From Auckland we continued our journey south to Rotorua via the spectacular Waitomo caves. The visit ended with a subterranean boat trip illuminated by thousands of glow-worms hanging from the cave ceilings. Unfortunately it was here that the dons told us the terrible news about George Frewer – and we were determined to win the next match as a tribute to him. Later we visited a local Maori village and the Polynesian thermal baths. At the Maori village WOCM was designated our chief, and he accepted the haka challenge from the Maori warriors. We then found out more about Maori history and culture, before serenading our hosts with ‘The Chorus of The Hebrew Slaves’. How SJDC would have enjoyed our performance. The hot springs were a great way to cure any niggling injuries after training or matches. We entered our second game against Rotorua Boys’ High well aware of their reputation but with a quiet confidence. And we needed all this confidence as we were greeted by several hairraising hakas performed menacingly by a large proportion of the school. However this only resulted in further motivating the team, and we also had a minute’s silence for George before the game kicked off. We then produced some great tries as well as winning a huge physical battle amongst the forwards – the final score being 22–10 with tries from Atkinson, Stinton and Johnson.

Palmerston North was our next port of call although we broke the journey up with an overnight stay in Taupo, on the shores of New Zealand’s largest lake. There we went jetboating, which proved to be one of the best things we did, especially if you were shielded from the wind and spray by chief WOCM and Bunter. The white water was framed by primeval forest, and we also visited the local waterfalls and some other spectacular scenery. We also went to a geo-thermal site that had a sort of prehistoric sense to it – weird rock formations, bubbling sulphur pools and a geyser. We continued south to Palmerston North where we were fortunate enough to have a training session at the NZ National Rugby Academy. This was a fantastic insight into New Zealand rugby and we had use of all the facilities from the infamous changing room to the ice baths. There were signed team mementos everywhere, especially of recent All Blacks, and also a photograph of the 1924 Invincibles. We won our third straight game 7–0 the next day in comparatively scrappy fashion, but this didn’t stop us celebrating that night with karaoke in pulsating downtown Palmerston North. Here Guy Chalk thrived with the microphone but Rowley Edwards didn’t have such luck – he was told to stop singing and had his mic cut off!

Our next stop was Wellington where we lost for the first (and only) time of the tour: 7–0 to the 1st XV of Newlands College. Here Ranulf Orr suffered a neck injury and was taken off to hospital for a precautionary x-ray. Unfortunately the combined weight of NM, Nikki and Ranulf proved too much for the ambulance and we had to call upon our hosts to help push the ambulance off the muddy pitch. However this first loss didn’t prevent us enjoying such a beautiful city and we enjoyed an outing to the National Museum (Te Papa) and other places. Next morning we boarded the interislander ferry to the South Island. After a day off training (since this was our third match in 6 days) we had high hopes ahead of not only our rugby match but also a warm-up basketball match against Waimea College. We narrowly lost the basketball despite the heroics of Toby Vernon, but we set the record straight on the rugby field, beating our first South Island opponents 38–26 with tries from Coles, Johnson, Crampton Smith, Hunter, Barry and Spotswood. We were also hugely privileged to see Bunter demonstrate his considerable pace when he scored our fourth try (he didn’t get 12 on his shirt for nothing)! A notable absentee on the playing staff at this point was Rory v Z, who was trying – successfully as it turned out – to stay injured as long as possible in order to finish the last Harry Potter novel.

We then embarked on our final leg of the tour by travelling south along the east coast to Kaikoura where we were lucky enough to go whale-watching on a perfect day. Not only did we see five sperm whales, several seals and some rare birds, but we were also surrounded by some of the most impressive scenery we saw. The snowcapped mountains swept down to the beautiful Pacific Ocean – it was a real tour highlight. After another stint on the coach we arrived in Christchurch. Here we had more time to spend; we went to see Canterbury vs. Bay of Plenty at the Jade Stadium; naturally we were some of Canterbury’s most enthusiastic supporters and helped them on the way to victory. We played our final game against an under-16 side from St. Bede’s College who were unfortunately a slight mismatch: we won 92–3, scoring 14 tries in the process, scored by 13 different players! Here we also caught up with James Biddick and Andrew Nation, two of our ex-hockey coaches from the Midget / JC years.

