Sports Report – Common Time 2025, Week 3

Tuesday 21st January 2025

Golf 1st v Blanchelande College (h): W2-1

The Winchester team faced a strong Blanchelande College side in the Area Semi-finals of the ISGA Matchplay. With one Winchester team already through to the final, a win would create an all-Winchester final and secure our ultimate objective of progression to the National Finals.

Harry H (I) assumed his typical position as the opening player and played strongly against a difficult opponent. He relentlessly found fairways and greens, and carded 15 pars on his way around the golf course: ever so close to the golfer's dream of a bogey-free round. Despite this, the opposing player managed to exceed Harry's exceptional performance, eventually shooting 3 under par in the frigid conditions, and causing Harry to lose by a slim 2&1. Nonetheless, in the opponent's own words, it was a matter of millimetres. Had the bumpy winter greens been more friendly to Harry, the result may well have turned out more favourably for him.

Ray S (E) was inspired by the pre-game talk from Mr Moore and understood the assignment of securing our progression in the ISGA. He refused to let his guard down throughout the 18 holes and no flag on the course was safe from his stellar iron play. After witnessing some of the shots played, his opponent simply couldn't hold his composure, and Ray proceeded to win all of the holes played, bar one tied hole. This closed out the match with a commendable 9&7 margin of victory, marking this performance his best winning margin for the school to date.

With the third match forfeited by Blanchelande (a late injury to an opponent), this performance was enough to win the overall match. The win effectively summarises the sheer dominance of the golf team in the region, having beaten several top-level schools/players to get to this stage. The team looks forward to the thrill of a momentous all-Winchester Final, and the upcoming National Finals in April. [R Sanmathy, (E)]

Hockey v King Edward’s Witley (a):

The U14B squad saw their first competitive Hockey match of the season away at KES Witley and having worked hard in training the boys were hoping for a good result. For many this was their first experience of competitive hockey, and it was fantastic to see lots of boys taking part.

This was also a debut in the role of captaincy for Otis D (G). Having lost the pushback KES Witley started with the ball and looked to dominate early, passing the ball around with pace and skill and really pushing our midfielders and defenders hard. Otis, Dylan (G), Hugo D (F), James M-W (E) and Hugo G (E) all working particularly hard to control the first third of our half with some important clearances and effective defending against short corners. Having made multiple incredible saves in the first half, Harvey W (C) showed us his class to deny a bottom corner effort from a KES short corner much to the approval of his teammates. The score ended at 1-0 at half time and could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for the brilliance of Harvey and our solid centre backs Max N-T (I) and Freddie S (H).

Winchester’s aim for the second half was to get the score level and try and gain more of the possession to our offensive players. This meant playing slightly higher to allow more players to infiltrate the top D of the KES defence. Our midfielders and defenders raised their game and took control of the midfield adding pressure with a lot more attacking play into the final third. First time passing and more accurate overlapping runs allowed our inside forwards wingers to create more chances and gain short corners. One of our only real chances of the game came when Pranav G (A) hit the post after receiving an injection off a short corner – a nicely timed shot indeed. The game second half was goalless meaning a 1-0 win for KES Witley.

As mentioned at the start, for most of the team this was their first full game of Hockey!! A great effort from all involved as we look to build on some very strong positives from this match. [TJF]

Rackets v Cheltenham College (h):

The 1st Pair, Jack B (A) and Seb K (A), were involved in a thrilling contest which initially saw them dominating the opposition by winning the first 2 games. Momentum had shifted constantly with exciting rallies throughout. However, Cheltenham struck back and eventually the score-line reached 2 games all, resulting in a decider. Even this was tightly contested, with ultimately, Cheltenham just managing to pull away and win the match. This had been an exciting spectacle and had displayed high levels of play.

The Colts, Oscar O’C (I) and Amar F (I) took on the Cheltenham pair who were seeded first in the National Schools Doubles last year. After 2 fairly close games the score was set at a game apiece. Cheltenham then managed to secure the third game provoking Winchester into raising their level enough to take the fourth. In the decider there were many rallies and several service runs from both teams with Cheltenham managing to reach a match point at 14-12. However, the Winchester pair kept their heads and, despite the robust Cheltenham support from the gallery, clinically serve out to win the final game, 17-14. This gave our Colts the most important win of the season so far, perhaps gaining them a foothold for seeding in the Queen's doubles championships in the spring.

