Sports Report – Common Time 2025, Week 9

Monday 10th March

WinCoFo: SEN IXs
A fascinating day on Palmer saw triumph, resilience, and last-minute drama. G extended their unbeaten run with a commanding 25-4 win over D before dismantling H 22-2, with M Hairy starring in both encounters. B also made their mark with a dominant 29-9 victory over C, but were held to a gripping 18-18 draw by E, thanks to a tenacious performance from B Clark. A enjoyed a strong outing, securing a 20-5 win over C before edging past I in a tense 10-9 thriller. F impressed with a 21-8 win over H, inspired by M Ingram, before overcoming D 19-7. The league table saw A climb three places, while G maintained their place at the summit. With the title race intensifying, all eyes turn to the next showdown on Palmer! (JCP)

U14 Basketball v Bedales

Once again the unbeaten U14 basketball team showed that they are a force to be reckoned with. Bedales were bolstered with a couple of their U15s but Winchester was simply too strong on the day, pulling away early and maintaining their calm and high work rates as they extended their lead. Bedales showed resilience and fought back in the second half, but Winchester responded effectively and calmly. It was an opportunity for LNT to try adding pressure by selecting unbalanced combinations and taking off key players, but with everyone playing well it made little difference. Final score was 62-22 to Winchester. (LNT)

Tuesday 11 Mar

Golf U16 v Bradfield College & Marlborough College Boys U16A’s (a):

The team played a good game in their matches against Marlborough and Bradfield, with several standout moments on the course. Captain, Kevin Duan led the charge with birdies on hole 1 and 8, securing a 4&2 victory against Marlborough and a 2&1 victory over Bradfield. Nigel Chan showcased his power by driving three greens, earning a 2&1 win against Marlborough but falling down 4&3 against Bradfield. Ben Zhou displayed excellent short game skills with a precise 40-yard chip to 3 feet on hole 4, finishing 2 up against Marlborough but 2 down to Bradfield.

Phoom fought hard in two close matches but ultimately lost 1 down to Marlborough and 1 down to Bradfield. Neil Zhou made a strong late push, closing a 3-hole deficit to just 1 down in the final stretch, but ultimately lost 1 down to Marlborough and 4&3 to Bradfield. Aidan delivered a highlight moment with a birdie on hole 9, sticking his approach shot to 1 foot, securing a draw against Marlborough but falling 5&4 to Bradfield. (K Duan, G)

Rugby 7s: U16A vs The Portsmouth Grammar School (a)

The U16 players have only had one full training session this term due to varying commitments representing the school in other sports so the journey over to PGS to play against their wider squad members was very much a step into the unknown. The agreement was to play several 7min blocks to give as many players as possible the experience of playing 7s and in the opening salvo the Winchester boys came out the blocks firing on all cylinders. F Coleman (E) displayed some dazzling footwork to go over twice and F Laarman (C) raced in from 60m emulating French superstar Louie Bielle-Biarrey. The 2nd 7min block saw a less explosive opening as PGS exploited space behind the defence to grubber through and score and they followed this up after a kick off mix-up allowed them to canter in to double the lead. G Kashirin (E) halved the deficit with a smartly taken try after a good break down the left hand side of the pitch.

The 3rd instalment saw some good use of the width of the pitch as C Edwards (A) and Coleman linked with a smart wraparound play to see Coleman grab his 3rd try of the afternoon but some strong power play from PGS, especially at the scrum, saw Winchester concede two tries. In period 4 we generated a little more go-forward and stopped shuffling side-to-side. It was a scrappy affair but we managed to take the lead through Freddie and held it for the remaining minutes.

Fatigue was building and the next block of play saw some sloppy play from Winchester. A lack of communication, weak tackling and narrow defence allowed PGS to score five unanswered tries and that was not how we wanted to finish the afternoon. The final 7 minute period provided a chance to end the game on a high and straight from the kick off the ball was claimed and Coleman broke through to open the scoring. The second try saw some excellent play; the attack started with a snipe down the blind-side, the ball was recycled, E Reeve (B) linked well and Plum MM (F) timed his pass perfectly to send Laarman over again. Immediately after we reclaimed the kick off through Reeve and after clever play from Pritchard (X), Laarman scored another and it looked like we were in cruise control. Unfortunately PGS fought back with one long range effort, followed by an intercept and then a turnover in our half allowing PGS to tie things up at three tries apiece. However, after PGS kicked off to us Kashirin used his strength and speed to break through and extend the lead again. Back came the hosts with their fourth score and now everything was tied up and with time up on the clock one more Winchester attack saw skipper F Turvill (B) evade some tired tacklers to go over in the corner and take the win. A great effort from the whole squad: (O Robinson, C Edwards, E Reeve, F Turvill, F Coleman, F Laarman, G Kashirin, J Cheng, O Pritchard, C Perks, N Hashimoto). (MSB)

WinCoFo: JUN IXs
The final day of the JUN IXs season on Palmer brought drama, determination, and a few harsh lessons. K delivered a ruthless performance, taking advantage of G’s forfeit in a 20-0 walkover before brushing aside H 20-6. Elsewhere, X endured a tough afternoon, conceding 29-3 to D and 21-4 to C, before finally finding their rhythm with a resounding 23-8 victory over F—a bright end to their season.

