The past two weeks have witnessed epic alpine competition, the Winter Olympics offering thrills, spills and chills, culminating in a spectacular operatic closing ceremony inside the Arena in Verona. Just weeks ago, the Y9/10 rugby tour strode in the footsteps of history, our photo offering a timely reminder that the sun does still exist. With the nation caught up in curling fever, we hope your half term has been restful and relaxed, as we look forward to a packed second half of term and a plethora of national, county and domestic fixtures. Our first week back has even seen glimpses of spring as fixtures recommence.

Fencing

Further to her success in the early February tournament, our congratulations to Emily T, who has now qualified for the nationals in Sheffield for the U14 girls!

Football

The 1st XI produced a determined and energetic performance but ultimately fell to a 4–1 defeat against a clinical Salesian College side. The match began brightly, with the team defending well and creating early chances that, unfortunately, were not converted. Despite Claremont’s strong start, Salesian capitalised on their opportunities and went into half time 2–0 up. A focused and positive team talk at the break left Claremont confident in their ability to get back into the game.

The players stepped up in the second half, showing strong work rate and commitment across the pitch. Leo S and Rohan B impressed in midfield, while Luke H and Marcus R were excellent in defence, helping keep the team competitive during key moments. With 20 minutes to play, Claremont finally got the goal their pressure deserved, setting up a lively finish as they pushed for a second.

As the boys committed numbers forward in search of an equaliser, gaps inevitably appeared, allowing Salesian to add two more goals late on. The final scoreline was harsh on a team that showed character, intensity and togetherness throughout. Player of the Match went to Daniel R.

The 3rd XI played away at Burnham Grammar on a pitch which hadn’t seen a Flymo mower since its introduction back in 1964. The pitch was a test of how to control the ball and for how long. Claremont only had 12 players, so energy levels were tested. In a hard-fought game, they eventually lost 4–0.

MVP: Ruairii B.

Lacrosse

CLAREMONT 12–10 LEH

Under the floodlights at Surbiton High School on Oaken Lane, Claygate, there was no room for blinking. It was Friday the 13th. It was Friday Night Lights. It was down to the wire, exactly how the fans like it. One thing is for sure, when the lights come on, so do the Claremont girls.

This was no windswept patch in the dark. This was a proper stadium. Seats. Mesh fencing rammed with frozen faces. At least 300 in attendance and every one of them wrapped up like it was the North Pole. Legs shaking. Voices booming. Homemade signs aloft. Loud and proud. A coffee van.

It was Claremont’s first proper night game under the lights. Mr Brierly rolled up with what looked like the entire PE department in tow. The message? This mattered. Both sides warmed up like heavyweights. LEH meant business. Fresh from a South East tournament win, only missing one England and one Spanish international, they stormed into a 2–0 lead and looked sharp doing it. Slick movement. Crisp finishing. Claremont hanging on thanks to a couple of big saves. Then, bang. Against the run of play, Claremont struck. 2–1 at the end of the first quarter. Fair? Maybe. Harsh on LEH? Possibly. But this was game on.

Second quarter? Different story. Claremont woke up. The aggression went up a notch. Focus sharpened. Chances flew in at both ends. The journo’s notebook was shaking with the cold and the chaos, call it basically even at half time and absolutely electric.

The third quarter delivered the moment. A Claremont yellow card. Two minutes in the bin for sending an LEH attacker tumbling. Danger time? You would think. But here is the twist, Claremont controlled it. They held possession. They dominated. 0–0 during the sin bin spell. Huge credit across the board. Turning point? You bet. The returning offender wasted no time, straight back on, straight on the scoresheet. Afterburners engaged. Draws won. Second balls won. Floor balls won. Claremont marching to a 12–8 lead.

Game in the bag, surely, with just four minutes remaining? But no. Possession squandered. Glory chased. LEH sniffed an opportunity, pulling back two quick goals. Cue nerves. Cue muttering. Cue frozen fingers gripping the mesh. But cool heads prevailed. Control regained. Game closed out. Full time: 12–10. Proper drama. Proper spectacle. There were a couple missing for Claremont, but this side is rolling now. The belief is visible.

Rugby Sevens

U15 Surrey Tournament

A disappointing morning at the Surrey Sevens saw the U15s lose three pool matches to exit the tournament at the earliest opportunity.

A tough 33–0 opening loss to group winners Trinity left the squad on the back foot. Further losses to Emanuel 21–5 and a narrow 19–12 defeat to RAA showed glimpses of potential, but not enough to realise the potential of this group. These boys move up into senior teams as of next September, so this group will be frustrated not to have acquitted themselves more strongly at this competitive event in their final outing as an age group.

Claremont have teams entered in Surrey Festivals at U13, U14 and U16 level across the coming fortnight, starting with the Y9 boys on Monday 2nd March. Let’s hope for more success at these prestigious county competitions.

Tennis

With under a week to go, Ben C was sitting as second reserve for the Sunderland Boys 14U National tournament this half term before he got the call to say that he had made the qualifiers as the final player, number 32.

The first round is a round robin, with three matches over two days. In Ben’s case, this amounted to over seven hours of tennis. He lost his first match narrowly in a tie break to the number 15 seed. He then won his second match convincingly. His final match the following day was the toughest one yet against the number 5 seed, which would determine if he went through to the main draw or not. At this point, it was a three way tie between Ben and two of the other boys in his box, so all the players were invested if Ben won or lost the match. Over two hours of play, Ben won 4–6, 6–4, 10–6, therefore placing him, as the number 32 player, into the final 16 main draw. The following day, he played a boy ranked 26 in the country at the moment and lost in a very respectable 4–6, 5–7. He was spent by this point and then picked up his first injury, meaning by the end he was not moving brilliantly on court.

This was such an incredible experience for Ben, where his peers found a new level of respect for him. Ben discovered a new playing level and, to top it off, James Preston, his old coach, came up from Cornwall especially for part of the event. Sadly, due to his injury, we have had to withdraw him from his upcoming trip to Middlesbrough this week, but we are delighted with what he achieved last week.

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