James’ longtime dominance over College Rugby appeared to be wobbling after last Saturday’s College Xs tournament.
The College XVs champions, in their last match before the event, lost 12-10 to the eventual Xs champions, Derwent. The result was to serve as a fitting premonition of things to come, as neither James nor Alcuin, the two teams who made up last year’s final, were to be seen in this year’s red letter game, with Derwent and Goodricke taking centre stage. Derwent powered their way to a 31-0 victory, and left many wondering whether they would replace James at the top of York’s College Rugby pile.
While James remain unquestionably the most dedicated college side on campus, the rise of teams other than Alcuin who can put up more than a dogged rearguard heralds new territory for the James’ aristocrats, forced aside by a brash plethora of plebeians who cared nothing for pomp or reputations on Saturday afternoon.
For sides like Derwent, Alcuin, Goodricke, and Halifax, there is much to be excited about, but also much work to do. Their squads cannot match James’ for depth, and their ability to match the XVs champions over a long campaign is something far removed from a frenetic day, where anything can happen.
James would eventually lose to Goodricke 14-12 in a very flat performance on the day in question, while their opponents of last year, Alcuin, would not even progress from the group stages, thanks to a horrendous error from Benoit Jamous that had to be seen to be believed.
James had insult heaped upon their injury by losing to Halifax in the playoff for third and fourth place, while Derwent’s dominant win in the final showed that they were undisputedly the best side on 22 Acres that day. Some crumbs of comfort were to be found for Alcuin, who bounced back from their earlier misfortunes to win the plate tournament and finish in fifth place, while Langwith and Vanbrugh placed sixth and seventh.
Bit of a misleading article I think. James dominated the majority of the league, beating Derwent as well as every other team convincingly on the way, but in the final they were beaten, and this, as well as the close and competetive nature of the tens, should be seen as a marker of other teams progression rather than being marginalised as ‘a frenetic day where anything can happen’. I think it’s unfair to the other colleges to call James ‘unquestionably the most dedicated side’, many of the college teams are training frequently, getting big numbers down, and organising tours and exhibition games. We’re definitely not the ‘brash plethora of plebians’ that the writer seems to believe, and articles as visibly one-sided as this do little to help attitudes towards college rugby progress.
This article is absolute garbage.
‘James remain unquestionably the most dedicated college side on campus’
‘[They were] forced aside by a brash plethora of plebeians’
Anyone care to guess which college Roger Baxter belongs to?
Good to see York’s long tradition of impartial sports reporting is holding up well.
Having played in this tournament for James, I find this article a little suspect. We were well beaten by a very well organised Goodricke team who thoroughly deserved their place in the final having already knocked out reigning champions Alcuin. To call them a “brash plethora of plebeians” is quite insulting to the commitment they showed in that tournament. All I can hope for is a big turn out at the Charles De Ladaucette Memorial Game next term which will hopefully see James return to past glories and defeat the strongest Barbarians side York has seen.
Although James were favourites and definitely expected to reach the final at least, it is not necessarily a fowl up or ‘a very flat performance’, as described by yourselves, that they failed to do so. Alternatively, Goodricke, who knocked them out at the semis, played with more determination, spirit and skill to outplay them and seal the victory, as for a flat performance by James, a second half onslaught of attack by them was matched by a rib breaking defence from Goodricke, as James’ former captain has since agreed with.
You should not be so quick to blame a team for a bad performance when indeed a spirited performance from the underdog can force this to happen.
This article is terrible and pointless. It does not belong in the sports section of any newspaper. Indeed, James have long been the best team in college rugby, but calling them the most dedicated team is ridiculous. For Derwent to build a squad that is capable of winning both the league and the 10s tournament, I think, takes a ridiculous amount of dedication and organisation. Likewise, for Goodricke to perform as well as they did, despite an under par performance from James, was a magnificent effort. A team can only beat what is put in front of them. I would suggest that the brash plethora of plebeian reporters at york vision pay more attention to the rugby played than to reputations.
Agreed this is a terrible and one sided article. Poor journalism Roger
this years Rugby 15’s has been close with Alcuin, Goodricke, James and Derwent all having tight games against each other, a performance repeated in the 10’s where margin for error is non existent.
Were James “flat” against Goodricke, or was it careful rucking and crunching tackles by a men in green? Aron Rolph and many other James players can attest to this truth.
Another example of why nouse is better than vision.
I find this article ridiculous. All I am reading here are the pretentious ramblings of a fully uneducated “journalist”. To call James the most dedicated team is an insult to the effort that many of the other teams have put into college rugby over the course of this season. Also to cite James’ victors as a “brash plethora of plebeians” is not only a pompous use of language but is also complete and utter horse shit. James put up a good side, however on the day they were beaten by a very well spirited Goodricke and Halifax. It would be good if you could in future disdain from writing up such a pointless and frankly insulting article until you have managed to remove your head from your own arse!
