Rugby v Shiplake

A very competitive rivalry has developed between Pangbourne College and Shiplake in recent years and this Saturday proved to be no different. With the 1st XV being on the road for the first time and facing a Shiplake side with a point to prove, after losing heavily to Bloxham. The 1^st XV knew they would be in for a furious contest.

Pangbourne started the stronger and it was only a matter of minutes before an excellent pre planned move led to man of the match Hugo Harvey charging 40 metres up field. This put the Red army on the front foot and came away with a 3-0 lead courtesy of Sam Rossiter.  After absorbing some pressure from the physical Shiplake side and keeping their Fijian at bay with some excellent mid-field tackling from Doug Jefferis, Pangbourne put together the best period of play of the match. Keeping the ball for over ten phases enabled them to run their patterns and stretch the defence. This continued wave of attack was too much for them to handle and Rossiter darted his way over. He duly added the two points and Pangbourne led 10-0 at the break.

Whilst Shiplake did put together some strong phases they never looked like crossing the Pangbourne line. Sam Windsor-Lewis started to stamp his authority pinning back them back with long kicks to the corner, forcing them to run from deep. It took until mid-way through the 2^nd half until Pangbourne finally sealed the game.  After sustained pressure and once again stringing continuous phases together enabled James Baker to force his way over. Rossiter again adding the two points.

The final quarter led to a frustrated Shiplake losing their discipline and Rossiter made them pay slotting another penalty.  The final score of 20-0 was a real credit to the team. They were professional, clinical and kept their discipline throughout showing superb resilience and integrity, making them team of the week.

The 2^nd XV were victorious for the second week running in 36-7 demolition. Men of the match performances came from Harry Farrant and Rob Misson, both deserving their call up to the 1^st XV match for the remaining ten minutes, well done to them. The 3^rd XV won for the first time this season in an intense and thrilling game. Facing three fifteen man lineouts, enough to throw anyone, they squeezed out a 24-22 win.

The U16A’s & B’s enjoyed competitive matches and the score line is a massive improvement on last year. Both these teams are training very hard and it’s only a matter of time before this hard work pays off.

Other notable performances came from:

 Jack Rodgers in the U14C’s and Sasha Efimov in the U14A’s

Div. Music Rehearsal

Here are some pictures from last night's Div. Music Rehearsal.....we need to look like we're enjoying it!

 

Commendations this Term

Hesperus are in 3rd place only 18 Commendations behind Macquarie.

Div	3	4	5	L6	U6	total per division
H	25	20	22	6	9	82
S	35	28	28	2	9	102
I	42	10	19	13	9	93
Q	53	16	29	6	16	120
PJ	58	21	26	2	12	119
ST G	23	18	15	10	6	72
total per year group	236	113	139	39	61	588

Muster 08/10/2013

Hesperus Muster

• It's going to be an exciting week; Div. Music and Rugby against Shiplake College. Let's give 100% - it will be great to celebrate some big wins next week!
• Lots of illness around at the moment - eat well (including vegetables!), drink plenty of water and get some early nights.

Student Praise

• Room Inspections - Gail and Jack were very generous last week - there are too may 10/10 to mention but they all got chocolates.
• Well done Luke Towers for winning the single scull at the Reading Head on Saturday.
• Harry Farrant was MoM for the 2XV
• Paddy Bamforth has been invited to attend a GB rowing camp over half-term
• Josh Orton, Max Bunyan and Matthew Montgomery received Distinctions in HM's Assembly
• Hugo Dwerryhouse and Chris Heathwood performed brilliantly at last week's Singing Recital
• Finn Slevin competed in the Grand Masters shooting competition
• Rory Findlay has a video of his wakeboarding - it is unbelievable!
• Jamie and Tom Perring were the only students on the Hesperus Run this morning!

Commendations

• A really good week - great to see Hesperus back on Commendation form!

Tin Alisic, Chirs Batchelor x3, Seb Bearn, Max Bunyan x3, Ed Chapman, Ed Digby, Hugo Dwerryhouse x2, Jack Earl, Hamish Farrant, Phillip Garnier x2, Jon Grieve, Adam Harris, Ben Hart, Jack James, x3, Jake Lawrance x2, Matthew Montgomery x4, Ollie Newcombe x2, Josh Orton x2, Alex O'Sullivan, Jamie Perring, Nathan Wang

House Council

• It was a very productive meeting last week. Hesperus now has a toaster, jams and spreads will be put out at break time and fruit at 16.00.
• I will look for an Ipod docking system - this will be the House reward when the Commendation tube is full.

We finished Muster with a Div. Song rehearsal.

