NORTH OF ENGLAND TOURNAMENT
Durham, 25th / 26th February 2006
[posted 30 January 2006]
The entry list is now open for the North of England Tournament, which will be held in Durham on February 25th and 26th.
Both singles and doubles tournaments will be played, and all entries must be received by February 20th. Entry costs £10 for the singles and £5 per person for the doubles, except for students, who can enter for half price. For more details, download the entry form or contact organiser Alex Wilson.
North of England Tournament entry form [Word file, 32KB]
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WEST OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Clifton College, Bristol, 7th/8th January 2006
[posted 20 January 2006]
The West of England Schools Championships were held at Clifton College on 7th and 8th January 2006 with a very healthy entry of 90 competitors from 14 schools.
Dominating the championships was the very strong and talented squad from St Paul's School, which won six of the eight trophies being contested. Furthermore, in the senior singles and doubles, and the Colts singles and doubles, not only were the winners from St Paul's, but also the runners-up.
Last year's National and West of England Colts singles winner Daniel Tristao was a worthy winner of the senior singles after a very well fought match against team-mate Alex Seigel.
Tristao played coolly to snatch the first game 12-11 after Siegel had been in front, but the game was wide open after Siegel raced to an 11-2 win in the second game. The younger Tristao kept his composure, however, and played accurately and steadily to take the final game 11-8.
The senior doubles was won by St Paul's second pair, Chris Hay and Alex Seigel, against their top-seeded team-mates Edward Emmett and Mark Gibbor. This was again a very close-run affair, and the standard of fives and the spirit in which the game was played was a tribute to St Paul's.
Jamie Gibbor and Tim Hoolahan dominated the Colts competition and served notice that St Paul's success shows no sign of letting up in the foreseeable future.
West of England Schools Championships results
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NORTH WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
Y Club, Manchester, January 28/29th 2006
[posted 19 December 05]
Entries are now being accepted for 2006's North West Championships, which will be played at the Y Club in Manchester on January 28/29th.
There will be singles and doubles tournaments, with plate competitions in both, and entries must be received by organiser John Beswick no later than January 14th.
North West Championships entry form [Word file, 20KB]
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RFA CLUB PRESIDENT'S CUP
Merchant Taylors' School, 11th December 2005
[posted 14 December 05]
"The most physically demanding day I've probably ever had" – that was the verdict from Gareth Price after his win, with Bruce Hanton, in the 2005 President's Cup.
There's no doubt that the pair took the most demanding route to the title. Every one of their matches went to three games, and they needed 16 points to win the final game in both the first and second rounds. With that in mind, there's little surprise that they only came off court at 9.30pm.
Close matches were very much a theme of this year's tournament, proving the 16 pairs had been selected with no little skill. And, it's testament to the quality of fives on show that there were enthusiastic spectators in the freezing gallery right to the very end.
However, if last year's tournament was remarkable for the youth of the finalists – the four had an average age of just 25 – another theme this year was a resurgence for more, err, mature players. This year's winner Bruce Hanton first won the cup in 1996, two years after Love Mug winner Hamish Buchanan, while Mate's Plate winner Jeremy Schroeter showed all the delicate touch and sense that are only to expected of a man who first won the President's Cup in 1981 and has gone on to win it six more times since.
Hamish's victory (with Charles Lamb) in the Love Mug plate was particularly notable, as it means he joins the illustrious ranks of players to have won all four of the trophies up for grabs in the tournament.
President's Cup results
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WOMEN'S RUGBY FIVES CHAMPIONSHIPS
St Paul's School, 4th December 2005
[posted 07 December 05]
Claire Knowles made it a weekend of double celebrations for Manchester as she picked up the Women's singles and doubles titles at the same time as fellow Y Club member Phil Bishop was winning the men's singles title.
This year's tournament was another demonstration of Claire's dominance of the ladies' game. She has now been unbeaten in both singles and doubles championships since her first win in 1999, and conceded no more than a single point in any one game on her way to the singles title.
Losing finalist in both competitions was Dominique Redmond, who was runner-up in the doubles for the second year running, this year with Lia Redmond. Melanie Whitehead also had a good day's play, only losing to Claire in the singles semi-final, before the two teamed up for a convincing win in the doubles.
