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Moving
into the next decade, we see the 1st XV continuing to have successful
seasons and make good progress, after a relatively modest year in 1960/61.
In fact seasons 1961/62 saw the team win 11 of its 13 games with
the 2
defeats by club sides - again narrow defeats and the following year saw
a similar pattern of 10 wins in 12 games with 2 defeats by club
sides.
Colours were awarded in 1960/61 to Fletcher, Thomas, Head, Gardner and
Smith. Season 1961/62 saw colours going to Blanchard,
Meredith,
Rashid, Bentley,
Bicknell, Lloyd, Titshall, Higgens, Mathews and Joe BRIGGS (who still
has his tie and scarf to prove it! No mention is made of colours
being awarded in 1962/63.
The
next two seasons were again relatively
modest
by Woolverstone 1st XV standards yet some of the younger XV's were enjoying
some excellent results - indeed of some 47 or so games played between
the U12 XV
and
the Colts, in season 1964/65 there was only 1 defeat. This year saw the
most impressive results, thus far, in the school's history for any
team
- the U14 XV led by the extremely talented Jim Cottrell (another player
I had the great honour of playing with for the Old Boys) was the
first
team to exceed 500 points in a season and in fact reached 600 as follows:
| OPPONENTS |
VENUE |
RESULT |
SCORE |
| Ipswich |
H |
WON |
60-0 |
| R.H.S. Holbrook |
A |
WON |
30-0 |
| Woodbridge |
H |
WON |
60-0 |
| St. Joseph's |
A |
WON |
9-5 |
| Northgate GS |
A |
WON |
29-9 |
| Felixstowe CMS |
A |
WON |
49-0 |
| Wymondham |
H |
WON |
80-0 |
| Culford |
H |
WON |
20-0 |
| Felixstowe GS |
H |
WON |
69-0 |
| Westbourne |
A |
WON |
46-3 |
| Copleston |
H |
WON |
49-0 |
| R.H.S. Holbrook |
H |
WON |
34-0 |
| Ipswich |
A |
WON |
36-0 |
| R.H.S. Holbrook |
H |
WON |
29-0 |
The U14 2nd XV even played a match against Ipswich School and won 28-0.
It should be recorded that the chief try scorer (when a try was 3 points
- remember?) was Laughton (P?) who scored a remarkable 38!! Was this the
most successful side?
1965/66:
The next season 1965/66 saw probably the best season Woolverstone Hall
ever had - of 69 games played amongst all the teams from 1st XV to U12
XV there were only 2 defeats in all, one suffered by the 3rd XV against
a club side and a narrow defeat inflicted on the U13 XV by St Joseph's.
Another splendid achievement.
The
mid-sixties also produced players of real quality and, of course, by this
time I had arrived at the school, as mentioned earlier, and was able to
see the quality for myself Names which feature prominently are Michael
Lockett, John Martin, Eric Dury, Nusrat Nazeer, Geoff Hindle, Bill Sanderson,
D Harris, Hotz de Baar, Malcolm Godfrey and Jim Cottrell (who had now
made his way to the 1st XV) to name but a few. Between 1962/63 and 1965/66
no mention is made of anyone receiving their colours but I know most,
if not all of the senior players received them during that period, i.e.
Lockett, Martin, Sanderson, Dury, Nazeer and Hotz de Baar. It seems a
shame these tributes are not mentioned in Janus for that period.
A
further player, Phil Davies, deserves a special mention. He was a real
powerhouse and his very strong running saved the day on a few occasions.
I believe I am right in saying he was the only boy, who represented England
- at U15 level - against Wales. I understand he was hardly given the ball
in what apparently turned out to be a disappointing game. There is no
record of the score although England won the game, I was recently informed
at an OB soiree, by someone who recalled the game.
Other
boys who had trials, over the years, for England, in addition to Bill
Coutts mentioned earlier, were Jim Cottrell, Dave Waight, Sean Kelleher,
Adrian Thompson and Cedric Carr. I am not sure this is an exhaustive list,
so apologies are due to anyone I may have missed out. If memory serves
me correctly, I believe Dave Waight was selected to play for England at
U19 level but unfortunately suffered one of his very rare injuries a week
or so before the game and had to withdraw! I also seem to recall a master
was unimpressed, because he had a fiver on Dave to play for England (a
bet with another master if - again - I am not mistaken) and so lost what
would have been a useful addition to his salary! I gather a similar fate
befell Sean Kelleher in 1975/76 who missed, through injury, a final trial
for England.
1966/67:
The 1966/67 season saw the 1st XV unbeaten again. One new fixture for
this year was a game against William Ellis School from North London, who
had been unbeaten the previous season - not unlike ourselves. I remember
the game being a closely fought encounter with Woolverstone eventually
winning by a margin of 6 - 0. I believe this was the game where a William
Ellis player suffered a serious back injury following a line-out with
an ambulance being called to take him to hospital. Colours were awarded
this season to Wild, Harris, Peter Templeton, Godfrey, Grigor, Cottrell,
Lover and Hindle (of the plastic knee cap!).
1967/68:
The following season saw the 1st XV lose two games. William Ellis gained
revenge for their defeat the previous year although, a little cheekily,
some six of their players from the previous year, who had left the school,
came back to try and ensure victory. The reason we found out is because
the mother of two Woolverstonians was a member of staff at William Ellis
and tipped us the wink! However, one new fixture that season was against
Penarth Grammar School, a touring side from the valleys who gave us a
good game and we came out victorious by 15 - 6. Colours were awarded to
P. Mattey, Dodgson and M. Radford.
1968/69:
Season 1968/69 saw the 1st` XV suffer just one defeat - probably because
Jim Cottrell and Paul Mattey were both injured for that game. This season's
new fixture was against the Duke of York's Military School from Dover
- our first ever Sunday game - which we won convincingly by 27 - 3. Colours
were awarded to Baldwin, Beresford, Turner and Galpin.
1970/71:
In the last season of that decade the 1st XV lost two games, both by just
2 points, one game being against the Duke of York's where we 'were beaten
by a conversion, full school support and a military band'. The other loss
was against a Club side. One highlight of this season was the Ipswich
Sevens for an unusual reason - see my separate section on this subject.
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