LATEST RFA RANKINGS
[posted 09 November 05]
At the same time as maintaining his position as the top-ranked doubles player, three successive tournament wins at the start of this season have seen Hamish overtake James Toop to return to the top of the rankings.
There are some further interesting moves lower down the order. Strong performances from Johnny Nelmes and Ed Fuller have secured them Top 10 rankings, while Chris Jones has jumped into the Top 20 after his fine victory over John Beswick at the London Open. And, making their first appearance in the singles ranking are former schoolboy champions Hal Mohammed and Will Ellison – both names to watch in the future.
In the Doubles rankings, Hamish cemented his position at the top, but things are getting much tighter below him. Thanks to their win in the recent West of England tournament, John Minta and Phil Bishop have both gained places in the top 10, while the losing finalists, Chris Jones and Andy Pringle, are now in the Top 20.
For full details, click on the Rankings button.
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SCHOOLS WINCHESTER FIVES DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
Winchester College, 6th November 2005
[posted 09 November 05]
Despite solid rain all day outside, the Winchester courts held up well and the only sweating came from the competitors, writes David Barnes. It was good to have entries again from the Winchester Fives contingent of Bradfield, Malvern and Radley, and Winchester itself provided its now customary entry of three pairs, supplemented by an excellent fourth to make up for a late withdrawal.
St. Paul's deservedly became the first Rugby Fives school to win this competition, having three evenly matched pairs, all of whom reached the semi-finals. Malvern provided the other semi-finalists, having come through hard matches against Winchester IV and Christ's Hospital I.
In the semis, St. Paul's II defeated the Malvernians in two games, although the second was very close, while St. Paul's I were caught cold by their third pair, going a game down before they knew what was happening. The second game was a lot closer, but the young third pair won it 12-10.
The final lacked nothing in skill and determination, and showed how intelligent Rugby Fives players can adapt to the demands of the Winchester game. Although the buttress was not hit quite as often as in some past finals, it played a crucial part at many stages. Hay and Seigel (SP's II) won the first game, Corbin and Tristao (SP's III) came back to take the second, and the third was a total cliff-hanger in which all four players maintained an extremely high standard of play, the older pair winning by the narrowest possible margin.
Having had things all their own way last year, the host school was less successful this time, although their first pair only just lost in the quarter-finals to the outstanding St. Paul's III. Winchester II went out early to the solid Christ's Hospital I, but had the consolation of winning the plate in a good final against Bradfield I.
Many thanks as ever to Winchester for the use of its courts and facilities, and to Jamie McManus for his help on a very busy day!
Schools Winchester Fives Doubles results
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NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Manchester, 3rd / 4th December
[posted 01 November 05]
Entries are now being accepted for the biggest prize in Rugby Fives, the National Singles Championships.
The 16-man finals will take place on December 3rd/4th in Manchester, with three separate qualifying tournaments taking place on November 19th in London, Manchester and either Tiverton or Clifton.
It costs RFA members £10 to enter the tournament (and £12 for non-members), but for further information, download the attached entry form.
National Singles entry form
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WEST OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sherborne School, 29th / 30th October 2005
[posted 31 October 05]
Hamish Buchanan picked up his third singles title of the year at the West of England Championships, while John Minta and Phil Bishop paired up to record their first ever tournament victory in the doubles.
Hamish's hat-trick of titles came with victory over top seed James Toop, who had reached the final after winning an epic semi-final clash with Phil Bishop. The final was an enthralling match, played in front of a large crowd; and, although James pushed his opponent hard, there was never any doubt that Hamish would emerge the winner.
It may have been the top two seeds in the final, but that's not to say seeds had it all their own way in the earlier rounds. James Bristow, for instance, did extremely well to beat eighth seed Nick Austin in the second round, while Johnny Nelmes beat both Paddy D'Ancona and David Fox (third and sixth seeds, respectively) on his way to the semi-finals.
