John Tuddenham: Thought we did! Chris Snuggs: I don't remember playing them from 58 to 64 ... Our toughest match was as far as I recall always Wymondham, closely followed by RGS Colchester, but Ipswich School? I don't think our generation played them. John Tuddenham: Chris Snuggs If you look in the Spring 53 Janus you just announced - we played them that year, Chris ... Chris Snuggs: I am 99% sure that I NEVER played a match against Ipswich School from 1958 to 1964 ....... what happened in other years I had no idea apart from your anecdotes and Janus information. Ipswich School was never on our radar. Louis Parperis: The U13,U14 and U15 year groups played and beat Ipswich every year that I was at the school, but the 1st and 2nd XVs never played against Ipswich in my years at Woolverstone (1963 - 70) reputedly because someone at Ipswich believed we were not good enough. That may have been a reflection of the size of the senior pool in the school's earliest years but would have become an irrelevance after only a couple of years and deprived us of more guaranteed wins against the soft sods. Chris Snuggs: I wonder who they DID play against? Only public schools? Surely they also played Wymondham & Colchester? Simon Crees: I am sure we played their first team in 1975; Jim Hyde’s son was playing centre against Andrew Parker. I am pretty sure we won as well. Simon Crees: I am sure we played their first team in 1975; Jim Hyde’s son was playing centre against Andrew Parker. I am pretty sure we won as well. Chris Snuggs: You did really well, Simon, especially as you seem to have beaten the same team twice! Louis Parperis: I rather like the reaffirmation of your success, Simon Crees. It gives the impression of someone struggling to make themselves understood by people who don't speak English or by very elderly people who are either a bit Mutt or who have lost the plot: in summary, the members of this group! Simon Crees: Known as a fat finger .... Peter Alexander: The first fifteen never got to play St Joseph's in Ipswich either! For slightly differ reasons. Simon Crees: Anti Catholicism? Peter Alexander: Nope, try again. Simon Crees: Didn’t like the tea? Peter Alexander: From memory, their cricket teas were one of the better ones.......no I never played against them as our firsts were just too good, so the second XV played their firsts and the third XV their seconds. I suppose we must have played them at Under 12-Under 15 but that really is too long ago to remember! I can just manage the fifty years of memory! Bob Coates: I definitely played for the first XV against Ipswich in 1964 - it was memorable as the outstanding Rashid moved to inside centre so that I could play at no 10. Chris Snuggs: I must have left by then .... Peter Alexander: Nothing wrong with your memory then Bob! Love to you and your child bride. Bob Coates: Thank you so much Peter. Which theatre was it that we both were invited backstage to meet you and a rather beautiful maid Marian? Peter Alexander: Windsor Royal Theatre Bob and I ended up marrying the actresses best mate who was a ballerina. Now that I think about it, she was lovely but she would have driven me mad if our affair had continued ....... she was too correct .... a little like myself!! Bob Coates: Of course it was Peter - can't recall everything correctly these days although I am pretty sure my child bride and I are in our 46th year of marriage? Thanks again for the tickets! Nigel Fletcher: Just snobbery from 53 to 61 anyway. We did once (60?) meet them in the final of a sevens competition. And LOST. Louis Parperis: Your memory has failed you yet again, Peter Alexander. Not only did we play and beat St Joseph's 1st XV annually every year, but in the Janus edition of Winter 1971, in the 1st XV report (which bizarrely contains almost no review of a customarily successful season) there is a result shown of an away game that demonstrates your failing prowess: v St Joseph's (A) Won 69-0. Perhaps there is some subliminal force at work that has erased from your store of memories initiation into the pleasures customarily associated with 69, but I will not seek to probe any further on such a delicate matter even though only those with a shared experience of an educational experience in Suffolk will see these remarks.?? Simon Crees: Did you see who was captain of cricket second eleven in same Janus? Louis Parperis: I don't believe it! The first player in the history of the game of cricket to have been sent off (for shaving at square leg while fielding) elevated to the responsibilities of captaincy. I wonder if Peter Alexander's store of memories extends to any familiarity with this Carlile person? Peter Alexander: No recollection at all! Edmund Mensah: We played them and always beat them we where unbeaten for 3 seasons in a row. Dave Newman: I think my year beat them 90-0 or thereabouts on the pitch on route to Corners. I remember being quite chuffed having scored a rather impromptu drop goal. Would have 84/85 ish. Edmund Mensah: I think we watched that match Tunde Durowoju and Anthony Fleming Gavin Wright and.Sam Egmbah ran riot. Dave Newman: That they did. Those lads were far too quick and far too powerful. Gerry Warren: I remember GHB telling us that we didn't get invited to play some schools because we were not on the "Headmasters' List", which I believe only contained Public Schools, I think this was the reason Ipswich School wouldn't play us at 1st XV level. Barry Clark: As Edmund Mensah said, we did play them. I often bump into Old Ipswichians who are in awe of the WH rugger tradition. It is possible that our 2nd XV or 3rd XV played their 1st XV. That was not un common. I think the 3rd XV used to play Ganges and Hollesley Bay 1sts. Louis Parperis: I played against Hollesley Bay for the 2nd XV in my fifth form. I'm pretty sure their front row was made up of two murderers and a rapist, so not as intimidating as us. Richard Stokes: We beat Ipswich in 78 by about 50 . They had future England winger Mark Bailey as their captain. The son of our deputy head Hudson played on the wing for them. Simon Crees: Hudson and Hyde probably had a word...didn’t want their sons embarrassed!! Tony Miles: I remember us playing Ipswich in the early 80's and it finished 10 mins early cause we beating them 95 - 5 lol Rich Davis: I think there were a lot of schools who just flat out refused to play us knowing the drubbing they were likely to take. One year Colchester brought the wrong teams to their away game at Woolvo. So our U14’s had to play their U15’s. I remember their coach apologizing that we would lose having to play an older, bigger & faster team but they were there so we’d have to play, too bad. 82-0 later they slunk back to the changing rooms. Peter Warne: I had a mate at work; after a few years we got round to comparing notes, and it turned out he was at Norwich in the 70s. A month or so later I told him that I was at Woolverstone. He went pale and said people would call in sick to get out of playing against WH, any age group or level. Mike O'Driscoll: I bumped into a former St Joseph's pupil in Norwich a while back. He told me how they dreaded playing Woolvo. "We thought you were all mad psychopaths," he said. "No," I replied "We just enjoyed beating the private school toffs." I think in the Colts we beat them something like 80-0. At half time we were so far ahead Colin Hawes suggested we might like to take it easy in the second half and use it as a training match or the score would have been even higher. Michael Volpe: We did play Ipswich. In fact the headmaster if their school’s sin was in our year group so got a bit of special attention... Jon Kemp: Living in the darkest Cotswolds as I do, it should come as no surprise that my next door neighbour went to Framlingham and has many memories of his visits to WH. He said, we had the best grounds and best teas and that we always beat them. He is about 67 so I guess there are some on this site that must have played against him. Peter Alexander: I would have played against him. Coincidently, I met someone a few years back who went to Holbrook, played in the front row and wore my jersey for Suffolk the year after me! He remembered me........although I'm not sure it was a compliment! We always had a good game against them but can't remember ever losing to them. Rich Davis: There was a really good player at RHS in our year who told us at tea after we trounced them one year that he’d asked his parents to let him transfer to Woolverstone because he liked winning and Woolverstone ALWAYS won!! Newton Green: If I could I'd play rugby 24/7 loved it.. we lost 1 game in 4 years Rich Davis: So you were the year that let the school down! |