By now we had come to the end of our matches and within a day or two we were on the plane again. Naturally we were flying to Fiji not home; we were on the other side of the earth and felt we deserved some well-earned rest and relaxation! The Hideaway Resort certainly didn’t disappoint. A luxurious resort nestled among towering coconut trees, stretching along the coral coast of southern Fiji, this was a far cry from the rickety bunk beds in some of the motels. The next four days flashed by in a blur of snorkelling, scuba-diving, sea-kayaking, aquaaerobics, sunburn, table-tennis, beach volleyball and dancing the night away ... . We did also climb the nearest mountain as a rain-drenched party, and we played a game of touch rugby at the village school, enthusiastically joined by the local lads. We rustled up some kit, boots and kitbags to give to the local players, and then looked forward to the flight home.

So we came to the end of our tour, a (largely) victorious adventure to the opposite side of the planet. As you might have expected we had all developed as players, but it was the places and people, the things we saw and the friends we made that really made this a fantastic tour. Thanks are due to RMCG, NM, WOCM, Nikki the physio and Daryl for all their efforts and organisation, and to all those who sponsored the trip, donated to the tour in any way or hosted us. It was the trip of a lifetime for us all.

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The Cricket Club 2007 - J.R.W.Beasley

P133 W80 L32 D21 ABANDONED 59

Every ten years the Radley cricketing brotherhood gathers its strength and raises a glass to another milestone in the working life of Bert. So it was on Saturday 28 April 07 that the Rangers unveiled their tribute to Bert’s contribution, Charlie Langton’s magnificent bust in bronze (destined for the Pavilion but currently residing in the Library) and then repaired to Hall for a great night of feasting and reminiscence. Bert is not so active in the nets today, but he’s always keen to encourage young players (not to mention nervous Masters-in-Charge) to ‘go out and play’, and even though he may not know it, a nod of approval from him is as much a fillip as a well timed shot of Bourbon.

It also represents all that is really good about this club. This year, as much as ever before, Radleians went out to play, directly, boldly and with ambition, and even though some matches were lost and June claimed the majority of the 59 abandoned fixtures, the force was strong. All matches against St Edward’s and Bradfield were won, and on the last Saturday before Leave Away a staggering 15 out of 16 matches were won against Marlborough. So much of this hinges on the skill of my colleagues throughout the club who manage gifted players into winning teams, but in their enthusiasm they also were able to turn out a 5th XI for the first time in years (played 2, won 2) and a Midgets 7 (played 1, lost by a handful of runs to Cheltenham Midgets 4). I would hazard a guess that more boys represented Radley this year than ever before.

Prince among these coaches is Andy Wagner who, through winter and summer, takes an interest in the least just as much as the greatest, and constantly nudges the best players towards county sides. It helps too that Radley cricket is played on a succession of excellent surfaces – the boys never know how good these pitches are until they’ve played a few away games – and so, to the professionalism of Adam King and his staff, to Wags and Bert and to all the coaches, the club owes a terrific vote of thanks.

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Rackets Sports

Tennis - M.V.Hubbard

I would like to start by thanking Mick Dean for all of his hard work and dedication to Radley Tennis over the years. Mick has stepped down as master-in-charge and has given me the reins. I hope I can continue to succeed with the tennis and look to take it from strength to strength. As for the number of boys playing tennis, it increases every year and the talent at every age group is clear to see. As there are so many players we are able to put out as many as 5 VIs against those schools that can do the same.

1st VI
This year’s first VI was captained by Will Dryer. Not only was Will a very able tennis player but as captain he was keen, hardworking, and a good motivator to the other players in the squad. Throughout the term the pairs were changed several times as there were many players capable of playing for the 1st VI and it was not always easy to know who worked best with who as everyone was of a very similar standard. The other members of the 1st VI were: Will Strang, George Hackett, Nick Showering, Doug Johnson, Harry Mayes, Toby Vernon. The team achieved many good wins over the term including our local opposition such as Abingdon, Oratory and MCS. The highlight of the term was getting to the regional final of the Glanville Cup, a tournament Radley always does very well in.

2nd, 3rd, 4th VIs
Our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th VIs also produced some very good tennis and most players improved as the term went on, not just technically but also tactically, which, when you are playing doubles, is just as important. Peter Blakeney, Tom Hörbye, Cameron Gubbins were three of those who showed commitment, determination and sheer persistence in all of their matches. The fixture card is always busy and bearing in mind that A Levels are taking place alongside it is good to know and see that all our boys are keen and want to learn how to become better tennis players. This summer came to a very successful end in the form of Gaudy Tennis. It is customary for the Dons to play against the boys, but for the first time I decided to involve some of the parents. It was a great success and those that participated thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Next year I hope to involve even more – so look out boys your dads’ may get their revenge!

