Sports Reports

Thursday 22 September 2022

1st XV v Clifton College

After a slow start to the season due to a number of cancellations, Kirkham Grammar School 1st XV travelled to Bristol to play Clifton College in the Ryan Bresnahan Memorial Game. Playing in front of a large crowd, Kirkham, well led by Captain, Darren Low, showed that despite being a young side with many of last year's players having left could cope with this big occasion. Although Clifton scored first to take a 5-0 lead, it was KGS who brought a 7-5 lead into the half time break after an interception try from winger Archie Dowds. The early part of the second half was dominated by Kirkham and during this time they added two further tries, one from Vice-Captain, Wills Austin, and another from replacement scrum half Harry Tomlinson. Centre, Osian Roberts, was heavily involved in the action in both attack and defence; his contribution helped him to be awarded Man of the Match. Kirkham's lead of 19-5 was never going to be enough against such good opponents.  Clifton, inspired by the home crowd, started to show the power of their pack, as they closed the lead to 19-12. Desperate defence from Wills Austin and Darren Low kept Clifton at bay for a while but with one minute left Clifton scored again, however the subsequent kick was missed. KGS were able to maintain their slender lead until the final whistle and gain a magnificent victory against a very talented Clifton side.

KGS U15s v Clifton College U15s

KGS travelled to Bristol to take part in the Ryan Bresnahan Memorial match before the first team took to the main pitch. The Kirkham team struggled to get going throughout the game and resulted in Clifton scoring 4 unconverted tries.

Kirkham went 2 tries down within the first 10 minutes after some strong attacks from Clifton. Kirkham reacted from the restart and kept possession for a number of phases with strong running from Charlie Bray, Josh Sumner and Rowan Edwards but unfortunately the U15s could not get past the defence in the first half.

The second half kicked off and very quickly Kirkham were down to 14 players after a yellow card. The boys defended well with a player down however Clifton managed to break through a hole in the defence to go 15-0 up. Kirkham then added pressure and adapted their game plan to try and break down the Clifton defence however there was no breakthrough and with some errors Kirkham found themselves under the sticks again and the game finished 20-0.

The boys were not dishoarded for long as they took to the side lines to watch a very competitive game of rugby between KGS 1st XV v Clifton College 1st XV.

KGS 2nd XV v LRGS 2nd XV - Saturday 24 September 2022

Won 42-10

Kirkham travelled to old rivals Lancaster on Saturday morning in search of their first win of the season. In the first half, skipper James Stacey scored Kirkham's first points after charging down a kick. Lancaster tried to respond but couldn’t keep the ball for long enough periods to break down the Kirkham defence. Next to score was Kirkham's Harry Reay with a powerful carry down the field. George Atherton scored Kirkham's third try of the half, with Kirkham now starting to dominate. Later in the first half, winger Jayrese Simms enjoyed some open space, dotting down two tries in quick succession. In the second half Lancaster tightened up their defence and put some better rugby together resulting in a try of their own and a penalty kick. However, the last word came from Kirkham with a try from Rhys Hulse. All of Kirkham's tries were successfully converted by fly half Archie Barbour making the final score 42-10 to Kirkham.

KGS U15s v Lancaster Royal GS U15s - Saturday 24 September 2022

Kirkham U15s took to the first team pitch for a second time this year to play against LRGS U15s. The game finished 22-0 to the home team after a slow start from both teams.

The first half started off slow with plenty of scrum practice due to the wet ball. Kirkham spent the majority of the first half defending, struggling to gain possession and when they did they couldn’t get the ball into the spaces. Jenson Crompton worked hard in attack and found space going forward but didn’t have the support players with him to retain the ball. Harry Marsh played extremely well for his first start in the 6 shirt, making powerful runs and strong tackles.

The first try of the game was initiated through the forwards who set up a maul and with James Singleton’s quick thinking he spotted space on the blindside and Alex Davies scored in the corner. The second try came shortly after with a breakaway run in the 22 from Christian Taylor-Tomlinson seeing him held up short of the line but with some quick hands saw Alex Davies slide in for his second of the game. Some direct running from Harry Marsh saw him power through the LRGS defence to score under the post which was converted by Ciaran Milligan. The last try was scored by Lewis Simpson who received an offload from Harry Marsh to finish the game 22-0 

The next game sees the U15s play their first National Cup game against Stonyhurst.

KGS U13s v Lancaster Royal GS U13s - Saturday 24 September 2022

The Under 13s had a close game against Lancaster Grammar School last weekend. After being 2 tries down, they showed excellent character and resilience to get back into the game with the score being 3-2 to LRGS at half time, with tries coming from Darcey O'Malley and Jack Kelso.

In the second half, Kirkham's defence stepped up which was causing the visitors a lot of problems. It was a great tackle by Jonty Faith that resulted in a turnover that led to Ziad Hassan going 50 metres to score a try.