Sarah McDowell was a clear winner in the plate singles, while Laura Harvey and Anna Shelley took the plate in the doubles.
Women's Championships results
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BUSA RUGBY FIVES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sherborne School, 25th / 27th November 2005
[posted 06 December 05]
Players from Oxford and Cambridge shared the trophies at the BUSA championships, with Oxford's James Bristow retaining the singles title, while Alan Beverly teamed up with last year's winner Charlie Brooks to claim the doubles title for Cambridge.
James' win came at the expense of Steve Korris and was a fitting climax to a dominant display throughout the competition. However, there were fine performances throughout the tournament. In reaching the semi-finals, Alan Beverly and Charlie Brooks gave more than a glimpse of what was to come, and Ed Hawke played well to win the plate.
As it turned out, losing in the singles semi-finals only seemed to spur Alan and Charlie on, and they went on to gain revenge with a deserved win in the doubles. The Oxford pair of Bristow and Jamie Pendergrass put up a brave fight indeed, they were ahead in both games but the power of Cambridge (Alan, in particular) proved too much and the light blue pair won in two close games.
In fact, this was the second major Oxford scalp for Alan and Charlie, after beating Ed Ronan and Will Hardyment in the semi-finals. Durham's Lee and Midmer also played well to reach to the semi-final, while the London pair of Grant and Sjostrom looked very impressive before losing to the top Oxford pair in the quarter final.
BUSA Championships results
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JESTER'S CUP: NATIONAL OPEN SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Manchester Y Club, 3rd / 4th December 2005
[posted 05 December 05]
'Power, but intelligent power' was the verdict on Phil Bishop's blast to his first national singles title.
His hard hitting low into the back corners of his home courts at Manchester's Y Club proved too much (15-8, 15-10) for defending champion Matt Cavanagh.
Matt made his way to face Phil after a repeat of last year's final, overcoming James Toop with shrewd tactics and clinical finishing.
Phil got his first chance at the top prize from a nail-biting semi-final win against past champion Hamish Buchanan. He took the first game and was 14-11 up in the second before faltering in the face of Hamish's ardent competitiveness and having to start again in the third game.
It did not look good for Phil as cramp set in and Hamish raced to a 9-1 lead. But a combination of a tumble for Hamish and Phil waking up from his second game disappointment re-energised the match and Bishop came through despite another late flurry from his rival.
The championship saw a double success for the Y Club with John Minta a worthy winner of the plate competition. It was appropriate then that after the final two greats of the club and the sport – Wayne Enstone and Fred Beswick – were honoured in two plaques naming the courts.
In due course, there will be a full selection of photos on the RFA website, but in the meantime, click here for John Beswick's pictures of the action.
Jester's Cup results
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
3rd / 4th December 2005
[posted 30 November 05]
This weekend will see competition for the top prizes in fives, with the finals of the Men's and Ladies' National Championships. The last 16 in the men's competition will battle it out In Manchester, while the Ladies will be playing at St Paul's in London.
Top seed in the men's championship is Hamish Buchanan, currently ranked number one in the game and already winner of three singles tournaments this season. He is seeded to meet another former champion, James Toop, in the final, while defending champion Matt Cavanagh and Neil Roberts (who first won this title in 1996) complete the top four seeds.
Other men to watch are Phil Bishop and John Minta, both in fine form and playing on their home courts, while Cambridge University's Alan Beverly is a man not to be underestimated after recording some notable wins to reach the last 16. And, if their previous meetings are anything to go by, the first-round clash between Simon Fraser and Neil Roberts should be an epic encounter.
The ladies, meanwhile, will be playing both singles and doubles tournaments on the same day, and all eyes will be on one player, Claire Knowles. Defending champion in both singles and doubles, as well as multiple winner of both titles, she will be looking to etch her name on the trophies again.
For full details of the men's draw, click on the link below. And, for full details of the results, come back to this site early next week.
Men's National Championships draw [PDF, 44KB]
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BOB HOLLAND MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
12th November 2005
[posted 28 November 05]
Photographs of the Bob Holland Memorial Tournament are now available to view online. The doubles tournament was held at the Manchester YMCA on November 12th, and to see the all the photos, click here.
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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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