Colts
The frustration of the Colts tennis season is always that it clashes with GCSEs, which start ever earlier, go on longer and thus make the season ever shorter. This year that frustration was compounded by the fact that, although on paper we had an excellent team, we also had an injury list worthy of Steve McClaren! We never once had our full team out, usually we had at least three of the 1st VI off games, and against Eton we had to field a 2nd VI such was the catalogue of bad backs, tennis elbows and, most bizarre of all, hands being shut in doors on the night before the match! The fact that we only lost 3–6 suggests that had we been able to field our best side we might have had an unbeaten season. Nonetheless we still won many of our school fixtures.

The silver lining of this cloud was that it meant that more boys were able to play for the school, and the large proportion of our squad of over 40 boys were able to play match tennis at some stage. We had considerable strength in depth and competed strongly at all levels, notwithstanding the injuries, often being carried to victory by a strong third pair. Many boys improved their standard of tennis, good fun was had by all, and the season ended on a happy note as we came away with the OXIST (Oxfordshire Independent Schools) League Cup. - D.Caro, P.M.Teale & T.D.Mullins

Junior Colts
This season’s JC tennis was disrupted by record levels of rainfall, injury and switching between sports but several victories were nevertheless achieved by a reliable core of boys digging in and working hard at their game.

Redvers Parker and George Norton established themselves as the outstanding first pair and played some memorable attacking tennis, most notably against Winchester’s first pair where they came close to inspiring an improbable and narrow win for JC1. They did anchor our JC1 victories against Cheltenham and MCS, ably supported by Alex Beale / Will Fowler and Louis Wakefield / Arthur Fane (v Cheltenham) and Jonathan Haddon / Sam Montgomery (v MCS). JC2 beat the same two schools and Oratory with Tom Parker, George Telfer and Freddie Hunter proving effective match winners. But Eton, Abingdon and Winchester proved too strong throughout our card. JC3 did record comfortable wins against Wellington and MCS, thanks to Messrs Henderson, Harker, Howard, Winkler, Glick, Dunn and Read.

The season ended on a surreal note when the annual OXIST tournament at Vale of The White Horse was rained off mid afternoon and the promised partial results never materialised – presumed washed away down the Thames...

I hope the boys enjoyed what tennis was possible in this rain-affected season. Next year those like Redvers and George must aspire to replicate the attacking match play which enthralled the crowd against Winchester. The example of Jonathan Haddon and Freddie Hunter should inspire the whole team with their athletic refusal to concede any rally or point. And those other players in the top teams can attempt to make their naturally stylish ‘knock up’ ground strokes more consistent and deadly weapons in matches. This will be achieved if they put their heart and soul into competitive matches in training and stay positive whilst learning from their mistakes. - M.R.Jewell

Rackets - M.V.Hubbard

This rackets season our team was not as strong as in past years but undoubtedly there is talent in our squad. Jamie Stallibrass was our captain but due to his many hockey commitments he only really played during the Michaelmas term. That said, he and his partner Will Strang had some very memorable wins as first pair against Clifton, Haileybury, Charterhouse, and a very emphatic win against Wellington by 4 games to 1. When Jamie was not able to play his place was filled by the very capable Jamie Holbech. At Colts level Jo Manners, Alex Birkmyre, George Hackett, and Jamie Holbech held their own against strong opposition. Harrow were dispatched by 3 games to love as were Wellington, Charterhouse and Rugby with similar scorelines. The youngsters in the team were not to be outdone by their seniors. Jimmy Donger, George Norton, George MacDonald-Milner, Freddie Eccles-Williams, all played their fair share of matches over the two terms and at times it was very hard to pick the best two for the Junior Colts pair. As for the Midgets, keenness and talent were not too far away. Henry McAlister, Tom Buckley, Ed Monbiot, and Jamie Brownlee are the stars of the future (I hope!!).

On a personal note I feel I ought to report my achievement back in April, as I keep re-living it with the boys – much to their annoyance, I imagine. Having won the Open Doubles with partner Neil Smith (New York) back in 2006 in our first tournament as a partnership we then got asked if we wanted to challenge for the World Title! This was difficult to turn down, so the following 12 months meant getting into shape and practicing more than usual. It is a two leg event, the first being held in New York and the second leg at Queen’s Club, London. In the first leg Neil and I got off to a flyer and stormed through to a 4–0 lead. The following week, to many, was a foregone conclusion, but there is no such thing in sport. We felt we HAD to win the first game and finish the matter off. After an hour and a half ’s play that is exactly what we did much to my relief and excitement.