In the doubles competition, however, the seedings held true: the quarter-finals included seven of the eight seeded pairs. The only non-seeded pair to reach this stage were Alex Smith and Ed Hatton, who had a memorable win over seventh seeds Ollie Stone-Lee and Nick MacIver in three hard-fought games.
The second, third and fourth seeds (Dave Hebden/Neil Roberts, Phil Bishop/John Minta and Jim Hughes/Alex Rew) duly made it through to the semi-finals, but an unfortunate injury forced the withdrawal of top seeds and defending champions Hamish Buchanan and Johnny Nelmes, meaning that eighth seeds Andy Pringle and Chris Jones completed the semi-final line-up.
In the bottom half of the draw, Bishop/Minta powered their way past the experience of Roberts/Hebden, but it was a much closer match in the top half. Hughes/Rew won the first game, but Jones/Pringle came back to win the second and held their nerve to clinch victory in the third.
They went on to take a 6-3 lead in the opening game of the final, but from then on, it was pretty much one-way traffic. Once Minta/Bishop found their length, their combination of power and accuracy deservedly won them the title.
West of England results
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LADIES CHAMPIONSHIPS
St Paul's School, Barnes, Sunday 4th December
[posted 24 October 05]
Entries are now being accepted for this year's Ladies Open Championships. Both singles and doubles will be played, and both take place at St Paul's School in Barnes, London, on Sunday December 4th.
The competition is being organised by Melanie Whitehead, and the closing date for entries is November 21st. For full details, download the attached entry form.
These are not the season's only Ladies Fives Championships, however, and anyone interested in playing in other tournaments should note the following dates in their diaries:
February 19th 2006 – Ladies Eton Fives Championships (played at Eton)
March 11th 2006 – Ladies Winchester Fives Championships (Bradfield)
April 23rd 2006 – Eton Fives Mixed Doubles Championships (Eton)
May 7th 2006 – Winchester Fives Mixed Doubles Championships (Bradfield)
Ladies Entry Form
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WEST OF ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sherborne School, 29th/30th October
[posted 24 October 05]
Quality and quantity. That's what the West of England Championships promise.
No less than 35 players will play in the singles and, with 18 pairs in the doubles, there are big-name clashes in both competitions as early as the first round.
In the singles, for example, Chris Jones plays Jim Hughes in his first match, while Johnny Nelmes plays David Fox; in the doubles, too, Johnny will face a stern test in the first round, when he and partner Hamish Buchanan (the defending champions) play the Oxford pair of James Bristow and Ed M-M-Crichton. It's already clear that Plate competitions (for first-round losers) will be just as tough as the main tournament.
Top seed in the singles is last year's runner-up, James Toop, and he is scheduled to meet Hamish, winner of the season's first two tournaments, in the final. Paddy d'Ancona and defending champion Neil Roberts complete the top four seeds, but both can expect tough matches on the way to an expected semi-final place. Paddy could face John Minta in the second round, while Neil should play the winner of the Jones/Hughes match at the same stage.
Other potential exciting second-round clashes could see Hamish clash with Ollie Stone-Lee, while Ollie's fellow Old Eastbournian Marcus Bate should face Mike Hajialexandrou. The winners of these two games will then face each other in a mouth-watering quarter-final.
The doubles, too, will be a fascinating contest. If the seedings work out, Johnny and Hamish will face the experience of Dave Hebden and Neil Roberts in the final, with the pairs of Phil Bishop and John Minta, and Jim Hughes and Alex Rew, also scheduled to reach the semi-finals.
The truth is, though, that there is no weak pair in the tournament, and even the first round throws up some enticing prospects. The match between Bishop/Minta and Chris Thomas/Jez Sinton will be a full-blooded encounter, for a start, while fifth seeds Marcus Bate and James Toop will need all their skill to overcome the experience of Lewis and Watson.
One thing's for sure, in singles and doubles, whoever emerges as winners will be deserved champions. Come back here next week for a full report...