SDCH 8/10/13

Rugby Report v Mill Hill

Rugby Report – Mill Hill

After a comfortable 55-0 victory over Sir William Borlase School in the 2nd round of the Natwest Cup the 1st XV welcomed a strong Mill Hill side, in which they knew, to be one of the toughest games of the season.

 It was obvious that Mill Hill’s game plan was to be physical and looked to dominate the early exchanges.  Pangbourne managed to absorb this sustained period of pressure and cleared their lines but not however before Jake Leach’s try saving tackle on their monster of a prop! This seemed to awake the red army and after a strong break in mid field from the ever impressive Stuart McLeish they launched their attack on the North London sides try line. Pangbourne started to string phases and patterns together stretching Mill Hill to the full. Only some incredible tackling kept them at bay. Despite Pangbourne taking the edge in the first half the scores ended 0-0.

The Red army started the half the stronger and were the better of the two sides. After Sam Rossiter’s penalty went agonisingly under the cross bar there was a nervous feeling that all this pressure would not lead to any points. However, the next passage would break the deadlock and after a cracking line from full back Dan Nelson, slicing open the defence, he then had the power to dive for the line and get the ball down, holding off three players. An impressive individual effort! Rossiter slotted the conversion and Pangbourne were finally rewarded for their sustained pressure. With twenty minutes left there was plenty more rugby to play. With clever kicks to the corner from James Townsend the Pangbourne side started to really state their authority. The match winning opportunity came as the ball was spun out wide and a lovely in to out line from Doug Jefferis he released the ball drawing the last defender unfortunately the ball was put down and once again Pangbourne just failed to finish it off.

 With minutes left on the clock and Pangbourne failing to clear their lines and play rugby in the opposition’s half, led to a defending 5 metre scrum and Mill Hill’s number 8 scoring. Excellent skills demonstrated by their kicker who calmly slotted the conversion from close enough the touchline to tie the game at 7-7. A frustrating end, as Pangbourne was the stronger of the two sides, but unfortunately was unable to convert all their pressure into points.

The team of the week performance came from the 2nd XV with a 40-14 win. Tries came from Ben Bowman and Harry Farrant with two, Harry Campbell and Ed Nall. Men of the match were Theo Grabiner and Harry Farrant slotting 5 out of 6 conversions as well. The U16B team were also close contenders of team of the week, agonisingly conceding in the dying minutes, drawing the game 12-12. A fantastic achievement and shows how far they have come. Top performances came from Sam ‘the tank’ Turner and Greer Brunting. The U15B side won 24-17 in a physical and competitive match, well done to them.

Next weekend brings us to the biggest games of the season, local derby against Shiplake! We all need to put in a dedicated week of training to ensure the result we deserve.

House Council

The first House Council of the year was held on Friday and the following issues were discussed:

• Academic Ethos

The boys were pleased with this and everyone felt prep time was a productive period for working. We discussed Commendations and it was agreed that the 3 Form need to work hard to receive more as teachers are more likely to award Commendations to the 3 Form.

It was interesting to hear how late some of the day boys work - boarders (particularly 5 & 6 Form) need to recognise that just because prep finishes at 20.30 it doesn't mean they don't finish their work!

• International Students

Tin Alisic (International Student CO) told us that the overseas students were happy and our International students were getting involved with the many activities on offer. Hesperus will hold an international night later in the term.

• Evenings

The 6 Form felt there was a lot on offer and all boarders were happy with evenings. The boys like relaxing and watching films - everyone is tired at the moment. The boys particularly enjoy Friday nights - film and hot dogs.

The 6 Form would like the Gym open on a Monday night

• The Galley

This is an area to improve. The boys would like another toaster and spread for the toast. They also feel fruit and biscuits would be a good addition.

• Gun Room

It was agreed that the Gun Room should have an ipod docking system.

SDCH 05/10/2013

Muster 1/10/2013

Hesperus Muster

Student Praise

• LAMDA certificates awarded to Chris Heathwood, Hamish Owen (Grade 4), Will Owen (Grade 5) and Angus Findlay (Grade 6)
• Well done to Hesperus boys who achieved wins over Bloxham in the 1XV, 15B and 14B
• A great effort by Tour Guides on Saturday's Open Morning

Commendations

• Jamie Perring, Ollie Newcombe, Ollie Norman and Jack Orton

Student of the Week

• Awarded to Jack James for his superb efforts and outstanding presentation of work.

Notices

• Tutor Group Elections will take place to produce those going forward to Year Group Councils and then School Council
• College Sunday this week - make sure uniform is perfect please!
• Div. Music Rehearsals now taking place every day

Muster finished with a Div. Song Rehearsal

SDCH