Having achieved my own goal I hope that the boys in the team will be spurred on and more motivated to achieve their own successes.

Squash - M J Harris

The new squash season started with much promise. The Senior team was initially composed of 6.2 players: Ivan Yim, Douggie Johnson, Charlie Duckworth, Tom Kenning and Ed Kerr. Early results were encouraging with wins against Cheltenham, St Edward’s, Winchester and Oratory and well fought matches against Harrow, Eton, Marlborough and Wellington. Ivan Yim was a particularly impressive No 1 with a long string of victories throughout the season both at school and Oxfordshire County level. Douggie Johnson proved a dogged and reliable performer while Charlie Duckworth was meteoric not to say volcanic! Tom Kenning made great strides while Ed Kerr made slightly smaller ones.

As the season progressed it proved difficult for squash to compete with the time demands of major games and other activities but it was gratifying to see the resurgence of interest and commitment amongst new senior converts, notably Richard Martyn-Hemphill, Fred Barber, Ben James and Luke Cheetham all of whom did battle in matches and with considerable success.

A residue of Junior Colts continued to play, notably Oli Hayes who trained hard and has become a very promising player for the future, supported by wet-bob James Fournier who played when the river was flooded. There were occasional glimpses of Will Fowler and Adam Spring.

There was a large Midgets squad who made rapid progress and won many of their matches under the expert guidance of Ross Gore, the new coach. Encouraging new Shell players included Angus McAlpine, Rory Odam-Smith, Giles Harwood, Tom Scott-Cowell, James Hallam, George Wills, Henry Wakefield, Kit Weaver and Andrew Barrie Next season will be a challenge as we will be losing our top five senior players.

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Golf - H.D.Hammond

P15 W4 H2 L9

The team (from): William Woolsey (capt), Tom Atkinson, Ali Haszlakiewicz, Henry Bailey, Maxi Hamilton, Nick Fenwick, Archie Stirling, Rory Buchanan, Guy de Zulueta

This was the start of a period of rebuilding the side and understandably results were mixed. The most exciting moment came at the West Sussex trophy (played off handicaps) where we were tied on points with Brighton College, only to lose because our second pair scored slightly less than theirs. To the winners went much gold, to the runners up, nothing. It was harsh, but a great day out nonetheless on a beautiful heathland course. This was Henry Bailey’s finest hour, as he and Will Woolsey acquired 40 stableford points. The captain’s form was solid all season and he deserves much credit for the way that he maintained his enthusiasm and composure, even through the exam period. I will miss William’s gentle sense of humour and understanding of the game – I wish him well at Cambridge and hope that he enjoys a few rounds on the great nine at Worlington.

Despite the number of defeats, there were plenty of close matches; notably the draw with Eton at Sunningdale – what an excellent addition to the fixture list! Solid wins here for Maxi Hamilton, Rory Buchanan and Guy de Zulueta. We also had the heady weeks of three wins in a row, with Stowe, the ORs and St Edward’s all being put to the sword. Archie Stirling showed his promise with three strong victories, and Ali Haszlakiewicz started to play with real authority higher up the batting order. Tom Atkinson played regularly at number one where he battled well, sometimes losing at the last but demonstrating his ruthless streak by disposing of the Stowe top man out in the country. Young Nick Fenwick joined the squad and the signs are that he will make a formidable foursomes pairing with Maxi – their great win against an experienced Bradfield pair was sweet. At Burnham the boys were in great form against Blundells and Monmouth, just losing out to the latter. Archie Stirling was in prime nick and Tom Atkinson played extremely well, just losing out to a very low handicapper in the semi.

We also played six junior games this year and won a couple – against Stowe and Bradfield. There is much promise here, especially from the likes of Henry Wakefield, Andrew Sweerts, Angus McAlpine and Richard Akingbehin. The key to our golfing health over the next few years is how these chaps (and many others) develop: there are some very good swings, but there is no substitute for practice – especially from 100 yards out. With an enthusiastic new Shell just arrived, I am hoping that we can develop another competitive side.

As ever, our thanks must go to Andy Hill, Adam King and their team. The course just gets better and better and I like to hear a few members complain that the greens are ‘too fast’! We are very lucky to have such experts in charge.

