Woodbridge Works Hard in Netball and Football Matches Across the Country
It’s been a busy few weeks for Woodbridge students in sports, our hockey and football reports below hold the details and scores you’ll want to read about.
NETBALL
From the U16s and U14s Regional Finals, to the and U19, U16 VII, U13A, U13B, U12A friendly and league matches, it’s been a jam packed couple of weeks for the School’s netball players and all reports show the team are demonstrating superb skills and potential with some incredibly wins. We report on each match below.
U16s Regional Finals 29 January
The School’s U16s put on a fantastic display of netball and teamwork recently in the Regional Finals which were held in Welwyn Garden City. The team’s excitement of staying in a Travelodge didn’t overshadow their competitive nature and the whole squad should be incredibly proud of how they played and conducted themselves on court.
The first game was tough, losing to Brentwood (the eventual winners who went on to represent the East at the Nationals) but the girls never gave up – after the first half we were just two goals behind.
Next it was the turn of Grays Convent School, who we beat in a very close game finishing 9-8 with some superb shooting from Charlotte H and Steph and overall a great game thanks also to Charlotte C, Izzy, Flo and Libbie too.
A 7-7 thriller against Norwich High School for Girls saw our defenders Freya, Lucy, Elsa and Ada put in what can only be described as a stellar performance. The next match was against Stephen Perse Foundation, and although we had a comfortable lead by half time, the opposition came back at us hard – but we still went on to win the match 8-6.
Our final game was against Sandringham School, and we knew they were strong before we even set foot on the court. We really did put up a great fight in all areas of the court and game, but they steamed ahead over us finishing the game on 12-19.
This left us in third in our pool just missing out on the semi-finals, but it was a fantastic performance from every member of the quad, and some really great play, attitude and behaviour from Woodbridge. Special mention to Izzy who joined us after an illness and also to Georgie who unfortunately couldn’t make the matches. Thanks also to Miss Hinton for scoring, and to Miss Sanders for organisation as well as Mrs Richardson for everything she does for us all.
Well done girls, we’re extremely proud of you – bring on next year!
U14s Regional Finals 29 January
Qualification for the Regional round of the National Schools Competition is a huge achievement in itself and something which the U14 A team should be very proud of. And although the Regional Finals day did not perhaps work out as we had hoped there were a great many positives to take away from it.
The team started strongly with opportunities to win their first game against Brentwood School; however the eventual outcome was a loss by 6 goals to 7, however, we were the closest result to this team who ended up being overall winners and qualifying for the Nationals.
Our losses elsewhere were often by very narrow margins and mainly down to some decision making under pressure, and/ora few missed shots on goal. Defensively though, throughout the day the team were nothing short of impressive. The team applied pressure on the court throughout which enabled our defence to turn over the ball on a regular basis. Our win was our reward of the day when we came up against Grays Convent School winning by 5-1.
The girls represented themselves and Woodbridge School superbly and were a pleasure to be with. On a day when it would have been easy for heads to drop they were resilient, fought hard and supported each other. Well done everyone, onward and forward to the next challenges for this very talented team.
Overall results were as follows:
Woodbridge v Brentwood Lost 6-7
Woodbridge v Norwich Lost 2-4
Woodbridge v Bedford Girls School Lost 2-6
Woodbridge v Grays Convent School Won 5-1
Woodbridge v Herts & Essex High School Lost 3-10
Woodbridge v Stephen Pearse Foundation Lost 6-8
U16 VII Woodbridge v Ipswich School 25-20
The girls put on a fantastic display of teamwork which enabled them to win against Ipswich School earlier this week in what was a very close game throughout. Alongside some excellent shooting from Florence and Steph which gave us a real advantage, Elsa (who went on to become Player of the Match) and Freya defended brilliantly meaning Ipswich were only ever under pressure.
Libbie was stellar as Centre, always there to support the shooters and the defence as she held the centre court together with the help of Ada, Isobelle and Lucy.
It really was a great game to watch and play, the team demonstrated real potential which is something we’re seeing in every match so far this term, the girls have every reason to believe in themselves. Thanks go to parental support from the sidelines too, it’s so important and means so much to everyone who plays.
U13B Woodbridge v Farlingaye 13-13 friendly
The U13B team played a friendly against Farlingaye at home last week, and although the girls took a quarter to get into the game they then found their feet.
At half time the score was 8 – 6 to us, with Margot R working hard in defence alongside Meda and Valentina who helped out by picking out lots of interceptions. Freya, Bea and Ellie worked well in the centre and attacking third, feeding the shooting circle effectively. Lily and Scarly’s shooting was consistent, fighting for rebounds well resulting in Lily being nominated as Player of the Match.