West of England Championships draw
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YORKSHIRE OPEN DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
Giggleswick School, 15 October 2005
[posted 21 October 05]
Neil Roberts celebrated the 20th anniversary of his first win in the Yorkshire Open Doubles by reuniting with John Beswick to claim the title for a thirteenth time.
The pair had won the title six consecutive times from 1997, but had not played together in the tournament since their last victory in 2002. Nevertheless, they showed no sign of rustiness, and their path to the 2005 title was relatively comfortable, conceding just 14 points in three matches.
Their opponents in the final deserve praise, though. And, if Neil's achievement was impressive, Wayne Enstone's performance in reaching the final no less than 31 years after his first Yorkshire Open title was every bit as remarkable. Especially when he and partner Kevin Henry had to come back from a game down to win a tough semi-final in three games.
The plate competition was no less hard fought and, after several tough group games, the pairing of Sandie and Ross eventually went on to beat Butler and Kirk in two close games.
Yorkshire Open results in full
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TOOP IN TELEGRAPH
[posted 20 October 05]
James Toop was the subject of a major profile in the Daily Telegraph on October 19th. The former national champion spoke of his love for both Rugby and Eton Fives, and of a new project he is helping to run in London schools, promoting one-wall Fives. As handball, the sport is already popular in New York, and he hopes to evetually introduce the sport to every London school through the Inner City Fives Association.
For the full article, go to sport.telegraph.
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WEST OF ENGLAND OPEN
29th/30th October 2005, Sherborne
[posted 13 October 05]
Here are the passnotes and entry
form for this forthcoming tournament:
Sherborne passnotes [Word file, 32KB]
West of England entry form [Word file, 28KB]
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YORKSHIRE OPEN
15th October 2005, Giggleswick School
[posted 05 October 05]
The White Rose Club are now accepting entries for the Yorkshire Open Doubles Tournament, which is to be held at Giggleswick School on Saturday October 15th. You must enter by the 13th, and players are assured of an enjoyable day's fives followed by some traditional Yorkshire hospitality. The organisers will happily recommend suitable accommodation for those travelling from further afield, but for further details, download the entry form.
Yorkshire
Open entry form [Word file, 40KB]
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OWERS TROPHY
St Paul's School, Barnes
1st/2nd October 2005
[posted 03 October 05]
The Old Dunstonians made a successful defence of the Owers Trophy with a hard-fought victory over the Old Eastbournians.
Their win was the climax to a fine day's fives between seven Old Boys' teams. Each match involved four games of doubles and two singles, and the tournament began with a round-robin group stage. After that, the winners of each group would play the runners-up from the other group in the semi-finals.
In Group A, the crunch match was between the Old Eastbournians and the Alleyn Old Boys. Although the AOBs' top pair, Hamish Buchanan and Bruce Hanton, were dominant, their second pair (Bruce's brother Gus and the impressive young Ed Carr) couldn't follow suit and, after the doubles, the OEs were a single point ahead.
Two games of singles would decide the result: in one court, a fantastic match saw Hamish just edge out Marcus Bate 11-9; next door, Ollie Stone-Lee survived a fightback from Bruce to win 11-5, and secure first place in the group for the OEs - by just three points.
In Group B, meanwhile, the defending champions from St Dunstans made comfortable progress, only just missing out on maximum points, while the Old Paulines deservedly took second spot.
The first semi-final, between Eastbourne and St Pauls, started with singles while Andy Pringle dashed to Clapham Junction to collect their fourth player, Mike Sands, a replacement for Chris Caroe, who had played in the group stage. Both games saw convincing wins for Eastbourne and, after similar results in the first doubles, St Pauls conceded.
The other semi-final was a repeat of last year's final – as was the result. Hamish and Bruce battled valiantly, but the greater strength of the St Dunstans squad (Paddy d'Ancona, Phil Bishop, Tim Stock and Steve Korris) allowed them to build up an unassailable lead and secure a clear victory.
