Year 9 Rugby
25 November 2024

WOW! WOW! WOW! What an evening that was!

After a shock, but not surprising, defeat against Cockburn in our first game, we displayed some good rugby but struggled throughout to get our heads in the right place to compete. Cockburn were a very well organised team who all play together outside of school. We never gave up and continued to challenge them whenever we had ball in hand. Unfortunately losing 4 tries to 1.

We then had a wait to play our final game against Leeds West. Thankfully this did not put out the fire that had ignited after our loss to Cockburn. The boys did not want to finish the evening after their first performance and set out to take the game to Leeds West as soon as it began.

In the opening minute James took the ball and ran around their entire team before straightening up to run in our first try. With some powerful tackling and impeccable discipline, we forced a handling error from Leeds West and regained the ball. With some fantastic plays and strong carries from Harry, Aleks and Emmanuel we got closer and closer to their try line before James again ran straight through their defence to score another try. From here the game evened out with strong runs from Leeds West seeing them cut through our defence and score twice to bring them level. We had a real fight on our hands. With our team’s grit and determination, they wanted to ensure Leeds West did not take victory after meeting them in the Campion Schools league earlier in the year.

We pushed up the field with several strong runs before Evan was tripped in a tackle resulting in a penalty 10 metres from the try line. Evan took a quick tap and ran it in, bursting through tackles and getting over the line himself. Finally, after receiving the kick off, we retained the ball and James was able to go on another of his wonderful, winding runs, beating defenders and eventually crossing the line carrying one of the opposition.

Our final game finished 4 tries to 3.

We WON!! WE ARE GOING TO THE FINAL!! (10th March so plenty of time to prepare)

As the game ended all of the boys began to celebrate like they had just won the World Cup. However, Harry went over and began to shake the oppositions hands, including their coach, thanking them for a great game of rugby. The others quickly realised and followed suit. Harry has really grown into the captaincy he has been given and leads by example both on and off the pitch.

Below are the names of the students that played this evening:

Harry Cawthorne (C), Aleksander Bogdanowicz, Ngaanue Nguvauva, Emmanuel Pelo, Chivuso Amoke, David Batista Neto, Riley Clark, James Kaba, Sekou Kourouma, Simao Marques, Evan Whitford, Chinonso Okunbor, Tiago Malu, Zoel Deji,Demi Awosanya
and Hayden Wright.

Mr S Cooper

Champion Schools competition with a win for
Year 9 Rugby Team

Well what a night that was!

We took 15 Year 9 boys to Allerton Grange, all up for finishing the first round of the Champion Schools competition with a win… what a win it was!

Captained by Harry, he led by the front and put in some fantastic tackles and scored our first try. This set an example to the other players and showed that if they ran with intent they could break through their tackles and make ground every time they carried the ball.

In the last 10 minutes of the first half Allerton Grange seemed to find their rhythm and responded to our first half performance with a couple of their own tries.

Feeling a little beaten after their comeback, we went into half time still holding our heads high but wondering how we would get back on top to prevent them from scoring more. With talks from Harry and others they worked out what they were going to do and were ready to put it into action.

The 2nd half began, and it was clear our boys were ready to take their game to the next level and were seemingly unstoppable. Harry, James and Alex all ran hard at the defensive line breaking through tackles and putting the scoreline out of reach for Allerton Grange.

The game finished with us winning 46 – 18.

With that result we should finish mid table so can expect to progress into the Leeds and Hunslet Schools Competition as well as the Yorkshire Cup.

A highlight of the evening has to be Harry coming and asking me if I knew where their coach was at the end of the game as he wanted to thank him for hosting us.

Because of the spirit the game was played in, and the conduct and sportsmanship of our boys, Allerton’s coach has asked if we would visit again and possibly on a more regular basis for “friendly” games to help them develop.

What a fantastic night and a great way to finish the first rugby campaign before the half term break.

