with many pupils coming first in their race category.
Individual highlights: Yr 7 girls winner – Sienna Lange; Yr 7 boys winner – Nicholas Cohalan; U15 girls winner – Isabel Carter; U15 boys winner – George Bone
Badminton – The newly formed U14 Badminton squad fought hard in a triangular National Cup fixture against Reed’s and Trinity School. Whilst Reed’s proved too good, the match against Trinity was exceptionally close, with the result going down to the final round, which sadly Epsom lost out by the closest of margins. Nevertheless, a really encouraging start for the boys.
This weekend – This weekend sees block hockey matches against Sevenoaks, with the U16s playing on Friday night, and Alleyn’s for the Lower School.
The boys’ rugby teams face Cranleigh at the senior level, with triangulars for the Lower School teams against St George’s and Caterham.
