Sports Report – 22nd September

Girls Hockey

1^st XI

The 1^st XI unfortunately lost 3 – 0 to a very strong and physical Mount St Marys side at the weekend. Once again, they were hampered with availability of players and were grateful to Jade England and Sam Diaz who stepped up from the 2^nd team to help the team. The work rate shown by all the girls for the entire game was second to none but sadly luck was not on our side and we could not take any of our chances. Player of the Match was Jade England.

2^nd XI

The 2^nd XI lost 2 – 1 midweek against Rugby. Although the girls didn’t play as well as last weekend they still did enough to get something out of the game. The final touch in front of goal was probably what cost them. They did score with the last touch of the game through Maddy Lindop. Player of the Match was Bella Whalley.

The 2^nd XI must like Saturdays as they save their best performances for these days winning 2 – 0. The score line doesn’t do the girls justice, as Mount’s goalkeeper was certainly busy, saving all sorts of shots which were raining in on her goal from everywhere. Player of the Match, Sarah Astill, scored both the goals and there were many excellent performances all over the pitch. The defenders were well marshalled by Abi Santaney and Annabelle Mills, although the whole team helped them keep a clean sheet. Without the excellent goal keeping and some more luck in front of goal the winning margin would have been much greater.  

3^rd XI

On Thursday, the 3^rd XI beat Rugby 3 – 1. The girls got off to a flying start and were working hard and communicating well with each other to move the ball around and found a gap in the Rugby defence, with a quick pass through to Betsy Poll she calmly scored the first goal of the game. Rugby came back fighting and they managed to score, to bring the game back to level at one a piece. However, Ratcliffe found another level of hard work and fought back. Dalila Watson’s used her pace and skill to beat the defender and scored her first goal of the game to bring Ratcliffe back in to the lead, 2 – 1. Rugby kept fighting against the girls and had some good play but Ratcliffe where hungry for more and Dalila Watson scored her second goal of the game to finish the game 3 – 1. Players’ Player went to Dalila Watson and Coaches’ player went to Caitlin Lawrence.

On Saturday, Ratcliffe 3^rd XI went out in rainy conditions to face Oundle. The game was evenly matched throughout with Oundle scoring first, however, the girls came back fighting through a Dalila Watson equalised. Before half-time Oundle managed to score a further two more goals, going in to the break 3 – 1 down. After a team chat the girls were ready to go back on and were in fighting spirits. They worked hard for every tackle and every ball, creating some good chances on goal, unfortunately not able to convert.  Oundle scored a fourth goal in the last minute of the game, leaving the final score 4 – 1. Coaches’ Player was Holly Bown

U15/14B

The Ratcliffe U14/15 B girls’ hockey team put on a fabulous display in this week’s fixture, holding out for a 4 – 3 victory against Stamford, their first victory of the season. The game was won by a late winner from Players’ Player of the Match Annie Bridgwood, who slotted the ball past the keeper into the bottom corner. Fantastic work in goal by Coaches’ Player of the Match Olivia Chapman secured the win, keeping out a late surge in attack by the opposition. Every player on the team performed extremely well, well done girls!

U14A

On Saturday, the U14A’s headed to Mount St Mary’s and put in an excellent team effort. The first half showed big improvements from last week and some excellent defensive play. Unfortunately, the girls got caught on three attacking breaks resulting in a 3 – 0 loss. The girls should be pleased with the effort and performances on the pitch. Players’ Player of the Match went to Amelia Haggis and Coaches’ Player of the Match to Holly Clark-Pratt and Amelia Haggis for hard work and determination throughout the match.

U13A

The U13A team drew 1 – 1 against Mount St Mary’s in a game they dominated. Player of the Match and goal scorer, Georgie Daynes, made some fantastic runs down the wing as well as driving back to defend. Daisy Reddin and Zoe Howling were unlucky not to score as the team created lots of chances. These were thwarted by some excellent saves by Mount’s goalkeeper. Maddie Whalley cut out several Mount attacks and set up the Ratcliffe counter attacks.

U13B

The U13B team displayed great resilience in their 0 – 0 draw with Mount St. Mary’s this weekend. Player’s Player of the Match Katherine McCrindell was brilliant in defence, changing defence into attack with ease. At the other end of the pitch, Coaches’ Player of the Match Sophie Packwood pressed the opposition throughout the entire game, causing the defence problems at all times. Congratulations to the girls for a terrific display!

U12A

The U12A team turned up ready for a rainy game against Mount St Mary’s. In the first half, Ratcliffe dominated play early and managed to convert their chances into three goals from Mollie Hunt, Olivia Monkhouse and Annabell Hull. In the second half, the girls played some excellent hockey and managed to keep feeding the ball into Annabell Hull who was composed in front of goal, hence scoring three more. This made the final score 6 – 0. Player of the Match was Annabell Hull; who scored four goals.

