The 21st of March 2015 saw the latest instalment of Gravesend Grammar School’s House Rugby competition, an annual event, one which was part of the school’s history books and was one of only two others (those being the Sponsored Walk and Sport’s Day) that included the whole school. Constructed by the P.E. department, the event sees every year compete against the other houses within its year group, wherein an ultimate winner is decided at the end of it all, after all the points have been tallied up.
This year’s event was graced by bearable weather. A light sprinkling of rain was mixed with mild temperatures, cold to stand in, but comfortable to play rugby in.
I myself took part, as did my brother, for whom it was his first year playing. An avid hater of rugby, my brother was overwhelmed by the great team atmosphere, and really got stuck-in, battling and striving to help his team win. This brilliant, friendly atmosphere is consistent throughout the year groups. It can be observed that, even in the older years, where students arguably don’t really want to be there, this atmosphere does still exist. Ultimately, when it comes down to it, there is an overriding urge to win, one which creates this competitiveness, creates this teamwork, and creates the fantastic togetherness on show at house rugby.
One thing to note is that as the age of the students increases, the overall participation decreases. In the younger years, the classes are saturated with players. Punishment is dished out if you don’t turn up at a younger age, and so there is a great incentive to go and take part. However, in my class alone, only eight out of a possible thirty-one turned up. In the year above, there was a class with as few as two students in one team, as people simply can’t be bothered to turn up. They appear to have better or more important things to do, and they have no punishment held against them; if they don’t show up, there aren’t any consequences.
However, this rather sour note shouldn’t dampen what was a wholly successful day. Parents turned up in their hundreds, the barbecue there was extremely popular, and the rugby itself was competitive, tense and, on the whole, enthralling.
Joe Paternoster – Gravesend Grammar School