2nd pair, Will HJ and Jamie M, after having had a close encounter against Eton last week, were raring to get a much-needed win against their opponents. After two relatively simple games going Winchester’s way, thanks to the precise serving of Jamie and the efficient returning of William, the home team found themselves in a particularly favourable position. However, Cheltenham were not finished. Instead, they fought back and were able to claim the third game in a set 3. Despite this blip, Jamie was able to find his rhythm again on return and this complemented the powerful serving of Will. This led to a win in the fourth game, 15-6, and a victory for Winchester.

JC pair, Eddie W and Theo L, took on a determined Cheltenham team known for their strong serves. Winchester started confidently delivering a series of precise serves that pushed them to an early 8-0 lead. However, Cheltenham quickly responded, levelling the score at 8-8. At this crucial moment, Eddie Wheeler’s powerful hammer serve gave Winchester the edge they needed to pull ahead and secure the first game. Carrying their momentum forward, Winchester dominated the second game, swiftly closing it out with a commanding 15-1 victory. Cheltenham, however, refused to go down without a fight. Eddie opened the third game with a strong run of serves but a lapse in focus led to Cheltenham seizing their opportunity and they started winning point after point with relentless serves until Winchester finally broke their stride. The home team managed to edge back into the game to, initially level and then take the game, 15 - 12 and, with it, the match.

Another JC pair, Felix C and Cameron M - playing up a year, took on a difficult opposition. Winning the first game they lost the second and third relatively swiftly. However, they recovered and took the fourth game to a set which they impressively won. Unfortunately, there was no time for a deciding game. This had been an encouraging performance by the Winchester pair.

Finally, there was a mix-around involving our 6 yearlings and Cheltenham’s 6. The format was a friendly one game match with a new partner each time against the opposition who mirrored the same procedure. Henry B , Xander M, Bear R, Freddie S, Hugo H and William H all took part. At times, there was some surprisingly good rackets on show with knife-edge moments with an unusually high number of serves being returned. Ultimately, the honours ended up being about even. This proved a valuable experience in getting a foothold into competitive rackets. (TERC)

Squash v Radley College (h):

Following their success in gaining promotion to Division 1 at the Roehampton Invitation Tournament the previous weekend the Winchester College Senior V recorded a good 3-2 win v Radley. Without their No. 4 Sam B. it was left to his replacement Matthew L. to win a very close match 11-9 in the fifth! With both players tiring after the previous 4 games, the fifth was a test of who was going to play more winners. By getting his opponent deep and playing good shots to the front Matthew deserved his narrow win.

Felix C. at 1st string was unable to repeat his great Roehampton wins and lost 0-3. The captain Ludovic R. made amends by playing well placed irretrievable shots for a very good 3-1 win. Ayson K. at 3rd string, volleying well made sure that his opponent was unable to retrieve his shots, winning 3-0. Pran B at 4th string had another close match winning the third game 15-13 but with his opponent playing more consistently lost 1-3. Another good win by the 1st Team who are looking forward to continue their winning ways in next weeks match v Wellington.

The Winchester College U-14X had a very good win in their recent match v Radley. The 1st V of Ratan D, Barney M, Bheesin P, Pun P. and Matthew L. had a very good 4-1 win. By serving well and placing their shots they dominated the rallies. The 2nd U-14V, Aditya S, Aidan S, Sebastian H, Leo S and Peter S had a closer match, with good wins at 1st, 2nd and 4th string they recorded a very impressive 3-2 win.

Unlike the Sen V. the points difference in the match was a lot greater, the U-14 sides winning 306 to 254. The players are hoping to remain undefeated in next weeks fixture v Wellington.

Thursday 23rd January 2025

Badminton 1st v Wellington (a)

The second fixture of the term saw the 1st VIII deliver a dominant performance, securing a comprehensive 7-0 victory against Wellington. Starting off strong, the fourth pair of Isaac L (K) and Edward Z (F) wasted no time, cruising to a commanding 21-10, 21-4 win in their first match. They then faced a tougher challenge in a three-set thriller, edging past their opponents with a 21-17, 18-21, 21-14 result, showcasing their resilience under pressure. Next up, the third pair of Derek W (G) and Josiah E (F) also had a stellar opening, comfortably defeating their first opponents 21-10, 21-4. But things got tense when they squared off against the third pair in a tight battle. After narrowly losing the first set 21-23, they bounced back to take the second set 21-19. Unfortunately, time constraints meant they couldn’t finish the third set.

