Our 1st XV rugby team were nominated for, and won, Fifteen Rugby’s National 1st XV Team of the Season award for the first time this week. It
was certainly the icing on the cake after a season which involved some outstanding performances and results, with victories over the likes of Epsom and Whitgift alongside winning the prestigious St Joseph’s tournament.
Andy Houston (Director of Rugby) said: “It is a lovely award to win and certainly is something we are all very proud of. The team has been brilliant all year but what is so pleasing is the make-up of the squad. Fourteen of the 15 players at the end of the final game against Whitgift were from our Year 9 intake, and seven of those players
had played at U14B or C team level when they first joined us. I am so pleased for all the staff as it shows how this is such a collective effort. Winning awards, national titles and tournaments has been great, but it really does come second to the pride I have seeing the development of these players and the passion they, the staff and the old boys have for the School. The boys and junior team staff are both humble and hardworking and I am just so pleased to see them get the recognition they truly deserve. 2016 has been an amazing year and I will look back very fondly on so many achievements.”
The vote and nomination was run nationally and conducted by www.fifteenrugby.com
When announcing their results, they wrote:
Cranleigh “votes came as a result of a superb season that has seen them win the prestigious St Joseph’s Festival after a dramatic final against Brighton College. It was just the second time that Cranleigh had entered the tournament, yet they played like Festival veterans. It also served to make them the holders of two of the most prestigious titles in schools rugby at the same time, for they are also the current HSBC Rosslyn Park National 7s Champions, having won the 2016 tournament. Their win was an impressive one, and with so many votes cast across the board, to secure nearly a fifth of them was a strong showing, reflecting what has been a tremendous season.”
http://www.fifteenrugby.com/school-team-of-the-term-results/
Andrew Houston
Director of Rugby