U12B

Following on from their 10 – 0 victory, the U12B’s faced a home game against Mount St Mary’s. Ratcliffe started the fixture strongly going into half-time with a 3 – 0 lead. Ratcliffe’s attacking prowess continued to find holes in the opposition’s defence throughout the second half, scoring a further three goals to finish the game 6 – 0 victors.

Five goals for Isabella Westwood and one goal for Hollie McNeeney. Players’ Player and Coaches’ Player both go to Isabella Westwood who has now scored nine goals in the opening two fixtures of the season.

Rugby

1^st XV

The game started with Ratcliffe under the cosh in the scrums and up front generally and this enabled Bablake to score after seven minutes with their big No 8 going in on the right-hand corner. Ratcliffe fought back well finding themselves in the Bablake 22 but unfortunately turn over ball allowed Bablake to score again. The half-time score was 19 – 0. The second half started in the same way with Ratcliffe having good periods of play but Bablake scored another two tries taking the game away from Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe really put Bablake under pressure in the second half resulting in two Ratcliffe tries, one from Man of the Match Archie Heaney and the other from Alex Bown which were both converted by captain George Morgan Jones but it was too little too late. Final score was 36 – 14 to Bablake.

2^nd XV

The 2^nd XV played out a tough and physical game against Bablake. There were strong performances by the whole team to finish with a very pleasing 26 – 12 win. Tries came from Jamie Gilbertson, Harry Ainscough and two from Harry Culpin. Man of the Match goes to Tom Page for taking charge of the game, particularly when under pressure.

U15

Unfortunately, the U15 team had a very slow start to their game and Bablake were out of sight after 20 minutes. The remainder of the game played out as a 7 all draw but the damage had been done. Harry Ashberry picked up Man of the Match for his excellent turnover work.

U14

Ratcliffe unfortunately lost in another exciting game – with the home team scoring some excellent tries.  Unfortunately, discipline around the breakdown led to a number of penalties, for both teams. The forwards worked well as a unit, and even when the whole front row was changed, Ratcliffe were still strong in the scrum and over the ball.  The team were challenged to get 7 turnovers in the game – the final tally was 5 – with Tyler Black leading by example.  The team played with enthusiasm and direction, however, some missed tackles and sloppy kicking led to two tries from Bablake.  Phelton Tandoh, with two, and Joe Atkinson, with one, were the Ratcliffe try scorers with Cameron Mulvihill scoring two conversions. Tom Leighton, was a persistent threat taking quick penalties, choosing the right running option and defending well at scrum half and he was awarded the Man of the Match. Final score was 19 – 22 to Bablake in a very tight game.

U13

The U13s came up against an excellent and very physical Bablake side who had too much pace and power for the Ratcliffe team. Despite this, Ratcliffe showed very good team spirit and a never give up attitude and they produced some good attacking and defensive phases. There were stand out performances in the forwards from the indomitable Riley and Kai Kirk and the returning Rocco Lanza and Harry Carroll. In the backs, Fin Spencer had an excellent match and George Atkinson and Seb Welch tackled their hearts out. Men of the Match were awarded to Fin Spencer and Rocco Lanza. Final score was 35 – 0 to Bablake.

U12

Bouncing back from a tough loss v Princethorpe last week, the U12s put in a much-improved performance against Bablake. Ratcliffe pressed Bablake hard right from the kick off, pinning Bablake into their own half, and were unlucky to concede first. Ratcliffe pressure paid off, however, and a break away try from Kim O’Sullivan and a short-ranged effort from Fin Martin took Ratcliffe into half time with a one try lead. Both teams exchanged a score each early in the second half, with Ratcliffe still leading by a try going into the last play. Unfortunately, Ratcliffe couldn’t hold on and Bablake tied the game up at the death, 15 all. Much improved performance from last week and Man of the Match was Kim O’Sullivan for his direct running and strong tackling.

Equestrian

The Ratcliffe Equestrian team represent the school in the National Schools Equestrian Association competitions in a range of disciplines. We are currently submitting membership details for this year, and would welcome any new students joining. You must have your own horse or pony, and be able to travel to venues. In the last couple of years, we have had students competing at grass roots showjumping (40-70cm), dressage, showjumping (70-110) and arena eventing, so lots of opportunities across ranges and disciplines. We had a great winter last year, with both teams and individuals winning the county qualifiers and going on to compete at the County Championships, as well as winning our local eventer challenge team sections. We are currently (and hope to finish) 4^th in the Regional Points League for our area. However, far more importantly, we are a friendly and supportive team. We do best when we compete as teams and the emphasis is on taking part and supporting others, not winning. The team has given lots of students their first ever opportunity to compete at championships and new experiences. If you want to join, please contact sarah.freeman@nottingham.ac.uk asap as membership details will be going in soon (you can still join later, but fees go up). Last year’s competitors were Jade and Brooke England, Liv Crawley, Annie Bridgwood, Frankie Turner, Georgie and Fred Daynes, so please encourage any Ratcliffe pupils thinking about joining to ask any of them about the experiences.

Jenna Pole and Matthew Lindley
Sports Ambassadors