15 November 2017
Won – 58-9
After two disappointing performances Kirkham Grammar School 1st xv travelled to Stowe School. This was the first fixture between the two schools. In recent years Stowe have become have become a well-respected school on the schools rugby circuit. Although still not back to full strength Kirkham gave debuts to Charlie Partington and Enrique Oranjie and both these players made pleasing starts to their KGS careers. Star men on the day however were outstanding open side flanker Teddy Leatherbarrow who popped up with three well taken tries and Winger Andrew Bulman who also scored three. The foundation for Kirkham's best performance of the season came from some outstanding defence holding Stowe out just before half time and some hard graft from the pack where Leatherbarrow was well supported by Vice-captain Sam Dugdale and fellow back rower Will Gargett. Captain Kieran Wilkinson seemed to back to his best as he pulled the strings in attack, whilst centre Nathan Pope supported and distributed in most pleasing way. The 58-9 victory was a reflection of this side’s talent and hopefully more will come as the timing of the injured players returning improves.
KGS 2nd XV vs Stowe School 2nd XV
Won – 32-12
The 2nd XV ran out comfortable winners in the end after a scare early in the first half, when the home side went ahead after Kirkham lost the ball deep inside their own half. Stowe marched Kirkham back with a series of attacks to score under the posts to take a 7-0 lead. This roused Kirkham into gear and with scrum-half Joe Corkish having a solid platform, which allowed them to string phases together and threaten the Stowe defence. A try came as Harrison Ross barged over from a driving maul and a second came from prop David Towers, who made many yards during the game, powered over. Kirkham were by now looking threatening from all over the field with wing Joe Shield having an impact every time he touched the ball.
The second half saw Kirkham enjoy a large amount of possession, especially from the line-out which functioned very well. Two more tries were scored either side of a Will Gregory penalty, one from Captain Henry Gouldbourne and the other from Shields who deserved his try after a productive afternoon. This was a much improved 2nd XV performance after a long journey as the squad showed some belief after going behind to an early try.
KGS U16 vs Stowe School U16
Lost – 65-7
KGS U15 vs Stowe School U15
Lost – 60-19
KGS U14 vs Stowe School U14
Won – 24-19
On Saturday the U14’s made the long journey to Stowe School and they were eager to get the season going again after a three week break. Stowe seemed to be a bit shell shocked for the first ten minutes as the KGS side easily exploited the huge spaces in the wider channels. The Stowe supporters were very impressed with the standard put on show from the Kirkham side. In the first half Kirkham’s tries were scored by Tobias Parkinson and Archie Rowlings. Stowe had a couple of chances but failed to finish them off. In the second half Stowe played with more accuracy and managed three tries. However Kirkham scored two further tries through Joe Medcalf and Parkinson picking up his second