The second pair, Benjamin W (A) and Jesse H (A), had an outstanding day. They overwhelmed the first pair with a stunning 21-5, 22-20 performance before proving their consistency with a solid 21-17, 21-18 victory against the second pair. The new first pair, Brian H (D) and Yuyao X (H), also made a strong impression. They started by defeating the second pair 21-13, 21-17, and then put on an impressive display against the first pair, clinching a 21-14, 21-16 win. [Yuyao X, H]

Basketball 1st v Canford School (h):

In many ways this was a better performance from the U18s. There were periods in which they took charge and played really well, but Canford shot better, and that was the difference. Lost 48 - 60 [LNT]

Fencing 1st v Abingdon School (a):

A valiant effort to the Epéeists who were defeated by a very strong team of Abingdon Epéeists - one of which was a Team GB Fencer (Epée 9-45 Loss). The Foil team performed admirably, despite having a rough start of 3-15, the Win:Coll foilists managed to make a remarkable comeback to a very close finale (Foil 39-45 Loss). [L MacBean (B)]

Hockey

U18A’s v Radley College (a):

After freezing weather postponed Hockey fixtures two weeks ago the 2nd XI finally had their first match of the Hockey season and it proved to be a game of two halves. Captained by Oli T (G) for the first time, Winchester were up for the challenge as Radley have a strong track record against us. A debut also for Elodie T-D-S (B) as she played her first match for the College.

We started brightly moving the ball around nicely around our half with McGregor, Edwards, Busby and Tait keeping possession and calmly transitioning into the central area of the pitch within the first half creating multiple chances early on. Whilst it was tough Sharrocks, East and Matthews all settled well, and grew into their roles pushing right and left respectively when needed. They were able to pressure often which allowed us to break up any counter attacks and push forward to use the pace of Lewis, Jin and Hawkins who were waiting up front. After 10 minutes the Radley boys quickly adapted to the play at hand and slotted in 2 neat goals to take the score to 2-0. They also scored just before half time off a well worked short corner routine. Some excellent saves from Hagger kept the score at 3-0, this could have easily been 4/5-0 thanks to his brilliant keeping. HT Score: 3-0

The start of the second half was a lot more positive from Winchester as we adopted to playing further forward to create more chances within their defensive circle. Jin swerved in and out of players for a nice solo goal to bring back the score to 3-1. The second goal came from a short corner counterattack where McGregor launched the ball to Caspar E in the middle who found Jin waiting in the wings. A hard slap across the top D found the stick of Busby who slotted in a neat finish. 3-2 Radley and a comeback was on as we pushed to find a third goal when a brilliant run from Bruno L up the line found Hawkins acting as a temporary inside forward who again like gin swerved past the keeper and neatly found the bottom corner with a reverse stick finish. The game ended at 3-3 and the comeback was complete. A thoroughly enjoyable away day as always as we look forward to our next match!! [TJF]

Rackets v Charterhouse

First Pair Jack (A) and Seb (A) went into this match with determination. It took a while to get grow accustomed to the conditions but Jack found some rhythm to go on a long run of serve, excellently backed up by Seb, which resulted in winning the first game. The pair continued this momentum and although the opponents stepped up their play, it was Seb’s turn to find some serving form and Jack provided finishing kill shots to maintain the winning streak. 2 – 0 up and the contest was getting tighter with longer rallies. However, Jack’s all-round prowess, matched by Seb’s precision - particularly with his backhand serve, allowed Winchester to steam through and win convincingly the third game, 15 – 1, and take the victory. This was a great win which will hopefully provide an impetus for the pair to finish the season strongly.

Second Pair, Amar F (I) and Oscar O’C (I) set out brimming with optimism after an epic win two days before. Clinical serving from Amar led to a comfortable win in the first game. However, the tide was visibly turning as the match wore on and a tight contest was afoot with the Charterhouse pair beginning to show their true colours. In spite of this, our younger pair kept their nerve and really took the match to the opposition, eventually managing to serve out the second game, 15 – 13. The third game was another impressive showcase of serving from both players, and despite strong pressure from Charterhouse, resulted in a Winchester victory, 15 – 12.

