National Title for 1st VI Hockey Boys

On Thursday 21 March the Boys’ 1^st XI hockey team travelled to Nottingham Hockey Centre to compete in the U19 Independent Schools’ Plate National Finals. They had eliminated some strong hockey schools on the way to the finals, and were eager to get on the pitch for their early 9am start vs Scarborough College. After dominating the first half, Scarborough made the most of their first attack and went in to the break 1-0 up. The boys didn’t panic and continued to dominate, with goals from W. Lumbard, S. Gill and S. Houlton sealing the 3-1 win. The second game vs Kings School Chester was a much tighter affair, but a brace of penalty corner flicks from W. Lumbard earned the boys a 2-0 win and a place in the National Final to meet local rivals Reigate Grammar School.

After a tense start to the game a lightning quick break by Van Huyssteen set up S. Houlton, who finished clinically to take a 1-0 lead. The boys then continued to dominate with terrific defence from C. Mear, S. Gill, R. Thomas and S. Taylor-Smith, and soon found another goal with a beautiful first time strike from S. Willson. In the second half, the boys carved out lots of chances and penalty corners, and W. Lumbard stepped up once again to drill home a drag flick and send the boys to the school’s first National hockey title. It was a sensational performance topping off a really successful year for the group, having already been to the Tier 1 National Indoor Finals before Christmas. We are so excited for next year to see how the group continues to develop.