Celebrating our pupils' rugby representative successes outside of school

November 22nd 2023

Celebrating our pupils' rugby representative successes outside of school...

It is great to able to celebrate the success of some of our pupils over the past year. Being able to put two competitive teams out most weekends across all age groups this season is a real achievement and demonstrates that rugby at King’s Bruton is in a good place. We are lucky to have qualified rugby coaches across all age groups, which I believe has not only contributed to representative success throughout the School, and has also raised participation lower down in the School.

Each year, more and more of our young rugby players have been selected to play in the Bath Player Development Group (PDG), Bath Development Player Pathway (DPP) and at County representative level. The Bath Academy system has been a great platform for our boys to train weekly with high quality coaches and has provided fantastic support for players to reach their ambitions and goals.

My congratulation goes to Iolo, Otto (U14s) and Harry L (U15’s) who have recently been selected in Bath DPP and have started training at Yeovilton Air Base. Over the past year, we have seen Henry, Ronnie, Ludo, Levi, Kit, Sid, Jeevan, Harry, Otto, Iolo, Tom and Angus who have all been a part of the Bath DPP system. Ronnie and Henry have been training in the wider U18’s PDG group with Niko currently on trial. Sid has been selected in the U16’s PDG group. Niko, Will, Ollie and Toby have represented Dorset & Wiltshire recently and are looking forward to starting the U18s campaign after Christmas.

Previously, we have had (now Old Brutonians) Alex Bairstow, Lewis O’Grady, Charlie Wichary (2021), Oscar Baldwin-Battersby and Will Owen (2022), all who have benefitted from representing Dorset and Wiltshire. This is a great platform for players who haven’t been selected into the Bath PDG group and go on to represent their county or region.

Previous 1^st XV Captain, Lewis O’Grady, has commented on how his time at King’s Bruton, Dorset and Wiltshire and Exeter Chiefs U18’s PDG training group has helped him go on and play for Exeter University.

"Throughout my time at King’s, I was provided with endless support within both my academic and sporting life. Mr Hawley’s expertise within rugby enabled me to improve my knowledge, skills, and ultimately, my love for the game. In my Upper Sixth year, I was lucky enough to captain the 1^st XV rugby team, which was a huge honour. This then led onto being selected for the Exeter Chiefs U18 PDG squad, which would not have been possible without the additional support and hours Mr Hawley put in. Currently I am now a second-year student at the University of Exeter and have continued to enjoy playing rugby at a highly competitive level". Lewis O'Grady

Success for me, as Head of Rugby at King’s Bruton, is getting the pupils playing rugby at the highest level they want to achieve. However, more importantly, allowing them to have a great experience so they can continue to play rugby at their own level after school. Recently, we had six Old Brutonians playing locally in the Castle Cary Men's 1^st XV which is a real success in its own. Three best of friends Tom, Ollie and Sam (picture below) linking up playing for Tom’s Psychology team at university, gives me the same excitement of those who are playing at a high standard in top rugby universities/clubs.

Whilst my time at King’s Bruton is coming to an end, I am still eager to finish the season on a high, and I would like to thank all pupils, staff, and parents for the support they have shown King’s Bruton rugby over the years.

Ben Hawley - Head of Rugby