Sports Reports

St Mary's Hall Cross Country 

The U13 girls’ Cross Country team took the short journey to Stonyhurst College on Thursday to compete in the St Mary’s Hall Invitational Cross Country event. The conditions were poor and the team depleted due to illness and injury, that aside, the girls took to the course with real determination.

After disappearing into the distance the girls completed a difficult course across varying terrain before heading home into the tunnel. Georgia Nicholls lead the team home followed by team members Charlotte Fisher, Frankie Margerison, Leoma Gill, Lola Cooper and Keirra Grindey.

The team finished in overall 3rd place, a great achievement for all runners especially the four members of the team who are a year young!

The Under 13 boys’ squad acquitted themselves extremely well at SMH in very difficult underfoot and cold conditions. Two laps of the course had to be negotiated with the 8 Kirkham runners finishing in the top 30 which meant the team finished 3rd overall, Stanley Collinson finishing 5th in the individual event with Luke Schmid 15th out of 70 runners.

Hockey

KGS 2nd XI vs Stockport

The game was off to a quick start with the Stockport girls taking control of the game. This put KGS on the back foot, however, the girls responded well and ensured that everyone was behind the ball defending the goal. Scarlett Turnock and Eve Gooderham worked hard to defend but the Stockport girls were quick and slipped three goal past. During the second half the girls were determined not to give up and the team had a transformation. The girls became confident with each other working from the defence and progressing up the pitch. Unfortunately, they were unable to put a goal away past their keeper despite working hard throughout the entire second half.

U16 v Stockport

The girls were off to a slow start, which put them at a disadvantage from the onset. This resulted in the Stockport team scoring three quick goals past KGS. KGS retaliated, gaining possession of the ball but were unfortunate to not score. With 10 girls on the pitch due to injury, and half time nearing, KGS made one final break resulting in an outstanding goal by Talia Armstead in the top corner- ending half time 3-1. The second half started with the same determination and team work but unfortunately a goal keeper injury resulted in the game being called short.

U14 v Stockport

The U14s dominated the game from start to finish. In the first half the KGS girls were a little ill- disciplined and played like individuals rather than a team. However, they still went 3-0 up in the first half. The girls performed far better in the second half and scored a further 4 goals. The goals were scored by Jess Cole (3), Rachel Watson (3) and Emily Marsh (1). The girls now look forward to competing in the North of England Finals at Leeds on Tuesday.

U13 v Stockport

The U13s beat Stockport 6-0 thanks to goals from Frankie Margerison, Eva Berry, Alexa Anderson, Evie Mellon (2) and Lilly Jones. In the first half, KGS had to reacquaint themselves with 11-a-side hockey and this showed in much of their play. Despite being 3-0 up at half time the KGS girls knew that they were playing too narrow and would pose much more of a threat if they played with width and speed.

A much improved second half performance lead to a further 3 goals as KGS played some fantastic passing hockey that the Stockport defence struggled to live with. The highlight was a beautiful worked short corner routine that moved the defence around to leave Evie Mellon free on the penalty spot to slot home.

The U12A, B, U13B and U14B enjoyed some home fixtures last Saturday with some girls getting their first taste of competitive hockey. The U12A and B teams both scored several goals to come out victorious whilst the U13B and U14B teams were beaten by better sides. A great experience for all involved with the opportunity to put their training skills into action.

Rugby

1st XV v Harrow School

Won 48 -19

Kirkham Grammar School 1st XV travelled to play Harrow School one of England’s most prestigious rugby schools. In recent years Harrow have produced recent World Cup stars Mario Itoje and Billy Vunipola and a fearsome record against some of the UK’s top rugby schools including beating KGS in 2018. After a nervous start, Kirkham started to get some go forward from no.8 and Captain Ethan Caine who was in outstanding form all game - he was well supported by marauding flanker Oli Leatherbarrow. These two players took the game to Harrow and eventually prop forward Vito Bianchini was in the right place to crash over for the first try. Suddenly KGS settled and played some outstanding rugby with all players showing off their talent. One such player was winger Keir Gordon who created a try for scrum half Jonty Cope as well as finishing off with a try for himself. Kirkham kept the pressure on and more tries followed with Ethan Caine and Nathan Brooks getting on the score sheet to give KGS a 29-0 lead. Despite this score Harrow fought back and closed the score line to 29-12 , but with replacement hooker Liyema Mgwigwi causing havoc KGS regained control of the game. Further tries from Sam Carleton, Corey Bowker and finally from Oli Leatherbarrow gained Kirkham their best win of the season with a final score of KGS 48 Harrow School 19.

Kirkham U14 v Stonyhurst College U14 (Lancashire Cup Round 2) 

WON 0-33

A solid performance from the Kirkham U14s saw them progress into the next round of the Lancashire Cup. Harry Tomlinson scored Kirkham’s only points of the first half following some excellent ball movement from the KGS back line and some nifty footwork from Tomlinson. Stonyhurst then threw everything at Kirkham for the next twenty minutes, with Kirkham barely making it out of their own 22. However, the KGS defence held up and Stonyhurst came away with no points for their effort.

In the second half Kirkham took a more direct approach through their strong ball carriers Colin She, Jack Chapman, James Stacey and David Santa Soto. Stacey managed two tries, Tomlinson picked up his second and Santa Soto scored his first try for the school. Fly half Callum Hill had a good game, tackling well and converting four of the five tries successfully. Henry Whitton also grafted hard and leading by example in the contact area. Final score 0-33 to Kirkham.

U13s v Audenshaw

Kirkham Grammar School 45 – 35 Audenshaw

Kirkham made a steady start against their opposition, and weathered an early storm when the sizable Audenshaw pack kept their play narrow, testing the fringes of the breakdown area. Kirkham were resilient in their tackling, but conceded 2 tries in quick succession as the visitors made progress down the centre of the field. Kirkham responded effectively and began to dominate the game in terms of possession and territory, responding with 4 tries of their own by the end of the first half.

The second half continued in a similar fashion, with Audenshaw utilising their prop forwards to beat the gain line. Fortunately for the home side, Kirkham’s defence was organised enough to nullify this style of attack and forced the visitors to explore alternative strategies. In response, Kirkham continued to hold their shape in attack and were composed on the ball, taking advantage of overlaps and finding much success in the wider channels, thanks to the initial efforts of the forwards in the midfield. Kirkham ran out well deserved winners after an impressive performance and will look forward to building on their achievements during their midweek fixture in North Wales.