Alan Hitchcock

Hymns and Arias

After more than two decades of dedicated service to Claremont rugby, Alan Hitchcock will hang up his boots, whistle and Welsh songbook for the final time on Saturday 7th December. Under his watch, generations of Claremont rugby players have progressed through the youngest Senior school age group, and will universally remember the infectious energy, passion and shear zeal for rugby that Mr Hitchcock carries in his soul.

First learning his craft as a Monmouth schoolboy, once employment brought him across the Severn, Mr Hitchcock progressed to the upper echelons of Gillingham RFC, but never lost his allegiance to the Land of Our Fathers. Legends of Welsh teams past inspired a love of the game that projected in every session Alan conducted; encouraging, cajoling, impish, improving, a whirlwind of rugby anecdote, humour, exasperation at a false pass, praise for a well-executed move, the embodiment of inspiration to youngsters making their first tentative sidesteps into the great game.

The first cohort of ‘Hitchcock’s Army’ will now be twenty-eight years old. The spin passing of time represents literally hundreds of fledgling rugby players, countless hours, come sun, wind or rain. At first, Alan’s obligations as Director of Music meant rugby action took second fiddle. Once promoted to his current role as Deputy Head however, his innate instinct to contribute, to encourage a love of ‘the national game’ saw him out in all weathers, youngsters across the years cast under his mercurial spell. Alan still holds the school 10,000m record, taking on the challenge on a whim, that insatiable appetite for sport transmitted across the generations. Past and current players, coaches, parents, the sport of rugby

itself, will reflect on ‘Mr Hitchcock’ with a smile and appreciate just how fortunate they have been to have had such a giant striding amongst them.

Diolch – Thank you, for everything Mr Hitchcock.

Cricket

U15

The U15 Claremont cricket team played in the Surrey Schools group stages of the School Indoor National Competition. Their 1st two games were convincing controlled wins against Holyfield and Glyn schools. In their final game they played a very strong side from Reeds School who bowled really well to restrict Claremont to a low total which Reeds then chased down easily winning the game and taking them through to the next stage.

The highlight of the tournament was an over bowled by Ash V consisting of 3 wickets and 3 wides as he swung the ball unbelievably which proved unplayable.

Lacrosse

1st

A slow start but a fantastic end! The match stood 5-4 at the end of the first half, with some lovely patient attack but slightly scrappy play. Second half and downhill advantage came in our favour, with around 90% possession and some lovely teamwork and patience. Dominant play all round.

U15B

With only 10 players and therefore no substitutes, the 15Bs did a fantastic job of playing smart and looking after the ball. The first half finished with a 2-1 lead to HABS. The second half saw plenty of possession for Claremont and more drives to goal which resulted in us drawing level at 2-2. Unfortunately, HABS took advantage of having a bench and pushed their fast break opportunities in the last 5 minutes to gain a healthy lead. The game ended 7-2 to HABS but perhaps does not reflect the improvement seen and how well the whole team played given the circumstances.

U14A

The best attack we’ve seen this year! Lovely unit work and team goals meant an 11-8 win. Fantastic turnovers in redefending. Defence transitioned the ball very well with lots of swing options.

U13B

A strong start for Haberdashers made it difficult for the Claremont defence early on. However, Claremont held their own and took the lead. A massive shout out to Izzy and Bella in goal, both displaying lovely stick work. Emilie made a great effort in attack and created brilliant opportunities in front of goal, well done.

U12A & U12B

Netball

House matches took centre stage this week, with some fiercely contested and enjoyable games.

Rugby

1st XV

Lost 0-48. Claremont were outclassed by a rapid Cranleigh back line, whose passing, width and speed caught the visitors cold. The loss of Rhys D to an unfortunate injury in the first five minutes disrupted the Claremont confidence and alignment, but in truth, Cranleigh were too strong across the field.

Eight tries were scored, primarily by determined and pacy wingers, as Claremont struggled to contain the flow. Sean H was at the tenacious heart of the visitor’s resistance, Lucas delT carried hard, but these were rare highs on a day when the size, power and strength of the Cranleigh team proved just too much to contain.

