Football

The Senior Football squad took a night off from studying hard on Monday to watch Brazil in the World Cup, eat some pizza, and take part in RGC’s inaugural FIFA tournament on the Xbox. Congratulations to Harry and Liam who proved too nimble-fingered for the rest, they and their chosen team Brazil are RGC's FIFA 23 Champions!

It was back on the pitch for the team on Friday as they embarked on the next round of the Scottish Cup against a strong Lochside Academy squad. It was a well fought game with few clear chances, but our boys battled hard and played well throughout. A far post lunge towards the ball to send it over the line was enough to see the RGC seniors through to the next round. 

Netball

It was yet another very busy week for RGC Netball with teams from across the Senior School competing in tournaments, Cup matches and friendlies.

The week started with a challenge for the 2nd VII who played a really tough fixture against AGS 1st VII in the Aberdeen League. The first quarter was the team’s best when they were sharp and linked attacking play confidently into their circle. Mama was a big loss in defence as she was cup tied for 1st VII but Rosa worked tirelessly against a very strong GA ( who plays for Hazlehead Club 1s). Annelise was Mrs Axten’s Player of the Match for improving upon her movement in the circle and taking on board all the feedback from the previous Mackie fixture. She controlled her circle with Gaby and Izzy as supporting shooters.

It was an away trip for S1, S2 and S3 Netball on Tuesday as they headed to Gordonstoun for their respective Scottish Cup matches. The S1A girls enjoyed their first away fixture of the season and it was only the 9 girls’ second game together with all players taking to the court. Mrs Fraser reported that although we were ahead throughout, the game was very close at stages and the girls showed great composure when in possession of the ball and work rate for the full 40 minutes. The defence in particular worked tirelessly to minimise their shooters opportunity and GK, Amy S, was awarded Player of the Match. The girls still have a match to play against Albyn A next week which will determine whether they win their group.

S2 took to the court against Gordonstoun in their first Scottish Cup game of the season. It was literally a game of two halves which saw the game finish in a nail-biting 1 goal loss for RGC. This new team this year showed real fight; fearless in defence, confident in the centre court and strong in attack, with some brilliant passages of play throughout. Clawing back a 5 goal deficit and continuing to fight until the final whistle, the girls couldn't quite get over the line. Ria S was Player of the Match for her outstanding defence.

The S3Bs were the third team on the bus to Gordonstoun and after a good warm up were ready to take to the court. It was a great first quarter where there were only 3 goals in it. Even though RGC fought really hard and stuck tight to their players, Gordonstoun took the win. The girls took a lot away from the game and really improved their defensive skills. 

A different set of S1 netballers were on the court on Friday in a friendly with Lathallan. This was a really good experience for some of the girls who haven’t been involved in as many fixtures. The girls worked hard and had smiles on their faces. Elsa was Lathallan’s Player of the Match.

1st VII Captain, Kirsty D gave us these reports on their week of fixtures.

‘The 1st VII Netball girls have had a very busy week. A really strong Scottish Cup match vs Cults and an early win against Albyn now makes us winners of our group and we progress onto the next round of the tournament. Some amazing passing and teamwork against Cults left us with a final score of 49-25. GS Daniella was chosen for POM for her amazing spaces in the shooting circle and great shooting skills. 

On Wednesday, the 1st VII took part in the Senior A Aberdeen Schools Tournament where the format is quick fire games of 9 minutes one way. It really makes the tournament competitive for all schools and is lots of fun. A really strong start left us full of confidence but a few errors in the later games left us finishing 3rd. We are very proud of how we played, how we coped with pressure and that everyone on our side took the court and gave their all. Lots learned and taken into our next games. Ava was awarded POM from Mrs Hardie for her versatile skills in shooting and centre court positions. Keep up the great effort team!’ 

Boys Hockey

On Saturday morning our S1-32 boys drew against St Margaret’s S3 girls. It was a cracking game, end to end with lots of good quality hockey all over the pitch. A little composure in front of goal was the only part of the puzzle missing. Elsa in goals was awarded Player of the Match.

Girls Hockey

The 1st XI had a fantastic result on Thursday against Selkirk High School in the quarter final of the Scottish Hockey Challenge Cup competition. We had large amounts of possession during the game and created a few chances in the first half but nothing concrete. When the second half came around the team scored some brilliant goals, both from corners and open play. It was great to have some of the S4s on the sidelines as they arrived for Sport and their encouragement helped give the girls some momentum in the second half. The team was delighted to win and look forward to the semi final in the New Year. 

