Photo names:
Back: F M Horner, A A J Peggie, T C Creasey, O W Bamford, F C Wright, A M Hewitt, N Scarlett
Middle: B E H Pearl, Z J C Johnson, B A McClinton, A W Stonor, P A Hughes, A W Heslop, F R H D C Williams, E A Lee, Z A D Schaeffer
Front: F S Crispin, H E J French, F T G Jobber (vice captain), J J M Walder (captain), C W J Thompson, I R B Pullen, J J Keppel

In late August the senior squad departed for what was to be an excellent week's pre-season tour to the Basque Country in the south of France. The boys had a great week's training, bonded fantastically well as a team, and played two tough fixtures against local opposition. They narrowly lost to Bayonne u18s in front of a 300 strong partisan French crowd on the footsteps of Stade Belacasin and won a thrilling 54-52 victory against St Vincent De Tyrose in curtain raiser ahead of a Dax Championnat Fédéral Nationale fixture. Two unforgettable experiences.

Despite the promising start, the rugby season got underway with back to back losses against two very strong teams in Brighton College and Judd. However, the quality was there, and with a few players returning from injury the team began to grow in confidence and gain some momentum. Starting with a draw against Eton, this was then followed by a resounding victory against Skinners and Radley ahead of the half-term break. This form continued after the break with a convincing win against St Pauls, but was put to the test against a star-studded Harrow team, the boys leaving it all on the field and the score not truly representing how close the game was. The 1st XV bounced back with an emphatic win against Dulwich College but were maybe guilty of a bit of complacency in the return fixture to Radley for the second leg of the double-header, squandering chances and narrowly losing. The last home game of the season was against Wellington College and proved to be one of  the best schoolboy games of the year with the lead changing hands several times, culminating in a nail-biting finish. Unfortunately, Tonbridge missed an opportunity to snatch victory in the final play of the game and will have to wait until next year for redemption (and it's coming!). This proved to be the final fixture of the year due to the frost cancelling fixtures all across the country. The boys can be very proud of their performances in the black and white, and with a heavy contingent of lower sixth gaining valuable 1st XV experience and some excellent players coming through from the u16s, 2023 already looks very promising.

Rhys Crane
Director of Rugby

Results:

Brighton College (A)         Lost : 0 - 29
The Judd School (H)        Lost : 8 - 21
Eton College (A)              Draw : 12 - 12
Skinners' School (A)        Won : 44 - 17
Radley College (H)          Won : 22 - 14
St Paul's School (H)        Won : 22 - 3
Harrow School (A)           Lost : 8 - 24
Dulwich College (H)         Won : 44 - 5
Radley College (A)           Lost : 5 - 13
Wellington College (H)     Lost : 13 - 14
Seaford College (A)         Cancelled