WEDNESDAY SPORTS REPORT No.3 (22nd September)

A commitment to pre & 24hr-post game lateral flow tests (plus other additional covid safety processes than we ordinarily undertake) meant the college were able to fulfill two important league fixtures yesterday for our 1st XV mens rugby and 1st XI mens football.

Rugby 1st XV

Our rugby squad’s regionalised fixtures set us up for an exciting start to the season with games between the three Ospreys-partnered colleges all featuring in the first three rounds of fixtures. Having been buoyed by our recent 54-7 victory against Bridgend College, we yesterday travelled the short journey to do battle with NPTC with aim of completing a memorable double over our regional rivals.

In a close fought contest it became clear early on we were not going to be cantering to victory in a similar manner as to our first game. The scrappy nature of the game, largely due to a procession of injury breaks in both halves meant neither side could get the desired momentum to wrestle dominance and our GCS boys were not quite ‘clicking’ as they had done a fortnight earlier. However, in the important moments, despite our struggles to hit top gear, we were able to assert enough pressure to keep the scoreboard in our favour. When the final whistle blew the nervy encounter finished with GCS outscoring NPTC 24-20. As the coaches reminded the players afterwards, winning when not at your best is not a bad habit to have!

Final Score

NPTC 20 GCS 24
Star Player: Finn Evans (BTEC Sport Yr1 & Sport Scholar)

Football 1st XI

South Gloucester & Stroud College travelled to Pontardawe for our second home fixture of the season in a game we knew would be a real test for our young squad. SGS have established themselves as one of the finest football programmes in the UK and regularly feature in the latter stages of the various British Colleges football competitions that run each season.

Unfortunately, when playing a powerhouse of college sport, a good start is critical and yesterday we were unable to provide this. Two very soft goals within 10 minutes of the start gave SGS all the confidence they needed after their long journey. Through the remainder of the first half our committed young lads played some excellent football and achieved moments to give us confidence for future fixtures, going toe to toe with our more experienced opponents. However, two second-half penalties for SGS and a final goal with a free header from a corner meant they made their way home with the 3 points, Jamie Parker (BTEC Football Coaching and Performance Year 2) managing to get a goal for us.

Final Score:

GCS 1 SGS 5
Star Player: McKenzie Ace (BTEC Football Coaching and Performance Year 2)