.... was always for us at WHS the equivalent of IHS (Ipswich High School) in terms of prestige. Could we possibly compete with such a long-established and successful school? Well, I think we did - and in terms of sport we beat their sides more often than not. But as I recall we did not have much contact with them apart from rugby: certainly never the degree of collaboration that we had with IHS. Their main cricket pitch was at the Henley Road site but we played rugby at their playing fields nearby. That site has a special memory for me, and not a particularly happy one! We were playing them in the final of the Ipswich 7s and losing by two points. A minute or two from full-time I got the ball just inside their half with a clear run to the line and nobody likely to catch me - and I stumbled and fell over a divot 25 yards from their line. I was of course disconsolate, but Taffy was very kind in the dressing-room. I did, however, wonder if this was to be an omen for my life: success within grasp but ultimate failure at the last minute .... It was in truth a bit sad losing that way to the mighty Ipswich School, but that day we didn't have Chris Webb playing for us, which would most likely have meant we would have been easily winning even before I got that last ball. I passed by the school on Friday 7th July 2023. They had broken up for the summer holidays but the receptionist kindly let me take a few photos of the area to the rear of the school. |