Game Day
After a furious start to the tour today had a relaxing start with lie ins and late breakfasts enjoyed by all. The boys once again made the most of their free time by playing ball games at the hotel before game preparation started in earnest. Lunch was served at mid day and pasta was on the menu, the perfect pre match fuel for today’s fixtures.
All the boys were immaculately dressed in ones ready for the short journey to Plumsteed High School. On arrival the two teams took to different parts of the playing field to get used to their surrounding. Once changed and ready for action the 2nd XV went through their pre match warm up routine before taking their places ready for kick off.
Match Report by Mr Jackson.
Bolton School's first fixture for their much awaited tour to South Africa got off to an impressive start with a 48 – 0 victory over Plumstead High School in Cape Town. The game was contested under bright blue skies at a temperature of 20 degrees with Table Mountain as a beautiful back drop. Bolton showed their dominance in the early stages with a try by prop Alex Reilly. Good work from Bolton on the Plumstead try line and Reilly peeled from the side of the maul to crash over. This was soon added to with 2 tries from Bobby Bolton and 1 from Jack Bentham and 1 from Nicholas Belshaw, all who had impressive games in the backline. It was the forwards dominance that gave the platform for the backs to run at the Plumstead defence. Richard Newman, Chris Gregory and Alistair Harrison all recycled the ball well in the loose. Newman was particularly lethal ripping possession from the Plumstead players and scored a try in the corner and deserved the man of the match award.
Six changes were made at half time with Josh Hughes, Hector Smethurst, Chetan Khatri and Tom Rimmer all stepping up to the mark. Two more tries were added in the second half to give a final score of 48-0.
David Cryer the Captain lead by example and said after the game “This is a very good start for us. Although we were nervous before the 1st match of the tour, I thought the lads performed well. It was a good all round performance”.
Bolton School have a rest day on Wednesday before taking to the field again on Thursday against Kasselsvlei High School in Bellville South Cape Town.
Try Scorers
Josh Hughes 1
Chetan Khatri 1
Bobby Bolton 2
Alex Reilly 1
Adam Greenwood 1
Nicholas Belshaw 1
Richard Newman 1
Christopher Gregory 1
Jack Roberts 1 plus 5 conversion kicks.
Dave Cryer Captain
Being our first match we knew it would be vital for the tour to start with a win. We started well, with Chris Gregory opening up the game with a well hit tackle on the opposition number 4. With early tries from our forwards it was clear that Plumtead were dis-heartened, we took advantage of this and led at half time 50 points to nil. In the second half we slacked, however with a few more tries and no points conceded the final result of 60 – 0 was achieved. Some individual tries from the rare try scorers, Chris Gregory and Josh Hughes made the game extra special. However, possibly the worst celebration from Chris slightly ruined the moment.
1st Team Match Report by Casper Joseph
History was made today in all sorts of ways – Bolton Schools first ever fixture in South Africa and a victory to boot. In beautiful conditions we started the game in a nervous manner but after ten minutes the forwards began to ruck with vigour and off loaded in the tackle to make space for expansive back play giving Will Bate his first of three tries. The back row were superb, Captain Chris Newman, James Radcliff and James Newton were everywhere, clearing out mauls, turning over ball and creating space for Andy Stimpson to play an expansive game.
Plumstead competed vigorously and tackled above their weight but the 1st XV clicked into gear and by half time led by 24-0. All seven substitutes were used with Dan Whelan and Mat Coulston making a physical impact. Plumstead rallied in the second half and scored a well deserved try through excellent side stepping play of Andy Foster. Bolton came back to finish the game with a couple of from James Radcliff and Chris Newman. What was of particular joy was the sight of John Allcock returning returning from a serious injury to play the last 20 minutes and make a real impact. Referee Neville Foster officiated superbly and after the game played tribute to the fixture and the manor in which the game was played.
We enjoyed an excellent meal at the school and the hospitality showed by all the Staff. We left the school and headed off to meet one of our friends mother at the local called the Westlake Arms for a couple of thirst quenchers after a fantastic day. We returned to the hotel with wonderful memories and many new friends and a 42-7 win under our belts.
Captains Report by Chris Newton
Plumstead proved a tough and hard fought encounter. Bolton did well to match the host’s intensity in the opening exchanges. We started to string some impressive passages of play, with the forwards showing great strength in providing plenty of quick ruck ball which allowed the backs to play with pace and penetration. The first try came from Will Bate after a good period of pressure from the Bolton forwards and after shipping the ball through hands and touching down in the far right hand corner. By this point the forwards were starting to enjoy themselves, off loading out of contact very well, with Radcliff Qureshi and Chisnell in particular showing great support play. The Bolton backs did very well to contain a rapid Plumstead and showed solid defence when needed with both wingers Goshwami and Sanders putting in big hits when needed.
The gap between the two teams started to grow with tries from Strang, Radcliff and myself adding to the distance between the two teams. However our hoists showed a great fighting spirit and were rewarded with a try from short range after a series of penalties conceded by Bolton. By the end of the game Will Bate had recorded his hat trick whilst I had scored two.
The final whistle was received with a little relief as the hard encounter and very hot weather had left our players rather fatigued. Overall we were extremely happy at the result and excellent start to our rugby tour.
Try Scores
Will Bate 3 plus 1 Conversion
Chris Newman 2
Matthew Strang 1 plus 1 Conversion
James Radcliff