The P7 and S1 early birds were up and out on the hockey pitch at 8.30am on Saturday for a series of short 10 minute round robin matches against St Margaret’s. Our opponents had a strong defence but RGC still managed to score a goal in what was a really fun morning. Meanwhile the P6s and P7s played mixed teams in a mini RGC festival which was a great way of getting everyone out on the pitch.  

S2B recorded their third victory of the season against St Margaret’s. RGC went into half time a goal up thanks to Anastasia R. We scored a further two goals in the second half from Michelle K and Annabelle M to run out comfortable winners. Well done to Tammy O for playing her first game of the season for S2B. Player of the Match was vice captain, Yasmina B.

Gordonstoun proved to be the toughest opposition to date for S2A in their fixture. After scoring through Bea F midway through the first half we conceded our first goal this season just before half time. We had nine shots on target in the first half. Gordonstoun’s goalkeeper was amazing and kept her team in the game. In the second half we all had to work really hard especially off the ball. We scored our second goal from a penalty corner from Lexie L. To finish a fantastic second half performance we scored a brilliant goal from Player of the Match, Juliet B. The undefeated run continues for S2A who have scored 21 goals for and only conceded 1 after six games.

With an S3 squad depleted on the day, a re-jigged and resolute team rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in against Gordonstoun. With lots of pressing throughout the game,the pressure paid off and eventually a deserved win was most welcome. Sophie K was Player of the Match for the day.

S6 pupils Norah W provided us with this report from the 3rd XI: 

‘This Saturday, the 3rd XI played a fixture against Gordonstoun. The team had a strong game and kept the majority of the possession against tough opponents. The girls put in a great performance and the match ended 0-0. Well done girls!’  

Our 2nd XI had a great game against St Margaret's 1st XI on Saturday. It was a very even game with both teams having opportunities at goal. We had some good chances early on and were unlucky to concede a goal when we did, however the girls worked extremely hard in the game and managed to get an equaliser. Madison M was fantastic in defence and India R was providing great speed on attack. 

Hot off the heels of their Cup win against Selkirk High School on Thursday, the 1st XI were back out and had an exciting game against Gordonstoun on Saturday with lots of goals being scored. We got off to a good start scoring early on, the game then became a bit back and forth and ended up with a 5-3 win for our girls. Claire J had great composure in front of goal, Kate D was superb again at the back and Anna W was very busy all over the pitch bringing great energy. 

Rugby

P6 & P7 played House rugby on Saturday morning and in total we had 36 boys taking part. All games were tightly contested and boys conducted themselves very well. The overall scores left Collyhill and Blackfriars joint winners with Sillerton and Straloch joint in second place.

Mr Anderson reported that S2 had a cracking internal House fixture that allowed him to see all the players. Blackfriars/Sillerton beat Collyhill/Straloch 42-31 / 6 tries to 5 with captain Rory S kicking all 6. This was a really good chance for all boys to show what they had.

S3 took a good step forward on Saturday playing with improved game control and physicality throughout to beat Deeside RFC 14-7. The squad had lost to Deeside in a previous fixture this season so the boys knew it would be a tough game. It was fantastic to watch and the buzz from the players clearly meant it was even more fun to play in. Deeside were always a threat in this close contest so it was really pleasing that RGC continued to try to play at pace and with ambition right to the final whistle. The team certainly came close to doubling their points with some excellent build up play only to be denied with good defence from Deeside and a couple of mistakes. There are plenty of positives to focus on for next week,

U16 won in a comprehensive one sided match against Deeside / Garioch. It was the backs that won us the game; some spicy first phase strike moves scored and the boys successfully used them as options in their gameshape which made it tough for the opposition. 

The 1st XV lost to Glenalmond in a really good competitive game. RGC, with Willis M covering all positions, were well in the game however injuries took their toll in second half. Glenalmond kindly lent us some players but there was plenty of space for the opposition to score. Overall it was a good fixture.

Team of the Week

TOTW this week is Senior Boys Football after yet another win, this time against Lochside Academy. 

Sporting Achievements from Outside School

Well done to Emma S in S3 who was taking part in the East of Scotland Inter-regional football tournament at the weekend. She is part of the Scottish Schools Under 15s Girls squad for the North of Scotland and hopes to gain a trial for the Scotland Under 15s girls team in the future. 

Well done to the following girls who were in District Netball action over the weekend:

Ava B (U17)

Abbie H (U15)

Zara P (U15)

Congratulations also to Vincent C (S6) who continues his journey in the world of Powerlifting. He recently won the Junior category and came 2nd in the Adult Male category at a recent competition.