It was much the same story in the final. Eastbourne's first pair (Ollie and Marcus) combined well and could match the opposition blow for blow – their 15-10 win over Phil and Tim was a particularly fine performance. But, the second pair of Andy and Mike (the latter playing in his first senior competition) couldn't survive the onslaught of such relentless top-class play.
In the end, St Dunstans needed just five points in the singles to secure victory, and Paddy duly obliged, securing the trophy for the second year in a row.
Credit must go to organiser Alex Smith, who ensured the competition ran perfectly on the day, despite the fact that he only knew at the last minute just how many teams would be playing. And, thanks are also due to three generations of the Smith family, whose superb refreshments ensured that competitors and spectators alike were fed and watered throughout the day.
Owers Trophy
2005 results in full
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OWERS TROPHY
St Paul's School, Barnes
1st/2nd October 2005
[posted 28 September 05]
This weekend sees the third playing of the Old Boys' Championship, for the Owers Trophy, at St Pauls.
It's a unique tournament in the fives calendar as the players will be representing their old schools, but it's also remarkable for the sheer diversity of players competing.
Entries are still coming in, but there are already five teams confirmed – the reigning champions from St Dunstans joined by teams from Alleyns, Eastbourne, Bedford and Oundle – and the possibility of up to four more teams joining them.
Even within those first five entries, it's already obvious that the competition will throw up some intriguing battles. Seasoned tournament veterans and regular partners will be rubbing shoulders with scratch teams brought together specially for the day.
The Old Bedfordians, for instance, will be playing the experience card in their first ever entry to the tournament, and have assured the organiser that their team will be genuinely old. On the other hand, the Oundle squad includes a current schoolboy and a recent school-leaver alongside a 40-something Cambridge Blue who hasn't played a competitive game for 20 years.
By complete contrast, the Alleyn Old Boys and Old Dunstonians – who have contested the previous two finals, winning one each – both have Top 10-ranked players in their squads.
It's having this blend of players that makes the tournament such a success, and no-one goes home without a smile on their face.
Don't forget to check back here next week for a report and pictures from the tournament.
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LONDON OPEN
St Pauls School, Barnes
17th/18th September 2005
[posted 19 September 05]
Hamish Buchanan continued his perfect start to the season with victory in both the singles and doubles at the London Open.
The singles final was a repeat of July's South West Open final but, although the result was the same, London produced a very different match.
Whereas Hamish was a comfortable winner in Devon, this final was a much closer affair, with superb play from both men. Top seed Hamish edged a tight first game against second seed Matt Cavanagh, but was behind for most of the second game. He eventually levelled at 10-10, though, and went on to win 12-11 to retain the title.
Third and fourth seeds, James Toop and Phil Bishop, completed the semi-final line-up, but the seeds didn't have it all their own way in the earlier rounds: Ollie Stone-Lee, Johnny Nelmes and Chris Jones all beat seeded opponents to reach the quarter-finals, with Chris's win over fifth seed John Beswick a particularly fine result.
The top seeds also made it through to the last four of the doubles, and the final was contested by the day's best partnerships, the all-Manchester pairing of John Beswick and John Minta taking on reigning West of England champions, Hamish and Johnny Nelmes.
The match was a brutal encounter, with the players and ball flying around the court at frightening speed. Minta, playing on the left, tried to counteract the pace of Nelmes's right hand by coming forward to take the ball early on the volley, but to no avail.
In the end, the combined firepower of Hamish and Johnny was simply too much. Although they had to recover from an early deficit in the second game, they were convincing winners in two games.
London Open
2005 results in full
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RFA STUDENT CHAMPIONSHIPS
INCORPORATING THE BRITISH UNIVERSITIES CHAMPIONSHIPS
25th/27th November 2005, Sherborne
School, Sherborne, Dorset
[posted 13 September 05]
British
Universities Championships info and entry form
[Word file, 248KB]
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LONDON OPEN
17th/19th September 2005, Barnes
[posted 13 September 05]
James Toop is set to return to the rugby fives fray for the first time since becoming an injury-hit runner-up in last December's national championship.
