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Hockey

line (from just in front of the line, usually). The warrior-like spirit of the back line was always in evidence, though the group will want to focus on improving the range and reliability of its passing before action resumes. This team will form the nucleus of a very good 1st XI in the coming years. Mr M. T. Herring Squad: T. Abolade, J. Beeby, A. Bhandarkar, M. Caronti, K. Dixit, B. Doran, T. Embleton, M. Frankic Ruppen, J. Ives, G. Killigrew, G. Kyriakou, K. Mangat, L. McCormick, I. Palmer, Y. Parwez, N.T. Patel, A. Poole, L. Rosenbaum, C. Schraut, K. Shah, O. Shaikh, A. White, S. Zaveri. U16B The U16s are a tremendously strong hockey year group. In an attempt to keep everyone engaged and progressing, we rotated like a Premier League team, using the full depth of our squad across the range of opponents. The statistics say a lot about the quality of season: played 7, won 5, drew 1, lost 1. Goals scored: 31; goals conceded: 10. Players appearing for the school: 26. Everyone pulled their weight. The first-class defence kept the sheets clean, with coach’s player of the season Abhishek Patel ably supported by stalwarts Rohan Pankhania and regular man-of-the-match Kai Patel, in front of two excellent goalkeepers in Mateo and Shrey. In front of the back line, players’ player of the season Krish Dixit weaved and dodged, danced and glided (and sometimes passed) alongside Caspar, Iago, Ollie and Ethan, amongst others. And up front we saw goal after goal from Balraj, Ciaran, Oli and Ubayd, some of which were beauties, but were more often than not ‘ugly goals’ from two-feet, much loved by RCG. As the season progressed, we got better and better at passing, at anticipating and scrapping for rebounds. With a couple more fixtures we could have got better still, but the 4-3 nail-biter away at Bedford was a great way to end things, and these lads will all be competing for places in the 2nd XI next year. Bravo! Mr R. C. Garvey

that had been made by the team. Player of the season Viv Verma epitomised this growth, proving to be a defensive stalwart that teams struggled to get past due to his ferocious tackling. So too Theo Hawkes, who cemented himself as the ‘number 1’ goalkeeper through tireless effort to improve his shot-stopping. A special mention must go to the leadership group; Rio Waddington, Toby Whittaker and Aman Rajdev demonstrated positivity, organisation and guidance that influenced the team across the season, be it through their efforts on the field, support of team selection, or general good humour on bus journeys. Mr M. Flower Squad: I. Olsen, D. Ashton, A. Rajdev, T. Whittaker, H. Adebisi, T. Pail, A. Duggal, E. Pryce, B. Perahia, J. Elangovan, R. Khanna, T. Hawkes, V. Verma, J. Bridge, R. Waddington, H. Kalsi, R. Ruparelia, N. Lomas, K. Huang, T. Hancock, A. Hawkins, O. Isherwood, T. Alade, S. Haria, T. Mantzios, K.Patel, A. Kandala, R. Carruthers Hintze, B. Doran. U15B The team had an eventful season this year, starting off slowly but gaining momentum as it progressed. Despite a tough opening fixture against Reed’s School, the players showed resilience and determination, working hard to improve their game and earning some well-deserved victories towards the middle and end of the term. The players showed great commitment and dedication to the sport, putting in countless hours of practice and showing a strong desire to succeed. A special mention goes to Tiviyan Thevarajah, our captain and goalkeeper, who was instrumental in our success. He led by example on the field, consistently performing at a high level and motivating his teammates to do the same. Mr S. J. Reid Squad: T. Thevarajah, T. Hancock, K. Patel, S. Haria, C. Haley, R. Carruthers Hintze, S. Ismail, K. Huang, M. Christie, N. Mehta, O. Isherwood, B. Perahia, N. Lomas, V. Shukla, T. Pail.

Squad: A. Patel, A. Adenigbagbe, B. Singh Gola, B. Shannon, C. Schraut, C. Stevens, C. Davies, E. Antony, I. Palmer, K. Patel, K. Shah, K. Dixit, K. Shah, M. Frankic-Ruppen, O. Thomas, O. Davies, R. Chopra, R. Pankhania, S. Hashemian, S. Sethi, S. Siyyid, S. Zaveri, S. Sanjai, U. Baig, V. Thakar, Y. Shah. U15A With an eleven-game season that saw seven victories and thirty-two goals scored, this was a team defined by ever-improving performance and growth. Tactically the team developed an offensive style of play: with Rio Waddington commanding the defensive line as ‘spare’, the side was able to rapidly transition from defence to attack. The forward line all chipped in with crucial goals, with a special mention to the 9 goals that secured Ishan Olsen the ‘golden stick’ as top scorer, narrowly beating his fellow forward and tap-in specialist, Danny Ashton. Season highlights include a cracking 4 – 3 victory against Eton which started a strong cup run; victory away at Bedford; the 8 – 1 crushing of Felsted; and the 5 – 1 dismantling of Eton in March, which was the coaching team’s star performance. Having edged Eton 4 – 3 at the start of the season, the 5 – 1 victory in March epitomised the growth and improvement

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Taylorian 2023