After some hot weather and a week and a half of solid practice, The Bruen Abbey Upper Sixth team began their season by travelling to The Oratory School in Reading for their annual tournament. The weather was far from ideal with constant rain accompanying our journey down the A34. After facing some heavy traffic, we finally arrived with 10 minutes to spare before our first game!
After a quick warm up the boys played their first game in light rain. Handling the ball would be difficult and naturally we took a bit of time to warm up. Bruern quickly went down 2 tries. However, they rallied brilliantly and started to express themselves in the second half coming very close to scoring on numerous occasions. However, Bruern could not break down the opposition defence and the game remained 2-0 to the opposition.
In the second game against the Beacon school, Bruern showed what they could do when they play to their potential. The boys were brilliant. They defended, tackled, and attacked with skill and determination. Rudy C(S) really grew into a rugby player in this game, capping off a fine performance with a try in the corner. Bruern walked away winners 3-0.
By this time the rain had become really heavy and the boy's played a fresh (and dryish) St Paul's team. The boy's continued their positive play in the second game and for the first half Bruern matched the opposition blow for blow. Unfortunately, St Paul's scored in the dying seconds of the first half. A group of very wet and cold Bruern boys took to the field for the second half and though they tried their best St Paul's scored a further two tries to win 3-0.
A very good first outing for this squad and at times they played some riveting rugby, despite the torrential rain. Well done boys and many thanks to the parents that also braved the elements to watch and support the boys! Roll on the next opposition!