I find this article ridiculous. All I am reading here are the pretentious ramblings of a fully uneducated “journalist”. To call James the most dedicated team is an insult to the effort that many of the other teams have put into college rugby over the course of this season. Also to cite James’ victors as a “brash plethora of plebeians” is not only a pompous use of language but is also complete and utter horse shit. James put up a good side, however on the day they were beaten by a very well spirited Goodricke and Halifax. It would be good if you could in future disdain from writing up such a pointless and frankly insulting article until you have managed to remove your head from your own arse!
I agree with the Poverlord, all the teams played well, some better than others but on the day ultimately Halifax and Goodricke came up the stronger sides against Jamse. Frankly, however, phrases such as ‘brash plethora of plebeians’ continue the line of pretentiousness escalated through ‘dad, how can I make this sound more intelligent’. I can hear you now, muttering away about how a lame duck such as I knows nothing, who obviously didn’t get a top 10 secondary education at some private institution that saw my parents pissing their money away while I sang ‘Yellow Submarine’ and practiced group-masturbation. Who knows, with a comment like this, I might just make your headlines – I can see it now – ‘VISION COLUMNIST UNPREPARED FOR VICIOUS COMMENT ATTACK!’
@James Carney: Just as the reporter is wrong to tarnish James rather than praise the other teams, surely you shouldn’t use his own expression as a blanket term for all Vision Sports journalists? I’m sure there’s some you’d like. Even I’ve enjoyed a couple of articles in their Sports section, despite leaning more towards Nouse on the whole as a newspaper.
@”Rupert Murdoch”: Not really sure one reporter shows anything. For me Vision’s Sports section is a lot better than Nouse which for me isn’t comprehensive enough.
Well this is utter tripe. Despite not being there and having not even seen the match, the article would appear to be incredibly biased. Fair enough, James may not have played their best but Goodricke must have still put in a great performance to win in the manner they did. This is ‘journalism’ of the lowest order. By that I mean it is total shite. Anyone stupid enough to write an article like this not only has no knowledge of the game of rugby and as a result is probably a homosexual anyway, but does not understand journalism anyway. The need to stop fellating and rimming members of their own college team. That is all.
This article is innacurate, belittling and down right insulting.
James are not the 15s champions having lost to Derwent in the Final of the 15s league championship. How Roger Baxter has decided that James are ‘unquestionably the most dedicated college side on campus’ is an astonishingly patronising statement completely oblivious to the hours of training and effort put in
by the other College teams.
Putting James’ defeat down to ‘a frenetic day, where anything can happen’ is simply poor biased journalism focusing on the shortcomings of James rather than the positives of the other teams, not even mentioning that winning this tournament secured Derwent the Double. Goodricke should be proud of the way they played not put down by some arrogant James reporter.
If you want a balanced well written report of the tournamnt read Helena Kaznowska’s article, not this load of trite.
@Desmond Documents:
Perhaps you should have cited Mark Darcy for his “[singing] ‘Yellow Submarine’ and practising group masturbation” comment, that you ungraciously copied from Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and passed off as your own. How rude!
@Desmond Documents:
Perhaps you should have cited Mark Darcy for his “singing ‘Yellow Submarine’ and practising group masturbation” comment, that you ungraciously copied from Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and passed off as your own. How rude!
@Jeremy Whitmore
Agree with your point re don’t use this piece to represent everyone at Vision, but just wanted to ask how you think Vision’s sports coverage is better than Nouse’s, especially in terms of being comprehensive? I couldn’t disagree with you more. Vision’s news is good, fun and accessible, their sports is – on the whole – very poor.
I would like to praise Derwent for their incredible performance and strength of second place side Goodricke who showed dedication and commitment to finish strongly in the tournament. This article is a discredit to journalism.
Milana why do you let this pile of absolute crap go to press? The rest of your stuff is really good, this Roger Baxter guy is full of shit. Replace him, please.
@Mark Darcy
For me, certainly at least the printed issue is a lot better with regards to Vision. I just find Nouse’s Sports section very dull and quite short (although that’s more the fault of the main editors of Nouse). Some of the criticism of this article is undoubtedly justified though. Pretty piss poor.
Atrocious and unbelievably biased. How unfair not to report on the obvious spirits, hard work and determination of the other college teams and instead choose to report solely on the basis of your own college preference. Not exactly high quality journalism.
Weirdly, I feel a little sorry for James, all this time in the relative limelight of the college press, gives them the unwanted favorites tag and team that everyone wants to beat, this brown nosing has gone on for so long with them, that I think it would be in theirs and every other College’s interests to have a student media which represents each college in the same way.
Must commend the hard work Halifax and Goodricke captains have put in this year in recruiting enough players to play for their team and putting out a really competitive side. Next season should be a cracker.
In terms of being comprehensive, Nouse have 6 reports up from yesterday Vision have 2…
It is true that James have been a great rugby side, but, whatever is happening in the college rugby scene at the moment, this article is absolutely atrocious.
Anyone fancy a game of rugby league later?
Bradford are missing three hookers.
Pickup – 22 acres
What’s wrong with the ‘plebeians’ comment?