As the dust settles, B are at the top of the table, finishing with 27 points after a superb campaign. Congratulations to all teams for a fantastic season, with special thanks to the referees, without whom none of this would happen. Until next year, Palmer awaits the next generation of champions!

Basketball U15A v Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School (h): Won 54 – 43

The U15s started off very slowly, appearing intimidated by the tall, athletic opposition and falling behind. After a time-out they started to stand strong and, boosted by the bench, by half-time they were back in the game. In the final quarter, Winchester were the calmer and more organised side and pulled away to a 54-43 victory that had looked unlikely at the start of the game. Resilience, confidence and tough defence were the keys. [LNT]

Wednesday 12th March 2025: Golf 1st v Reed’s (n):

The Winchester Golf team went up against Reed's at the immaculate West Hill Golf Club for a pre-Micklem Trophy build-up fixture. Reed's have had a reputation for winning all of the biggest team events in recent years, so it was a well-placed singles event for us to prepare against the equally strong teams that we'll face next week.

Harry Ho competed against a worthy Reed's adversary; one who has represented England. After four consecutive birdies by the opposition from holes 4-7, Harry was two down early. However, his resolve was strong, as he put together three birdies of his own in the subsequent holes - highlighted by driving the green on the par four 12th hole. He didn't put a foot wrong in the closing stretch, and another birdie at the 17th shut the match down, with a 2&1 win. Ray Sanmathy played in the same group, against an equally strong opponent that has recently committed for a full scholarship to a Big 12 Conference university in the US. Ray got off the blocks quickly, with a healthy lead of 2 up through three holes. This was maintained for the duration of the match, as a result of some steady pars, supplemented by birdies at repeated intervals, and the match was also closed out as a 2&1 win for Winchester.

Seb Wells faced his own trials and tribulations, as his opponent tried to use all the mental tricks & gamesmanship he had in the locker to get ahead of Seb's superior golfing ability. His opponent also made sure to use his local knowledge to take the match to the 18th hole at all square. Little did he know that Seb thrives off mind games. While his opposition taunted him to hit it into the bushes, Seb smashed his drive on 18 and easily won the 18th hole, and with it, the match. James Redfern faced similar mental challenges, as his opponent allowed him to finish his entire routine over a putt before conceding it to him, effectively wasting his time & breaking his rhythm as he never had to hit the putt. However, James didn't allow this to break him and his more skilful ball-striking led to a 4&3 win.

Sander brought the best golf he could to the day. While his ball-striking didn't come to help him as much as he wanted, he has been in excellent form recently and came up against a tough opponent here. His eventual 2&1 loss is a great learning experience for the more important event next week. Kevin Duan, in Sander's & Kevin's words, played the best golf he's played in his Winchester career so far. Although his lack of distance off the tee made some of the finishing holes challenging, he putted incredibly well on the quick, slippery greens of West Hill, and kept himself in it for as long as possible. His halved match with his competitor was a solid result, given that Kevin was two years younger. This completed a huge 4.5-1.5 win for Winchester over this high calibre Reed's side - a testament to the growing ability of the Winchester golf team to perform against the best schools in the country. (R. Sanmathy, E)

Thursday 13th March 2025

Badminton 1st v Wellington College (h): Won 14 - 2

Basketball v Bedales School (a):

This was a great team win for the U18s. Winchester got off to a flyer, with Larbie continuing where he left off last match and some strong defence. After half time though, Bedales clawed their way back into the game such that they were up by two points with a minute to go. Step up Ogunleye; he had been struggling with shooting, but he hit a banked three pointer at a crucial time to take Winchester ahead. Winchester scored again soon after and headed into the last 10 seconds with a three point lead. Bedales scored a jump shot, but time had ran out for them and Winchester came out victors 35-34 in this very close fought match. [LNT]

This was the first time the Winchester U17s had played together as a team and gave a glimpse of what the first team might look like next year. With no U17 team-specific training, Winchester did look a little dis-jointed with the high speed attacking game of the U16 players mixing with the steadier half-court game of the U17s. The defence was generally very good though, and in the final quarter particularly that was the difference...together with a 32 point performance from Edis who proved too much for Bedales to handle. So, not the smoothest start, but one that promised a lot and was enough for Winchester to win 57-45. [LNT]

