ITS vs Gloucester Old Boys Rugby Tournament!
Photos and videos from the day below!
Saturday 5th May saw ITS staff assemble against the Gloucester Old Boys Rubgy team once again! Players from ITS travelled from all over the country to take part in the third annual charity match against Gloucester Old Boys, in aid of the National Star College in Ullenwood. The first two years were won by Old Boys, however, both years the matches were too close to call with Old Boys prevailing in the end.
This year ITS were well represented with ages ranging from 20’s to 50’s and from offices throughout the West and Wales including Cheltenham, Bristol, Exeter, Cardiff and Swansea. The event is always well received by Old Boys, and this year was no exception.
A minutes silence was held in memory of Terry Galvin who passed away almost a year ago to the day. Terry was a massive figure at Old Boys, playing for the club for many years. His son Niall captained the Gloucester old boys side for the match.
In the first ten minutes, both teams were level pegging, with neither team able to break the deadlock. ITS attacked the old boys line with ferocity, however, excellent defence by old boys meant that they were thwarted each time.
ITS eventually scored first with a well worked try in the corner. They then followed up with two more well worked tries with no reply. It looked like it was going to be a very bad day at the office for Old Boys.
25 minutes into the match Old Boys had their first response with an excellent try scored in the corner by Niall Galvin, the team captain. This woke Old Boys, who gained more and more confidence both in attack and defence. Old Boys were starting to look dangerous and scored another try in relatively quick succession. Game On!
ITS had to dig deep and shake off the complacency caused by scoring three early tries and 10 minutes into the second half they scored two excellent tries, where the ball went through almost every pair of hands to score. Some great defence from Old Boys made it very difficult and ITS had to work hard to score them on the outside.
Old Boys responded with a try off the kick off and as they had the home advantage, were starting to worry ITS.
At one point ITS were camped on their try line, having to defend heavily against relentless Old Boys attacks. ITS managed to keep them out with some great defence. Some great battles were had all over the pitch. A very physical battle with no quarter given to either side.
In the end, ITS proved too strong for old boys to hold back. Late in the second half, ITS put the game to bed with another try with some excellent support play…For the first time ITS won the match!
This match finished 17-38. A hard fought battle, enjoyed by all! Here’s to the next one!