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Polo - Giles Bromley-Martin

The Radley polo season, although interrupted constantly by the weather, managed to go through the season with losing only one match in the summer term.

The strength of depth within the team was shown when three members of the first squad were taking GCSEs in the summer term, and so their participation was interrupted by their studies. In the term, Edmund Parsons (Captain), Josh Nimmo, Giles Bromley-Martin. Hugo Davies, Dillon Bacon and Angus Nimmo all represented the first team. However our strength, reflected in our handicap, meant that the opposition normally started with a few goals lead calculated from the difference in handicap of the two teams.

In our first match against Marlborough we put out an A and B side at Kirtlington, The B side won a close fought encounter by 2:1, and the competition between the two schools was repeated when the A team managed to overcome the handicap difference to win narrowly by 5: 4.5. The A team in particular was not particularly happy with their performance, so in our next match against Wellington who are a fast improving side, we outscored them by 6 goals to 2 to win the match by 6:4.5 which we felt was much more satisfactory. Then after the cancellation of the Shrewsbury match due to weather, the A team entered into a three way tie with Cheltenham and Sherbourne. We lost our first match to the national champions Cheltenham by 3:0, we then managed to improve our game to draw with Sherbourne 3:3. We then had what would be our last match against Eton; we again managed to overcome the handicap difference to win by 7:5.5, which was a comfortable win for us.

Unfortunately, the Nationals were postponed due to the appalling weather and took place the following weekend. However, we had already broken up and two of our players had already gone abroad for training. This year, therefore, Radley did not take part which was a great disappointment considering how strong our team would have been. So a good season for Radley polo and with two young England players in the school, it can only get better next year.

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Sailing - J.P.Wylie

The 2006–7 year should have seen one of the strongest teams Radley has produced in recent years but a combination of conflicting commitments and other circumstances meant that only rarely did it perform to its full potential. The captain, Sam Petty, was undoubtedly one of the quickest dinghy sailors on the school scene, not only representing the region in team-racing events but winning an impressive number of individual events including the RYA Thames Valley Youth Travellers Trophy, the BSDRA Prism Trophy and the Gloucestershire Schools Regatta. His expertise was much in evidence in school team racing, where Radley were competitive in a number of regional events and came a most creditable 5ths in the National Finals.

A wide variety of other events were attended, perhaps the highlight being a very windy Itchenor Schools Championship in both Fireflies and 420s where the team managed to win a spinnaker pole to replace one lost in a capsize. The annual match in the Seaview Mermaids against ORSA and Winchester was a shade disappointing in terms of results but, as ever, a great experience and one that few school sailing clubs can boast on their calendar. Henry Barker and Guy Scott competed in the CCF National Regatta at Portsmouth and the BSDRA Pairs Championship was contested by Sam Petty and Henry Holman. The internal Winter Points Trophy was hotly contested and won by Sam Petty from Henry Holman with Gus Hatchard taking the Crews prize. An encouraging aspect of this competition was the number of enthusiastic younger sailors who took part regularly. Unfortunately the annual pilgrimage to Schull in Ireland for the Fastnet International Schools Regatta had to be cancelled but it is hoped to attend this event in the future. The Club remains small but is well-equipped, cheerful and enthusiastic, allowing a wide variety of water-borne experiences to be undertaken and enjoyed.

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The National Trail Running Championship - P.M.Fernandez

For the second year running Paul Fenandez (PMF) tackled the 85 miles of the Ridgeway from Invinghoe Beacon to Avebury. As well as a race it was also the National Trail Running Championship. Fifty five athletes started the race at noon, but due mainly to the extremely hot conditions (27oC during Saturday) only forty finished.

Paul finished at 03:16 on a misty Sunday morning, after running for 15 hours and 16 minutes. He beat his time from last year by 30 minutes, and also took 2 minutes off the existing record. Unfortunately for him, he was 2nd (again), which officially ranks him second trail runner in the country. [Matt Giles who won the race also won the 2006 Grand Union Canal Race (145 miles in 29 hours and 2 mins) and another competitor Henk Van der Beek was third in the same race.]

During the race, Paul had great support from his wife Tracey, and other members of his running club, Abingdon Amblers. They kept him supplied with drink, food, first aid and showers of cold water. Despite drinking 9 litres of lucozade, plus dioralyte and soup, and eating plenty of food, Paul lost 8 lbs, including 4lbs of fat.