Chess U18A v RGS Guildford (h):

Won 5-1. A commanding performance from all of the top three boards (Pengxiao, Edison and Jaden), backed up by wins from John and Yourui saw us vanquish our old rivals RGS Guildford in the regional final. Our A team has therefore booked their place in the National Finals at Nottingham in June, placing us as one of the top 25 chess schools in England. That is quite an achievement in a game played by more people than football. [DIF]

Cross Country: Clayesmore Relays 2025

In our final inter-school fixture of the cross-country season, WinColl had its big guns assembled, with the top two in Sen, the winner of Jun and the top three in Jun Jun all present and in good form. Our winning seniors from Bryanston were back together, in search of their second victory on this very fast course.

Winchester delivered an impressive performance in the inters race, with two teams securing 2nd and 4th places. William Russell (I), kitted out in brand new spikes for the occasion, displayed remarkable determination by overtaking three runners to take the A team into 2nd place. He was followed by Rufus Bell (K) who took WinColl into the lead. Unfortunately he took a wrong turn and, despite a significant diversion, still ran an impressive time. In the B team, Xander Taylor (D), covering for a team mate who withdrew on the morning of the race, amazingly ran both the fastest and the second-fastest times in the team, his second leg not that far behind his first! Isaac Wang (I), Hotaka Matsunaga (D), Tristan Soon (A) and Rory Dobson (X) all ran impressively to secure the high finishes achieved by their teams.

In the senior race, Ivor Martin (G) provided Winchester with an excellent start in a ferociously fast first leg, finishing just seconds behind England’s 10th fastest runner. Hugo Brett (I) then ran his finest leg of the season, expertly handing over in 3rd place with a Farah-esque finish. The penultimate runner, Issa Duggan (I), left the commentator in awe with his run, who described it as “a commanding third leg to take 1st place.” Finally, Ben Judge (D) lived up to his reputation as the best closer in the business, anchoring the team home to an exceptional victory, a fairy tale finish in his final cross-country race for the school. I Duggan (I) & B Judge (D

Fives U18A v St Paul’s School (h): Won

Football 1st Girls v King’s School Bruton (h): Won 2 - 1

The Girls’ 1st XI were at home for their last match of the season against King’s Bruton. After winning the kick off, the game started confidently. The girls were in high spirits and a wining mentality - possibly due to threats of five laps around Lords if we lost. There was strong play from the start with Winchester maintaining possession of the ball for around 70% of the game. It was not long before Liv P (G) skilfully dribbled past the keeper and slotted it effortlessly into the goal. Morale was high and even after a penalty was awarded to Bruton for a hand ball that equalled the score, it remained high.

The start of the second third saw more impressive, play considering a lack of training for the past three months. However, Winkies training paid off and allowed Hesper H (B) and Ami B (D) to continuously keep the ball away from the goal. Oyinkansola O (I) returned once again as our goalkeeper and did excellently, as per usual. It was not long into the second third and Winchester scored a second goal. Liv P passed to Bea B (F) who managed to just slip it past the keeper. The score was now 2-1 to Winchester. Play continued with Winchester dominating. There was another shot on goal and although the goalkeeper attempted to stop the power of Hesper H’s kick, it looked like the ball just crossed the line, but the Bruton goalkeeper said id hadn’t and JRD didn’t award it. We thought we had grabbed a 3d goal as Bea B managed to roll it into the goal. However, this was also not counted as she was offside. We kept our defence strong and some excellent tackles from Tabi P (I) and Cleo K (D) meant that we could maintain possession and prevent the ball from getting too close to our keeper. When the final whistle blew, it cemented the victory allowing the Girls’ 1st XI to finally put the ‘win’ in Winchester. With many thanks to Miss Jones for her warmup and enthusiasm and Mr Dodd for refereeing. W2-1 [Bea B (F)]

Hockey

U18A v Dauntsey’s School 2nd XI (a): L3-1

Captained by Kitson (B), Winchester travelled to Dauntsey’s on a sunny but blustery day!! For the opening minutes we started brightly moving the ball around nicely around our half with Hay (I), Alexander (B), McGregor (H) and Kennedy (D) keeping possession and calmly transitioning into the central area of the pitch. It was a tight 20 minutes and Dauntsey’s got the breakthrough to score their first goal!! This was followed by a penalty flick by Moreno de Barreda (I) after he made a brilliant run into the attacking D and was taken out by the keeper!