2nd XV

The Claremont 2s took on two Cranleigh squads in a triangular tournament, with the hosts too strong for the Claremont team in both games.

U15A

Lost 5-40 v Clares Court. The scoreboard tells the tale of a sizeable defeat, but only half the story. Claremont were outsized and compelled to defend for large swathes of the match but did so with considerable grit and determination. Following a big loss in the fixture last year, nerves were apparent, but despite the margin of defeat, this was an outstanding performance, physical, resilient, proud.

Facing an enormous centre, Ben M tackled his heart out, fiercely assisted by Josh H, while the forwards were relentless in their attitude and desire, Felix D prominent. The reality is that CC were simply a bigger, better, but they know they were in a battle, the opposition coach crediting Claremont as the toughest team they have faced this term.

Rare, missed tackles were punished, but the Red Sea parted just once for their Centre of attention. Tries were scored wide out through good passing but indicates the mettle of the home midfield defence. It was only fitting that Sam C score, refusing to be denied from close range. Clares Court were worthy winners, but Claremont can be proud of this tenacious display.

U15B

Won 49-10. The U15Bs had their best performance of the season on Saturday against Dulwich College. Strong tackling, physical running and some very clever offloads and kicks all combined for a confident team performance.

Despite being comfortably ahead for the majority of the game, there were multiple examples of dogged try line defending that stopped Dulwich scoring. Charlie R and Raff B were the standouts, with numerous tackles that stopped Dulwich’s momentum and three tries between them as a result of running some fantastic lines and breaking tackles with the ball in hand. A well-deserved and convincing 49-10 win for the boys!

U14A

Won 17-10 v Clares Court. From this season’s results this was the game that would define the season. Both teams were very up for it and when the two teams faced up, there appeared to be little to choose between them. This was very much the case in the first half with both teams cancelling each other out. Claire’s Court had the majority of possession early on, testing our defence in all areas and it took several high-quality tackles on the wing by Oscar I to snuff out the threat. Claremont forwards were outstanding, turning over the ball regularly at the breakdown and showing just how effective a unit they were. Max S also became a dominant runner, the opposition were undoubtedly afraid when he got the ball. However, the only score of an incredibly even first half was a well taken penalty by Eden.

The second half burst into life straight from the kick off. A spilled ball led to a break by James S who burst down the wing but just when the threat seemed to have been snuffed out, he off

loaded to Robbie W who slipped the first tackle, rolled inside and dived in over the line in the corner with two defenders attached. To extend the lead, Eden then kicked the conversion from 5m inside touch. Again from the restart, chaos reigned. The ball was spilled by both teams until Claire’s Court went for a tactical kick. Lucas R blocked the kick and chased it down, fly-hacking forward from his own 10m line all the way to the line, diving on the ball under close pressure. Again Eden’s touch line conversion was outstanding.

Those two early scores gave Claremont confidence but over the course of the half Claire’s Court size began to dominate. Both their forwards and backs made ground and despite last ditch and desperate tackles all over the field. Eventually a poor defensive kick into open space gave enough space for them to run in their first try. Shortly afterwards, and following attritional pressure, Claire’s Court got their second score. crucially, neither being converted. The pressure then continued but both teams looked more and more tired.When the final whistle came, it ended a breathless, full blooded but entirely good spirited game. Claremont came away as worthy winners after their display in the middle half of the game.

U14B

The Under 14Bs found themselves in a very competitive, well fought game against a physical Claires Court School. Oliver W continues his try scoring form with a double and one from Ryan K meant the boys went into halftime at 19-19. Despite starting the second half strongly, some strong runners from Claires Court meant the score finished 38-19.

U13B

Lost 15-50 v Clares Court. A very stern challenge against an absolutely superb opposition after conceding 3 tries in the first 3 minutes there was a big step up in performance and the second half was very evenly matched. The Claremont team didn’t give up or cave in but played to their best for the full match.

Tennis

The Senior girls had a superb match against St Theresa’s, with outstanding serves and rallies, attacking the net with positivity. The 10-2 victory in the LTA National league match, saw just one doubles match lost across the afternoon. Well done girls, this was a second victory from three matches, with Sophia C, Ava P, Linea P and Sophie W outstanding.

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