KGS continued to dominate the second half and were rewarded with 2 further tries from Jack Gillett and Harry Walls to put the home side 5-3 ahead with 2 minutes to play. Not to be outdone, LRGS came back strong and scored with a minute to play. 

But Kirkham held their nerve well and saw the game out to win 5 tries to 4.

U13 Tennis – Thursday 22 September 2022

On Thursday the U13 tennis squad continued their quest in the LTA regional knockout finals against Wilmslow High. The singles started well with Mia T and Megan S winning some amazing points. Hollie B had a hard fought match against her opponent whilst Ellie W picked up some great games in her singles match. 

In the doubles, Ellie and Hollie played some excellent shots but unfortunately the overall score went against them. Megan and Mia were also unfortunate in their doubles losing out to a strong Wilmslow team.

The overall score was close but on this occasion KGS lost out. Well done girls! 

U15 Hockey – Saturday 24 September 2022

The U15 played their first game of the season on Saturday against Kings Chester. They got off to a rocky start, giving the ball away easily and not working as a team allowing Kings Chester to take advantage and score multiple goals in the first half. A half time team talk was needed, the girls understood what they needed to do in the second half and went out and proved themselves meeting 50/50 balls and not allowing Kings Chester as much time on the ball. They used the space more allowing nice easy passes around their defence getting into the attacking D more often. The girls managed to get a short corner and the goal was successful with Freya Peet having the last touch on the ball putting it into the back of the net. However, although the girls improved creating more opportunities in the second half it was too late for them to win the game, with the end result being 5-1. 

KGS U14 Hockey – Saturday 24 September 2022

KGS U14 took part in their first game of the season against Kings Chester. The game showed great promise for what is to come in the future for this team. KGS continued to work the ball around the pitch creating a lot of opportunities but were unsuccessful. The girls were unfortunate to concede a quick goal. Following this the girls continued to work hard and with a run down the wing from Niamh Smith and a shot at goal touched off by Alice Bunday they levelled the score line to 1-1. However, another good break from Kings Chester put them back in-front and ensured the game finished the game with a 2-1 loss. The KGS girls should be proud of their hard work throughout the game.

U13 Hockey - Saturday 24 September 2022

The U13A team beat Kings Chester 9-0 in their first game of the season. KGS played with good shape in the first half, pressing high up the field and winning the ball back in attacking areas. First half goals from Lilly Miles, Hollie Bailey and Holly Schofield gave KGS a 3-0 half time lead. 

In the second half, KGS turned on the attacking style and added another six goals. Three more for Lily Miles, two more for Hollie Bailey and another for Holly Schofield. The defence of Alys Williams, Hermione Edwards, Lucie Wilson, Sophia Gough and Olivia Hartley-Smith rotated well and ensured a clean sheet and a quiet game for Philippa Hancock in goal. 

The U13B team also won 9-0. Quick ball movement and high pressing in the first half led to three goals for Sophia Melling and one for Chloe Murro. Abbie Ely with Megan and Olivia Hartley-Smith marshalled the defence well and kept the Kings’ attackers quiet. In the second half, Sara Tomlinson, Jasmine Stirrup and Anna Whittle came on and continued the high pressing game that had worked so well in the first half, with Anna Whittle scoring five excellent goals to cap a wonderful team performance. 

U12 Hockey - Saturday 24 September 2022 (pictured at the top of the page)

The U12 hockey squads took to the pitch in their first matches of the season away at The Kings School, Chester. The A team dominated from the start playing some great attacking hockey. McGarry converted first to get KGS off the mark followed by an open play goal from Guthrie. In the second half a further two goals were converted, a second for Guthrie and two for Osborne to seal the match at 5-0. A terrific win to start the season.

In the B team game the girls worked hard in both attack and defence to open space in front of goal. Pickervance converted first followed by two goals from Jennings. Some great individual and team play resulted in a very positive 3-0 victory.

U13 Hockey – Monday 26 September 2022

Kirkham Grammar School U13A team were comfortable winners in the first round of the ISC National Cup v Westholme as they ran out 12-0 winners. Carrying on from where they left off last weekend, the KGS girls pressed Westholme high up the pitch and played at a high tempo in possession. Despite struggling to break Westholme down in the early stages, KGS turned on the style late in the first half as goals from Holly Schofield (3), Lilly Miles and Hollie Bailey gave them a 5-0 lead at half time. Lucie Wilson, Hermione Edwards, Alys Williams and Sophia Gough did an excellent job marshalling the defence on the rare occasion that Westholme broke through the high press.

In the second half, the KGS girls continued to play high tempo attacking hockey, not letting the Westholme defence settle. Further goals followed for Lilly Miles who finished the match with five, Hollie Bailey who finished with three and Imi Osborne who scored twice. More goals could have been added but for an impressive performance from the Westholme keeper.