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Photos: Oliver Todd
Halifax ran away with the rugby sevens trophy to cap a fine season. Seven colleges were represented in the round-robin tournament, allowing each college to play each other on a late afternoon on 22 Acres.
Play kicked off with a decisive 25-5 victory for the eventual winners Halifax over Chris West’s Vanbrugh. Aggressive defensive work from Halifax left an overwhelmed Vanbrugh side struggling to break the line. Halifax took full advantage and scored five impressive tries including one opportunistic break after a Vanbrugh fumble.
Derwent, the college X and XV champions, arrived with a depleted squad and were blown away by Goodricke in their first game. Although the Blues enjoyed a late rally, it was not enough, as Goodricke achieved a 30-20 victory. The next match was between Alcuin and James; both sides had continued to train post-season, and were looking to play possession rugby. However, Alcuin were buoyed by the presence of UYRUFC winger Will Sharp, who dominated an inconsistent James side. Alcuin scored an impressive six tries, of which two were from Adam Gaskell, who powered through the James defensive line with a strong run, shaking off the challenges to score within seconds of the final whistle.
On pitch B, Halifax controlled a physical game and despite a late try from Philip Charlesworth, Derwent lost 15-5. Meanwhile, James came back from their earlier defeat to claim a 25-5 victory over Vanbrugh thanks to the winning combination of Phil Scott, Alex Muntus and Aaron Rolph, all of whom added their names to the score-sheet. The game that followed was a meeting between Vanbrugh and Derwent. Derwent came alive in the second half, scoring five tries. The most notable effort was from Freddy Harris, after he received a late switch pass from Oliver Wessely, resulting in a final score of 40-15.
Meanwhile, on pitch A, the so-far undefeated Goodricke and Halifax teams faced each other. Halifax’s Jake Baldwin quickly gave his side the lead after an impressive run that skillfully avoided the Goodricke defence minutes into the first half. Halifax continued to dominate both the match and the tournament, rampaging over an outclassed Goodricke side to win 40-0,
Old adversaries James and Derwent went head-to-head on the other pitch. Richard Whittaker’s try could have given Derwent the lead before half-time, but Benji Brummitt responded with a try which brought the score level at 10-10 before the break. The introduction of substitutes, most notably Rolph, was a privilege that Derwent didn’t have. This meant the second half was one-sided, as James scored three tries without reply.
With Alcuin and Halifax the only sides still unbeaten, the game between the two sides was to be crucial in the overall standings. While injury forced an early half-time, the second half was a fine display of high-quality rugby from both teams. Halifax edged ahead of Alcuin with two outstanding tries from Ben Turner to end the game 10-5. Alcuin were instantly back on the pitch, battling against their fatigue and a strong Vanbrugh side to come back from 10-5 down to clinch the game 15-10 with two impressive late tries.
James defeated Goodricke 30-15, setting up a tie with Halifax. The match was a high-scoring affair; Alex Muntus’s dummy and sprint for the length of the pitch cancelled out Halifax’s one-try lead. However, after the break Halifax went ahead, with Rhodes scoring two tries to seal a solid 25-15 victory.
The Halifax hero was understandably ecstatic with his team’s performance, commenting that “we were the underdogs to win from the start, but we pulled out a cracking performance and ended up totally dominating.” Rhodes added that he “couldn’t be more proud to be a member of this sevens squad.”
Organiser Gideon Joel Hugh “felt the day ran smoothly,” adding that “all teams put a massive effort in.”
With the league looking to be in a healthy and competitive state, next season’s College Rugby promises to be well-contested and well-played.