Rugby vs MCS at Iffley Road
Head of Rugby, Joe Winpenny writes:
Friday night saw our 1st XV take on Magdalen College School at the home of Oxford University RFC, Iffley Road, for the first time since 2015 – an evening which sawTeddies come away with the spoils, 38 points to 24.
Both schools invested heavily in the event to make it a truly memorable evening that saw well over 1,000 spectators watch two teams at the top of their game fight toe to toe for the chance to take local bragging rights.
Teddies kicked off and the first tackle of the game indicated how furiously the two teams would compete over the course of the game. It was Teddies that started the better of the two, with a 10-minute period of sustained pressure. We saw the strength of the Teddies maul come to the fore however this pressure couldn’t be converted into points. It was, in fact, MCS that broke the deadlock in the twelfth minute of the game with their outside centre cutting through the Teddies defence from a left-hand scrum like a knife through butter to open the scoring. MCS’s inside centre kicked the extra two points to see them take a 7-0 lead. Teddies hit straight back when, following a yellow card for the MCS number 6, Charlie Mason popped the resulting kick into the corner, giving the Teddies pack an opportunity to deploy their driving maul again. As the Teddies pack rumbled towards the try line the MCS loosehead was deemed to have brought the maul down when Teddies were in a try scoring position. The result was a penalty try for Teddies and another yellow card for MCS.
After the resulting MCS kick-off Teddies decided to kick back and MCS ran the ball from deep. Following a couple of close phases MCS made their way into Teddies territory. Lysander Tarrant was deemed to having committed a dangerous tackle by referee Rob Cross and MCS pumped the ball deep into the Teddies 22. They couldn’t capitalise from this excellent field position and Teddies were able to turn the ball over at the lineout and relieve the pressure. Teddies deployed a Buster Relton box kick, taken majestically by Tarrant who offloaded the ball in fine fashion to winger Charlie Ferrett. Ferrett was deemed to have a foot in touch but it was Teddies who were in the ascendancy. The Teddies pack again did their thing at the lineout and forced a mistake from MCS which resulted in a scrum on the 15-metre line, 30 metres out from the MCS line. The resulting scrum for Teddies was solid and provided Mason and his backs an opportunity to launch. Kit Holland blasted through the midfield defence and dotted down under the posts for the first of his two tries. The following conversion was regulation for Charlie Mason, making the score 14-7 to Teddies. From the kick-off Mason took a catch that Ben Stokes would have been proud of however, unfortunately, he was judged to have run into his own man and therefore accidently offside. MCS launched a series of bludgeoning close carriers from the resulting scrum with number 8, Freddie Walton, at the forefront. It was the MCS number 6, moments earlier returning to the field of play, barrelled over from close range for the score and an easy conversion added the extra two points. Scores were again level at 14 a piece in what was proving to be a thrilling match for the spectators.
As was par for the course with this match Teddies hit back almost immediately after forcing a knock on from the kick-off, giving us a good attacking position on the left hand side of the pitch. Again a solid scrum gave Mason and his backline an opportunity to strike and with space in the backfield Mason chipped over the defensive line for his centres to chase and it was Tarrant who won the foot race to dot down. Mason expertly added the extras from out wide and Teddies were 21-14 up. MCS showed us they were not done as we approached half time and it was the impressive Walton who again barged his way over from close range. The conversion was missed which meant the score at half time was 21-19 in Teddies favour.
The second half was a different story to the first and it was Teddies who enjoyed the bulk of possession, territory and momentum. The kicking game of Mason and Relton was a highlight of the half as well as the Teddies defence which only let in one score in the second half. Teddies’ first score of the half came from Holland again, following another solid scrum and some excellent build up play from Relton and Will Allen to draw in the outside defence. It was Holland who took the short ball from Mason to score under the posts, however six or seven of our players could have scored. Mason was again successful with the conversion. The next maul saw loosehead prop Elliot Northam break away to score in the corner. The next score was due to some excellent work by Relton who managed to rip the ball from a MCS ball carrier and have the awareness to put in a beautifully-weighted grubber kick for Jack Wood to gather and again score in the corner. Going into the last minutes the score was 38-19 to Teddies. MCS had the final word with a score at full-time. The final score was 38 – 24.
It was a truly wonderful evening for the whole of the Teddies community – pupils, parents, staff and OSE alike made their way to Iffley Road in their droves. The support and noise throughout the match and the scenes after the final whistle really showed the very best of Teddies but also provide a good blueprint for the future.
