Category: Sport

Woodbridge, fielding many new faces including two making their rugby debuts (Ebuke Ofunne and Zaid Toubassey) were keen to open their season with a good team performance.

From the start Woodbridge dominated: Alex Barker opened the scoring and Tommy Burrows almost made it a quick second after running the length of the pitch, only for the try to be disallowed. Woodbridge continued to pressure and after a period of possession Henry Tetley scored out wide. Soon after Rob Stewart intercepted on the half way line and sprinted clear only to lose the ball in his final strides following a last gasp Orwell tackle. 2-0 at half time gave Woodbridge the upper hand despite the missed opportunities.

But Orwell Park started strongly and scored to reduce the Woodbridge lead. The response was quick: captain George Na Nakhorn led from the front and his forwards started to work well again. Josh Barstow started to dominate in the loose and Theo Howard made some trademark jinking runs. Fazil Akyol was lively all afternoon running from deep and constantly asked questions of his old teammates. It was only fitting that he scored after fine work from Felix Juszt and Alex Barker. With the game firmly in Woodbridge’s grasp Ed Buckingham rampaged over the line to seal a great win away from home. Much to work on but the players all responded well to their game plan to enjoy the taste of victory.

The sun was shining for the U12B team’s trip to Orwell Park. Straight off the bus and into the warm-up: there was no time for first game nerves for a lot of players who have never played a competitive game of rugby before. Orwell Park got off to a blinder scoring off the first play of the game, but this didn’t deter Woodbridge, first-timers Kai Hoang, Rufus Davis and Abhiram Durbakula in particular responding well. Woodbridge managed to get themselves on the scoresheet before half time with a barn-storming run from James Williams to score the try.

Orwell Park came out with all guns blazing for the second half, scoring twice to take the score to 3 tries to 1. The experience of Jonny Evans Lombe, Josh Turner, Daniel Jones, Oliver Laxton, Joe Wray, Jimmy Glendinning, Jack Gathorne-Hardy and Charlie Royal-Dawson had a telling effect as Woodbridge got themselves back into the game. Obi Ihenacho then scored two fantastic solo efforts, jinxing from side to side to bring the teams level. Orwell Park came back hard, and thought they would secure the win but for the most incredible try saving tackles by Barnaby Gibbon not just once but thrice to keep Woodbridge in the match. And then… the crucial moment! Hector McLean-Spruce scored the decisive try for Woodbridge to run out deserving winners.

Won 1-0

Scorer Maddy Ayres

We travelled to Harleston on a beautiful afternoon, made all the better by the result!  We started really well, the attacking runs from Khushi Srivastava, Isla Appleby from defence and Elizabeth Kiel opening up play.  Meanwhile Isla Richardson stopped almost everything headed for our defensive area, and Maggie Black in goal was magnificent when called upon.  As the half progressed, Charlotte Pezzotta put their defence under increasing pressure in the D, eventually earning a short corner – very exciting! – and we were able to score soon afterwards with Maddy Ayres slipping the ball past the keeper from open play.

In the second half, defending our lead, Perdi Ludgrove ran her socks off and proved why she was voted player of the game with some great chasing back and tackling.  Elizabeth scored in a goal mouth thriller but it was disallowed as the ball hit her foot.  Rose Purves played well on the left of the pitch and Grace Godwin put in some fantastic tackles to keep Norwich at bay.  Gabby Mosher stuck to her attacker like glue and proved her worth in the defensive line and we were able to hold onto the 1-0 win, phew!  Well played to all the girls and thank you for all the support from parents who travelled.

The U14A team dominated their game against Norwich, played at the Harleston Magpies ground last Thursday. They must have had 80% of possession and were often entrenched in Norwich’s half but the goals proved difficult to come by, with a combination of good goalkeeping and near misses. Despite frustration mounting, the girls showed patience and were finally rewarded with a super goal from captain Molly Marshall with a drag flick from a short corner. Player of the match went to April Hill in the first half and Molly Marshall in the second half. Julia Long also had a particularly good game up front, working extremely hard creating space and closing down play; and overall the whole squad played well as a team.

Meanwhile the U14 B team had an altogether more comfortable afternoon, winning well by 4-0 in a game where the goals flowed more easily thanks to an equally dominant performance against Norwich but better outcomes between the posts!

A Hat-trick for Patrick but the team ran out of steam!

Match lost by 8 – 6.

A multinational band of eager 2nd team footballers were in high spirits at kick-off at the prospect of playing their first competitive fixture of the season. Sporting the continental formation of 3-2-1-3-1 things looked good as we sprinted into a 5-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. Captain Will Evans-Hendrick and lone striker Henry Bange were both on target but it was new-boy Patrick “the Hat-trick” Frebel who stole the limelight with assured finishing giving Woodbridge a 5 – 2 lead at half-time. Patrick was to add to his haul with a neat top-corner finish with the outside of his boot at the start of the second half. Surely no team can surrender a 6 – 2 advantage with only 25 minutes to play?!?!?! Cue catastrophic capitulation. Woodbridge ran out of legs; the forward line failed to hold the ball up, the defence fluffed their clearances and the midfield went missing. Despite heroics in goal by Will Jennings RHS caught up with our score and overtook us leaving everyone lost for words. Hopefully we will show greater resolve in our next match.

The C and D teams had a busy afternoon of matches at the Orwell Park Hockey Tournament. After a slow start with a 2 – 0 loss the C were unbeaten for the rest of the tournament. This positioning really improved as they came together as a team. They finished with an exciting match against Framlingham Prep (2nd overall) holding them to a 0 – 0 draw. They were a worthy 4th place. The D Team came together well for their first game on astro this year. It was a fantastic learning experience as the girls began to look for spaces to pass to. Well done to the Goal Keepers Havannah and Amora who had an excellent afternoon of hockey.

It was an encouraging start to the season for The Abbey girls’ hockey teams away at Littlegarth.

The A Team were two goals down in the second half and then with ten minutes left to play they suddenly improved their structure, fought hard and went on to score 2 goals. Littlegarth responded with another attack but The Abbey team defended well and turned the game round with their third goal being scored in the last two minutes of the game. A tremendous team performance, great start to the season and encouraging to see a fantastic comeback, whilst under pressure.

At half time the C team were 1 – 0 up. They dominated the first half and were unlucky not to score more goals. In the second half they kept the lead right up until the last few minutes when Littlegarth managed to score. The final score was 1 – 1.

The B and D Teams had a lot of possession, but were unable to hit the ball past the GK. Both teams worked hard and their positioning improved. An area for improvement is to hit the ball harder.

Reception children (and teachers!) are keeping fit and healthy by going for a fun run in the mornings.

The U11A team give three cheers after a hard fought match

Well played to the U11 boys’ rugby teams who both opened the season with wins over Holmwood House. The A team won 2 tries to 1 with Luca and Fred both scoring tries. Jonjo and Jack P both made huge contributions in defence and attack. The B team played some great rugby in their 5 try to 4 victory. A special mention must go to Justin, Tolly and Oscar who all played their first rugby match for the Abbey.

Coverage of the 20th Bridge Charity Cycle ride which took place on Saturday 24 June. 26 Woodbridge School teachers, pupils and parents cycled 89 miles from London to Woodbridge, raising £10,000 for the Bridge School in London.