Taylorian

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TAYLORIAN 2024 RUGBY

1st XV

Fraser Cawthorne provided energy and a physical edge that helped the team hugely, whilst Harry Williamson and Alex Leitch made a smooth transition from 2nd XV stalwarts in the Lower Sixth to regular and vital members of the 1st XV this year. Tom Ford and Ben Lakin also grasped the opportunity for 1st XV rugby, contributing to some of the most influential moments in big games. The Upper Sixth players have laid a foundation that the squad can build on next year, which is an important legacy that they should be proud of. Mr E. J. Conway Squad: A. Adenigbagbe, M. Ault, J. Beeby, E. Bennett, O. Browne, F. Cawthorne, C. Davies, O. Davies, T. Embleton, T. Ford, J. Hely-Hammond, L. Hinton, G. Kyriakou, A. Kundapur Pereira, B. Lakin, A. Leitch, R. Mangat, I. Nabarro, J. Nnatu, C. Omert, D. Opoku, U. Otibo, V. Paunovic, A. Poole, M. Syed, R. Waddington, K. Wagjiani, H. Williamson.

P: 13 / W: 7 / D:0 / L: 6 / F-A: 221-217 / PD: 4 The MTS 1st XV made improvements in 2023 but had a mixed season in terms of results. The highlights were close wins against St George’s Harpenden and Bishop’s Stortford, but the most notable result was the epic recovery from 14-0 down to beat Reading Blue Coat at Friday Night Lights. Having lost in 2021 and 2022 on the last play, MTS were determined to avoid a similar fate but found themselves trailing early on. It was an outstanding comeback in the second half that added to the folklore of the game; Ollie Brown’s try from a set piece strike move sent MTS to victory and the squad and crowd into raptures. The season saw a huge step forward off the pitch. The Upper Sixth established an excellent squad culture that was ambitious but also welcoming and supportive. This enabled a smooth transition into the squad for U16s like Josh Nnatu and Rio Waddington – all credit to the leadership group of Ed Bennett, Rohan Mangat, Luka Hinton and James Hely-Hammond.