On a bright, autumn afternoon, our 1st XV recorded their first victory of the rugby season against Salisbury Cathedral School.
Our squad started positively with plenty of energy and enthusiasm and, despite losing ball in the lineouts, held their own in the scrums, allowing the backs to attack the opposition. Showing greater penetration and vision, they were duly rewarded when Felix Ambrose broke down the blindside to score the first try, subsequently converted by Orlando Kary.
An improved second half performance saw a further three tries. Lubinda Lishomwa dived over from close range, after a good break from Chris Haining. Harry Vokins found space on the right and raced into the corner from thirty metres and the final try was a mixture of skill and opportunism: Kary kicking the ball down the middle, Javier Arevalo following up and expertly popping it up to Matthew Robinson who ran unopposed before another Kary conversion.
There was still time to spin the ball around and look for more scores but it wasSalisbury who scored just before the final whistle.
This was a much improved performance and showed that the team can play to a good standard. There is still work to be done on rucking and lineouts but a real positive from this game is that the backline is starting to show touches of real class.