Mr S Cooper

Year 9 Rugby – 15/10/24

On Tuesday 15 October we hosted Leeds West Academy in the “Champions School Cup”, an opportunity for our team to play and develop as a squad. 14 Year 9 students played in their 2nd game of 4 this half term.

When the game started, we were quick off the mark and ran in our first try within the first 2 minutes, all created from incredible strength and speed to break through tackles and cross over the line.

This was not what Leeds West were expecting, and they kicked into gear. Over the next 20 minutes there were several sets of 5 completed, with both teams showing off their abilities but with Leeds West coming out on top at half time.

After a quick team talk, we started the 2nd half inspired. Very quickly from the kick off we regained the ball and scored. The 2nd half saw us going toe to toe with Leeds West scoring 2 tries each. In the final minutes Leeds Wests players’ experience and stamina saw them cross the line a further 3 times to leave the final score at 24-66.

Despite the score line we saw further developments in the team’s ability asthey continue to bond. They consistently show impeccable sportsmanship, which keeps their morale high, even after tough games. The Leeds West staff were impressed with the boys’ conduct throughout the game and were over the moon that once the game finished, both teams came together to chat with each other and walk back to the changing rooms together.

I must mention Harry Cawthorne as it was his first time as captain of the team. He held himself and the team accountable for any infringements and, when given the opportunity, pulled players aside to offer advice and encouragement. Harry was amazing again and set the example for the others to follow throughout the evening.

A special shout out goes to Alissia Johns who was my designated photographer and captured some fantastic photos.

Mr S Cooper

Year 11 Girls’ Netball

The Year 11 Girls had their first netball fixture against Gateways School on Wednesday 25th September. The final result did not go in our favour, however, I have never seen the girls play such wonderful netball.

Their play was outstanding, passing fluidly up and down the court and creating chance upon chance to score. Unfortunately, on this occasion, Gateways were simply more clinical in the shooting third.

Well, done to all the girls involved. (Mrs Leeson)

House Competitions

All the students from Years 7 to 9 represented their Houses in an impeccable manner, their sportsmanship and teamwork were outstanding. The results were as follows:

Boys Football

Year 7

St Matthew

St John

St Mark

St Luke

Year 8

St Luke

St Matthew

St Mark

St John

Year 9

St Luke & St Matthew

St John

St Mark

Girls Netball

St Luke

St Mark

St John

St Matthew

Girls Football

All 4 houses tied with 40 points each

Athletics

Boy Athletics

This year has seen a huge rise in students wishing to represent Mount St Mary’s in Athletics, so much so we have had almost 30 boys across
Years 7-10 involved in the school competitions, with some of them now attending Leeds City Athletics club training as a result of their enjoyment and talent.

The intermediate boys team (Year 9-10) have qualified in 2nd place (by 3 points) for the city finals, having dominated much of the three matches against the other seven schools in our pool. Their performances have been sensational as has their leadership and support of the younger athletes. We had so many 1st place finishes in both track and field events, Yaried, as expected, dominating the middle and long distance races, Mark dominating the 100m sprint, Victory and Nosa winning different High jump nights but the pinnacle of all of this was the 4x100m relay team. In match 1 and 2 they had finished 2nd to the same school by 0.02s. They were incredibly determined to go one better on the final match day and managed to put together an impeccable performance of changeovers to win by a distance of 10 metres!

The Junior boys team (Year 8) have been an unstoppable dominant force across all three matches. They won each individual night and have qualified for the city finals in 1st place. every single member of the team has put in unbelievable performances across all events placing 1st or 2nd in almost everything, Marvin and Zoel winning their 100m heats every night and the 4x100m relay. They go into the finals as hot favourites to place in the top three in the city on finals night, where we will be taking on the likes of Leeds Grammar School and Prince Henry’s.

Both teams have been a joy to work with and take to each night, their attitudes have been outstanding and they were excellent roles models demonstrating who we are as a community.

Girls Athletics

The girls have been outstanding in their representation of Mount St Mary’s across the 3 athletics meetings this term. They have been Resilient in their battles to gain the best place possible in each event and have grown throughout the competition in both confidence and technique.