The last quarter saw the girls’ tiredness kick in which unfortunately allowed Farlingaye to catch up by scoring four goals to our three; resulting in a final score of a 13-13 draw. A lovely match to umpire and watch, the girls should be extremely proud of how they played – well done everyone.
U12A Woodbridge v Culford 34-11 friendly
The U12A team continued their winning streak with a strong performance against Culford at home. From the starting whistle, the girls put into action some of the set plays which they have been focusing on and practicing recently, which were certainly effective, and Amelie and Izzy’s shooting was excellent!
At the end of the first quarter, the team were winning superbly 11–2, but a change of positions was in order to allow the girls to try out different positional roles due to the match being a friendly. Eva, Rosie and Pip worked tirelessly in defence, intercepting a number of overhead passes and timing their moves to pick the ball up mid-flight. Georgia, Annie and Felicity’s centre court play was also strong; chasing down any loose balls to use to their advantage and supporting the shooters around the circle edge effectively.
This fantastic and solid performance resulted in the team coming away with a 34 – 11 win. Well done to everyone, and congratulations to our Player of the Match Georgia.
U19 Woodbridge v Farlingaye 9-28 League Match
The U19s, who have only recently been put together as a team due to mock exams and other commitments, played their first league match together against a strong and slick Farlingaye earlier this week.
The team took a while to find their feet as a number of them had been playing hockey for the Michaelmas term and had not played any netball since 2020, so it’s fair to say they were a little rusty! This was reflected somewhat in our passing which was rushed and challenging for our own players at the beginning, as when in possession of the ball the team were panicking.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 4–2 to the opposition, demonstrating how long it took both teams to settle into the match. But as soon as the girls calmed down and thought about their passing, they were successful in starting to use the channels of the court more.
Unfortunately Farlingaye’s defence were tall and strong – and put lots of pressure on Woodbridge shooters. Combined with the excellent shooting skills they demonstrated, rarely missing a shot, it was clear to see how the match might end. Woodbridge’s fitness levels were also not what they could have been, so we did begin to struggle, especially playing indoors – but all of these factors are something the team can learn from and focus on – every game is an opportunity to develop!
Congratulation to Ella P walked away with Player of the Match.
U19 Woodbridge v Ipswich School 7-40 League Match
Our second U19 league netball match this week was against an extremely strong and well-practiced Ipswich School, who had narrowly missed out on a place at the Regional Finals back in January.
Playing against a team who had been playing together since September was always going to be tough, but the girls were still up for the challenge, despite the fact that most of them were tired or struggling to walk as they had been at the hockey Nationals the day before and were not home until late!
The squad of ten rotated around to ensure tiredness did not get in the way too much and to give those legs a bit of a break. Lottie worked tirelessly in defence picking out lots of tips and interceptions with Molly and Evie supporting her, and our centre court players Jess, Ella S, Ella P, Ella W and Clara. Working hard to try to distribute the ball effectively down the court, those players supported our shooters Emily and Izzy, who were fighting extremely hard in our shooting circle. Unfortunately this served only to play to the opposition’s strengths, making it very difficult to get the ball in and shoot.
We know that practice as a team does pay off, so the team looks forward to spending the next few sessions working on tactical weaknesses and turning them into strengths.
Congratulations to Izzy H awarded Player of the Match.
U13A Woodbridge v Ipswich School 28-8
Some fantastic teamwork and shooting resulted in a convincing win for the U13A team today, demonstrating superb movement in our attacking circle, Elosie and Millie worked hard throughout the match. The centre court players including Charlie, Lily, Margot, Aurelia and Lyra played incredibly well as a unit, connecting the defence and the attack beautifully.
In defence, Scarlett, Lyrah and Bea won rebounds resulting in additional pressure put on the opposition’s shooters.
Well done girls, it was an incredible match and a well-deserved win. Thank you also to the support from parents, grandparents and our Head of School Miss Norman.
FOOTBALL
There was an action packed match in football last week when the Senior 1st team held their latest match against Finborough on Tuesday 1 February. From the outset it was a full-blooded and hotly contested match – forget the pasteurised simulacra you see on the television, this was full-on grass roots football and a pleasure to watch.
Unfortunately Woodbridge had a disastrous start which saw them conceding two early goals through defensive errors, but they slowly fought their way back into the game. But it just wasn’t enough and some very good chances went begging and late on when we were chasing a goal or two, we conceded again on the break.
A largely untried and untested team for the new term, they’re certain to bond on the pitch, slowly but surely. But for now, every player left the pitch knowing that although the match wasn’t won, the final score being 3-0 to Finborough, they had been involved in an excellent battle. Well done boys.
