Senior rugby, hockey and netball teams and the under 15s XV from King William’s College flew the Manx flag high in Guernsey for an action-packed weekend of sport, while the KWC hosted intermediate and junior sides in return.
At a time when few competitive school matches are able to be staged anywhere in the British Isles, College chartered a plane to and from both islands with more than 70 students participating on each Island.
It was a successful trip for the senior school teams who won the majority of their matches.
In Guernsey, College enjoyed a clean-sweep of success in the rugby with both the 1st XV and under 15 XV teams defeating Elizabeth College and club side Guernsey Raiders. In hockey, the King William’s College 1st XI beat Guernsey Ladies College 6-0 and then repeated the feat with a 7-1 success against the Guernsey under 18s side.
In return, College warmly welcomed the intermediate girls from Guernsey Ladies College and the junior boys from Elizabeth College to the Island to play a combination of football, hockey, netball and rugby matches from under 12 to under 15 levels.
Bernadette Dunn, Director of Sport at King William’s College, said:
At a time when competitive school sport is scarcely happening, this was a wonderful experience for all the children involved to play new opposition. On Island matches were played against the College, local clubs and Island representative sides.
All the fixtures, both home and away, were well supported which was great to see and while there were a number of highlights, I think the 1st XV boys playing against Elizabeth College at the Guernsey National Stadium at Footes Lane to a big crowd under floodlights is an experience they will never forget, especially as they recorded an impressive win.
Thanks to everyone involved in making this happen, particularly our Guernsey counterparts and Brian Kelly at Mann Link Travel.
Joss Buchanan, Principal of King William’s College, added:
We’re delighted that the weekend tour was such a success and we really enjoyed hosting so many Guernsey teams in return. In terms of rugby, we believe that it was the only inter-school fixture anywhere in the British Isles this term and we are really pleased that we were able to work with our new friends in Elizabeth College in pulling it off.