Final standings: both junior and intermediate girls made it to the Leeds School Final on Tuesday 2^nd July.

Bishop Roche Netball & Football Competitions

During this half term we have had a number of Year 10 Young Leaders and Year 9 BTEC Sport students to assist with the running and organisation of the Bishop Roche Catholic Primary Netball and Football Tournaments.

All 12 students involved have excelled with their knowledge and understanding of the games, application of the rules and Resilience and confidence throughout the competitions. They have represented Mount St Mary’s in the most respectable manner. Well done.

Year 8 Rugby

On 16 May I took 11 students to Bruntcliffe Academy for the Rhinos 9’s Super League Play Offs.

This is the first time, for a number of years, that a MSM team has made it through to the “Super League play offs” for the Rhinos 9’s tournament. Our team are now placed within the top 8 school teams for their age group within Leeds.

Unfortunately, we have not placed high enough to qualify for the finals at Headingley Stadium, however, the passion and camaraderie the boys have shown gives me hope for next year!

We were one of 7 teams in attendance, meaning we had to play 6 games of rugby with very little rest between matches.

We started with a very difficult game against Leeds West. We were able to get the better of them with our physicality and pace, scoring 2 very early tries. Unfortunately, they were able to find their feet and score 3 unanswered tries to win the game, so we lost 3-2. This was a similar story for our next 2 games, losing by one try each game, but the team’s passion could never be faulted. One of those games was against the tournament runners up who only lost to the overall winners. With passions running high we went into our final 2 games against Garforth Academy and Carr Manor, wishing for a win. Exceptional carries from James, Jack and Harry put us on the front foot, cutting through the defence at every opportunity we had. We won our last 2 games of the tournament 5-3 and 5-2. This left us in joint 4th and 5th place at the end of the tournament.

Whilst the team were feeling slightly disheartened, they found joy in finishing mid table as no other MSM team has done this for quite some time.

I could not pick a better bunch of MSM students to take out to represent our school. They played with their hearts on their sleeves and gave their absolute all during every minute of every game they played. I hope that despite the upset they have experienced, they continue to attend training on a Tuesday night, giving them the opportunity to continue to grow into the game, hopefully maintaining the passion that I have seen in them over the last 2 years.

We have recently had Luke Littlewood, a former MSM student, join them at training in school to encourage them to join his team at East Leeds Rugby Club. Should any of our students decide to take him up on this offer I believe next year we will be a team not to be messed with.

Year 8 Rugby Tournament
25 April 2024

I took possibly the biggest team I’ve had for some time to Garforth Academy in high spirits after our last tournament in January. There were 12 schools at the tournament and we were split into two groups of 6. The top 3 teams from each group will gain a place in the “Premiership” tournament. The bottom 3 from each group will be entered into the “Championship” tournament.

Our group consisted of… Leeds East Academy, Allerton Grange, Garforth Academy, Brigshaw High School and Carr Manor. We knew from previous tournaments that Garforth and Brigshaw would be our most difficult games as a lot of their teams play out of school. We threw ourselves into our first games against Leeds East and Allerton Grange, scoring 5 tries in both games and only conceding 3 in total. This raised the team’s spirits and brought out their competitive edge. Next we played Garforth, this was an extremely close game where Garforth were able to steal the win in the final play of the game finishing 3-2.

We then played Brigshaw, spurred on from the defeat to Garforth, the boys took to the field determined to win. We opened the scoring very quickly which turned into a game of tennis, whenever we scored they were able to answer back. We drew this game 4-4.

Finally, for our last hope of remaining in the top 3, we played Carr Manor, thrashing them 5-3 in an amazing display of rugby skill and strength.

As always, the team were a pleasure to take out to the tournament. They embody the MSM values and remain resilient and competitive throughout even the toughest of games. I could write about every single one of them and how they impacted the results but as honourable mentions I must shout out…