July 2003

This is going to be a rather cursory update I am afraid but I trust you will agree that it is better to have something than nothing at all. We are about to run into a very hectic last few weeks with a lot of sports fixtures for all sports coming up so I am trying to fill in some details of the recent period of term or else nothing will be reported till the holidays.

First up, here in advance, for any who need or would like to know, are the fixtures for the weekend of 1st/2nd August....

FALCON – PETERHOUSE SPORTS WEEKEND, 1-2 AUGUST 2003

TEAMS PLAYING

FRIDAY 1 AUGUST HOCKEY

SATURDAY 2 AUGUST RUGBY & SOCCER

Rugby

As some of you will know schools rugby is now run by way of a league. There are some reservations about this format but there is no doubt that it does add some interest to matches. Results from 1st, 2nd and U16 A teams are what count though the usual range of fixtures are included, transport permitting. That has sadly meant that B teams have often missed out, a worry also for hockey where many schools just can’t raise sides other than 1st and A teams.

Anyway, Falcon currently lies third in the league with a game in hand which, as I write will be played on Wednesday afternoon, 16 July. If we pick up good points in those matches we could possibly go top but the last three matches of the season are against the teams in 1st, 2nd and 4th place so there are no easy matches and it promises to be an exciting end to the season. There is no reason why we can’t go into those games confidently and I would be very glad to report Falcon as champions next time I write. In recent matches our senior teams did very well against St George’s, all winning in front of the Old Boys’ Day crowd (not a bad number all things considered). The first team match was always close and quite exciting to watch but difficult wet conditions didn’t help the standard of rugby skills.

It was good to see the team because it was in fact their first home match. I don’t claim to be an expert but I was quite impressed by Mandikudza Mashanyare who is one of six Falcon boys who were selected for the Zimbabwe U19 side at Craven Week in South Africa. The other five were Matthew Nesbitt, Brendan Lapage, Lloyd Turner, Bryan Pattison and David Crouch who was appointed team captain.

The junior teams didn’t do so well but the U16 A side staged an impressive come back to draw the match.

Against Lomagundi we had a very good Saturday with all matches won by Falcon, most by a good margin. The senior teams were particularly pleased because our Craven Week players were absent that weekend.

Hockey

The 1st XI has not had as many matches as they did at the start of term. They had convincing wins against Petra, Milton and Plumtree but lost a close fought game to CBC 0-1 which was disappointing. 2nds and 3rd also won down at Plumtree on their famous pitch with the 4th drawing. The junior sides played Girls’ College, up against a year above, and managed to win all three. Against Petra, the U14 and 15 A teams won again but the U16 A team were surprised by their opposition and went down 1-2.

Soccer

There has not been a lot of soccer played since I last reported but what there has we have not been too successful. The 1st team were beaten at the zonal stage of the Coca Cola Trophy and then lost the Kambarami Trophy to CBC in the final. Tom Khumalo says the team is in desperate need of a good centre forward. I checked back to see who was in that position when I coached that year as U16 boys and discovered I used Tapfumo Musekiwa and Matthew Nesbitt who between them scored quite a few goals. Currently they both play 1st team rugby. The junior teams have been pretty much without any action but they did have games at Gifford. Although unsuccessful they were all close matches and several goals were scored.

Squash

The Matabeleland Winter League continues and the teams have been more successful recently. I don’t know exactly where any of the teams currently stand in the various leagues but I think we are now holding our own. I do know that Orlando Fernandes has been impressed by the recent improvement by Ross McTaggart who has now established himself in the A team. We have also been involved in a doubles league for the 1st league teams.

Tennis

We have also just joined a Bulawayo tennis league. It is rather a makeshift side because many of the regular 1st team players have commitments in hockey and rugby but it serves as good experience for those who are playing. We have to date had one match and that we lost. There are 4 more games to come.

Richard Harrison

14th july 2003

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