Whilst it was tough Edwards (A) and Jin (I) both settled nicely, and both 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. HT Score: 1-1

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. More attacking play from Hawkins (K), Xiao (D), Bowder (B) and Moreno de Barreda (I) created multiple chances on goal however some smart keeping from the Dauntsey’s keeper denied any further chances. Dauntsey’s were able to slot another 2 past us in the second half to leave the score at 3-1, although a controversial third goal was allowed after the whistle had been blown. Unfortunately, these things do happen. Nevertheless, a good showing from the 1st XI with improvement on ball pace throughout the match and much improved decision making!! (TJF)

U15A v Eton College (h): Lost 1 - 3

U14A ~ Boys’ Hampshire Trophy

Game 1: We arrived in plenty of time for our first match against Romsey, but sadly we weren't able to access the pitch as there were already games going on. Unfortunately this led to a slow start; we conceded the first goal within the first four minutes. But then Rufus (A) found himself in the right place and Chris (I) managed to pick him out at the penalty spot to slot one into the goal. Rufus then pushed the ball into the D to find Chris who then hit it into the sideboard. The third goal then came from Innis (B) hit one from the top of the D which deflected over the keeper and snuck into the goal. W3-1

Game 2: Ryde (W 3-0)

Game 3: Winchester started strong, earning an early short corner in the 3rd minute. Will (I) injected the ball for Otis (G) to stop seamlessly for Ben (A) to execute a nice drag flick into the corner. After this we started to dominate possession with confident passing. The high press by the forwards led to a reward in the 7th minute, as Chris (I) capitalised on a forced mistake by Thornden from a 16 and slotted the ball in with a well-placed shot. Chris went on to complete a hat trick, scoring two more clinical flicks in the 12th and 15th minutes. A fantastic team performance secured a 4-0 win for Winchester.

Game 4: KES Witley, (D 1-1)

Semi Final Eggars (W 2-0)

Final v KES Witley: A much better game for us all round, we scored early in the game, with Ben (A) dribbling the ball past a few defenders and slotting it past the keeper. Then Innis (B) scored a cracker of a goal, due to a well picked out assist from Ben. In the eighth minute, Rufus scored from a deflected strike from Chris. Nearing the end of the final, Innis scored a great strike from Will's shot (I), that had somehow managed to hit both posts and nestle on the line before being cleared to Innis. W4-0

Peach Pot – Inter House Squash

The Inter House Squash Competitions took place over the last ten days. All Houses took part in the closely fought preliminary rounds. In the Peach Plate Competition semi-finals Hopper's were matched against Trant's whilst College played Freddie's. In a close final Freddie's played Hopper's with Freddie's Felix C. winning the first match for his house defeating Holly W. 2-1. Hopper's proved to be too strong in the other two strings with Amar F and Alex F both winning and Hopper's retained the trophy 2-1.

In the Peach Pot competition Hopper's played Toye's and Furley's played Trant's in the semi-finals. The final was between Hopper's and Furley's. Once again Hopper's led by their captain Ludovic R. proved to be too strong winning the final 3-0 to retain the Pot for another year. All the matches were watched by the Houses’ supporters who were treated to some great squash. It was great to play the tournament which was organised by Dr. Ronaldson on the new courts. Congratulations to Hopper's for retaining both trophies. (RAA)

Match Results:

Peach Pot: Hopper's v Furley's W3-0

Ludo R bt Sam B.

Oscar O'C bt William H-J

Freddie S. bt Sebastian K

Peach Plate: Hopper's v Freddie's W2-1

Holly W. lost Felix C.

Amar F bt Ayush S.

Alex F. bt Harry S.

Sat 15th March 2025: HMC National Schools Judo Competition

A small team from Winchester College managed an excellent medal haul at the HMC National Competition at High Wycombe Judo Centre.

4 judoka managed 2 Golds 2 Silvers and a Bronze missing out on the small team trophy by only a single point to Westminster School who fielded 10 players. This is particularly impressive given that the small team trophy allows a maximum of 10 players and Winchester got so close with 4!

D Mikhaylov (E) 🥈

R Haider (I) 🥇 🥉

E Pu (I) 🥈 🥈

H Morgan (K) 🥈 🥇

Sunday 16th March 2025 Fives - Barnes Bridge Tournament (h):

J Chan (C) & A Cloke Brown (B) won the Plate competition at the Barnes Bridge tournament. Given that this is an Adult National tournament and that it had a bumper entry this year it is certainly something of an achievement. (Not least because they join the hallowed ranks of Win Coll Barnes Bridge plate winners that includes one Jamie McManus and a talent by the name of James Hodgins!) (JM)

Sporting quote for the week:

“Understanding that the good of the group comes first is fundamental to being a highly productive member of a team.” John Wooden, Former UCLA Basketball Coach

M.S. Burley

Director of Sport

17th March 2025

X: @WinCollSports