In their Penultimate game the boys travelled to my old stomping ground, Magdalen College School which nestled on the edge of the city of dreaming spires. As all the boys and the sports masters at Bruern will attest, I hardly ever talk about Magdalen and how I used to go there!
We arrived at the school and were delightfully informed that the boys would be playing on the famous island. Cue a warm smile playing upon my lips on a very cold day!! This was an unusual fixture as it was on a Monday and the boys' preparation was American Football the previous Thursday and the memories of their fine performance against The Dragon last Wednesday.
Conditions were cold and damp and the boys were feeling it, the biggest challenge today would be keeping the hands warm and relaxed. We had four reserves, MCS had a whopping 7! Mr Barrett and I waited with baited breath as the teams lined up for kick off. Max B kicked a high ball deep into the left quarter where the MCS wing picked it up. The MCS wing sauntered down the line with ball in hand, his stride getting quicker and more confident as he realised that no one was stopping him, he cantered down the wing towards the try line, his look of joyful surprise mirroring Mr Barrett and mine look of shock and horror! MCS 1 try up after 45 seconds!
That would be the last time MCS made any foray into our half in the first half. The boys responded superbly to the early concession and refused to let MCS play their rugby. We tackled ferociously with Edward R and Henry D snapping up any loose balls in the ruck. Led superbly by Monty F the Bruern forwards aggressively controlled any breakdowns and scrums. Narayan B and Tom E worked well together and combined in a superb passing movement to score in the 10th minute. This trend continued into the second half and the intensity shown by all the boys was encapsulated by the heart of the team Teddy C-F who was a thorn in the MCS team for the whole game.
A superb all-round effort from the WHOLE team. A deserved win to set up a cracking last game next week against Abingdon Prep. You won't want to miss it!
Mr Vadivale