Since then, the former national champion has focused on his Eton fives and on cycling thousands of miles across Europe.
He is third seed for a tournament whose seedings are headed by Hamish Buchanan and Matt Cavanagh. Phil Bishop would complete the semi-finals line-up if the tournament goes according to the seedings.
But John Beswick, Dave Fox, Mike Hajialexandrou and John Minta are among the danger men in a draw which sees several recent school leavers step up to the adult fives stage for the first time.
In the doubles, Buchanan teams up with Jonny Nelmes as top seeds, with Beswick and Minta, Paddy d'Ancona and Hajialexandrou and Toop and Marcus Bate the obvious main rivals.
London
Open Singles draw [Word file, 40KB]
London
Open Doubles draw [Word file, 28KB]
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LONDON OPEN
17th/19th September 2005, Barnes
[posted 07 September 05]
Here are the passnotes and entry
form for this forthcoming tournament:
London
Open passnotes [Word file, 52KB]
London
Open entry form [Word file, 28KB]
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WHITGIFT DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
Saturday 20th August 2005
[posted 01 September 05]
Hamish Buchanan maintained his 100% record this season ably supported by his partner for the day, Neil Karia. The final was very close but from 11-10 up, they won the remaining four points through sustained Buchanan pressure.
The format this year was a round-robin of 6 pairs, with the two leading point scorers playing a final deciding game for the title. With just one game to go, four pairs could still have made the final. But Ed Fuller and hard-hitting Tom Foulser's defeat by a resurgent Allan Bowden and Andy Pringle 15-13 allowed Ed 'stepover' Hatton and Cameron Powrie to squeeze into the final by a point.
Hamish and Neil qualified nervously as they had to save game points at 10-14 against Ben Hitchins and James Partridge before winning the 6 points they needed to make the final. Steve Korris and Eraaj Selvadurai played some excellent fives, but just missed out in their last game.
The tournament is here to stay and it's free! So if you are just finishing school and interested in playing competitive fives whilst partnering some of the best in the land, please do two things. Firstly, join the RFA (that's also free for four years after leaving school) and then contact Chris Jones (chrisxjones@hotmail.com) to say that you would like to play.
Whitgift
Doubles 2005 results in full
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SOUTH WEST OPEN
Blundells School, Tiverton, 30th July 2005
[posted 01 August 05]
Hamish Buchanan completed a memorable double at the new season's first tournament, winning both the singles and doubles titles.
Like last year, he faced Matt Cavanagh in the singles final, but this time there was no amazing fightback from Matt.
From the start, Hamish quickly took control and raced through the first game. Matt stepped up a gear, but couldn't recapture his scintillating form from the earlier rounds. In the face of relentless pressure, he made an uncharacteristically high number of unforced errors, and had to admit defeat.
On this form, Hamish is all but untouchable but, in a tournament full of memorable matches, perhaps the most notable performance was from Ed Fuller. Facing North West champion Phil Bishop in the quarter final, he came back from 4-10 down in the third game to win 12-10.
The doubles competition, too, was hard fought, but the top seeds eventually battled their way through to the final, with defending champions Hamish and Dave Hebden facing John Beswick and Paddy d'Ancona.
The match was played in fantastic spirit, with oohs, aahs and applause regularly ringing out from the gallery. Indeed, one spectator said: 'I thought I knew how to play fives, but after seeing that, I now realise I might as well have been playing Pat-a-Cake all these years.'
From game point down, Paddy and John nicked a tight first game and, for most of the second, seemed to have the measure of their opponents, Paddy fishing out umpteen apparently dead-cert winners from around his ankles to stay in rallies.
Gradually, though, the power, precision and touch from Dave and Hamish began to tell. A succession of quick points won them the second game and levelled the match.
The deciding game carried on where the second had finished off and, although Paddy and John gave it their all, they couldn't quite match their opponents. For Hamish, it was his second title of the day but, for Dave, title number 102.
SW Open
2005 results in full
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