The strength of rugby within the school lies in its depth of the plavers available since the standard achieved by the teams is remarkable considering the numbers involved.

The strength were obvious this season, those of physical attributes and this gained possession of the ball to enable the whole side to function efficiently within their own capabilities.

The front row provided a firm foundation to exist, and 'hard grafting' resulted in the much valued word possession. Generally the second row are known as the cart horses of the side, but they proved their weight in the tremendous gains in the line outs and within the set scrums but at times they could be faulted by effort at the wrong time.

This season we were particularly favoured by an infamous back row combination. My thanks must go to Mike Newman our pack leader who showed relentless enthusiasm, and the co-operation he gave to me during the season was invaluable. The combination suffered throughout season due to their high standards and being called for higher things for some of the games but their replacement did little wrong although lacking experience.

Again I must thank the back row for the tremendous protection they gave to our scrum-half, who although lacked speed on the ground proved that good foresight is also a tremendous asset.

The half backs had a mixed season but as time went on confidence was installed and when we managed to work as a unit proved that they too can win matches. The common faults of ball dropping and missed tackles is present throughout all levels of rugby and does not reflect any lack of effort or commitment.

Thank you to Dave Armitage who whilst in my absence managed to lead the team to enjoyable rugby matches.

The whole team showed the typical Dukie aggression and determination and none was more so than in the match against the Royal Hospital School in which we beat them narrowly. At this stage I must mention the only drop kick of the season which gave a boost at the right time in the match.

A thank you must also go to Mike Lambert for supplying the conversion points throughout the season.

A special word of thanks has to go to the 3rd XV and the Under 16 groups who supplied players in times of injuries. To the coaches Mr Buck and Mr Crisp thank you for the encouragement that you gave to the team and the sound advice which was reflected by our results of the season.

A small thank you must also go to the 1st XV who gave us some opposition in the practice sessions.

Finally a thank you to all the players of the 2nds this season for supplying me with a most enjoyable rugby season:-

D ALLEN, P MacKENZIE, M KELLY, C GREEN, T MOORE, A TASKER, M NEWMAN, M LAMBERT, M PHIPPS, A HENDERSON, M PRIDHAM, M ARMITAGE, G SNELSON, D CAUFIELD R TREBBLE, C MAILE, M FENN, D ARMITAGE, J BOOG-WHITESIDE, A BRILL, B NOAKES and S BAXTER.

IAN JENNER