Our 3rd Pair, Rupert B (K) and Angus H (I), started slowly. They had been consistently returning most serves but initially struggled to make progress when serving themselves and this resulted in losing the first game 5 – 15. However, they were growing used to the unfamiliar court and managed to turn things round dramatically by becoming competitive in the rallies and serving more effectively. This snared them the second and third games with the total loss of only 3 points. Despite a moderate counter-attack by Charterhouse causing the next game to be relatively close, Winchester pulled through to win it 15 – 9, and with it, the match.

Junior Colts, Casper W and Bertie C - playing his first competitive match, had a shaky start but edged Charterhouse in the first game in the set, 17-14. The second game had its ups and downs but, at times, displayed consistent serving and defiant returning from both Winchester players. This game also went to the set and, again with both boys holding their nerve, they impressively inched over the line to win it by the narrowest of margins, 15 – 14. This appeared to break the opposition a little and the third game proved a more comfortable win for Winchester, 15 – 8. The Junior Colts had had a successful day showing true grit, especially by the debutant Bertie.

Yearlings Pair, Xander M and Bear R, dominated the first game perfectly, winning it 15-0. This was down to Xander’s clinical serving and Bear’s water-tight backing up. The second game brought some highlights and several long rallies but our pair was simply too strong with a resulting 15-6 win for Winchester. This provoked Charterhouse into raising their level and they began to fight back, initially taking the lead before the Winchester pair gained a foothold, reversed the momentum in their favour, and decisively won the game 15-8, and the match victory. Xander’s skilful racket-work and Bear’s consistency in the rallies had had their effect.

Another Yearlings pair, Henry B (B) and Freddy S (E), were involved in the final match of the day. Although they annoyingly lost the toss and had to receive, thanks to a brilliant backhand from Freddie, they soon set to work to start to build a useful tally of points. Henry aided this considerably with a serving sequence of 8 points before Charterhouse could manage to win a rally. However now it was Freddie’s turn to dominate from the service box and this resulted in their winning the first game, 15 – 1. The next game was more of the same with cracking serves from both the Winchester players which Charter house simply couldn’t do anything about. At two games up, Winchester did falter slightly as their opposition came back at them, managing to put together a short run of points. However, it was not long before the Winchester pair reversed this force and began to repeat the play they had shown in the proceeding games, winning this one 15 – 6. This was a solid performance from both players. (TERC)

Saturday 25th January 2025: Sailing

On the Exeat Saturday, the sailing team made the long journey to Ipswich to take part in the Suffolk Shiver. Entry was limited to the teams that had performed the best at the ET National Championships last October, so it was sure to be a day of very competitive racing. The event was designed so we would sail each other team once, meaning lots of racing against the teams that you would normally only come across in the semi-finals or finals of the regional events.

Although it was very cold, the weather was a welcome calm between storms, with a nice breeze of around 12–13 knots and bright sunshine. We were slightly out-of-practice for the first few races, having not trained together as a team since last October, but we made a positive start by winning our first two races against RGS and Norwich School. However, our next two races were against tougher competition and, although we fought hard and were in contention throughout, we narrowly lost to both Sevenoaks White and RHS Blue on the final upwind. We made up for this by convincingly beating the Sevenoaks Red team in our next race of the round-robin, successfully defending a 1,2 combination by taking control of the left-hand-side of the course.

We started well against Ryde's first team, who went on to win the whole event, but struggled to match their speed upwind - something to work on when training resumes towards the end of this term. Our tactic of having two of our boats focussing on the committee boat end (Luke Edwards sailing with Max Buchner and Alex Parkinson, sailing with Henry Balmain), while our other boat (Rupert Balmain sailing with Olivia Prescot) focussed on the pin-end of the start line, proved to be effective and one we will continue to use this season. Highlights of the remaining races were beating Rutland Rebels following a mark 4 gybe-back and also beating Ryde's second team after pushing many of them over the line early.

Overall, this meant we had won five out of our ten races against some of the top teams in the country, a great result given that most other teams had been training hard in preparation for the event (while we do not sail in the winter). This was the perfect way to start the 2025 season, and we look forward to racing against many of these teams again once the summer arrives. Thank you so much to Dr Barron for organising everything and taking us to the event, and thank you to RHS for hosting the event. R. Balmain (K) and M. Büchner (K)

All fixture details can be found on: https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/

Sporting quote for the week:

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." Former US Secretary of State, Colin Powell

M.S. Burley

Director of Sport

28th January 2025

X: @WinCollSports