You have arrived at the Harrow County School website - but owing to a slight error in the address given on page 19 of the mag, you have arrived at the Rugby 1963/4 page! For the home page of the website,
CLICK HERE! (www.jeffreymaynard.com/harrow_county/)
The 1963-64 season produced perhaps the finest 1st XV that the school has ever seen. Certainly on the strength of results it achieved an unsurpassed recoed. The team played 26 matches in this country, winning 24, drawing 1, losing 1, and amassed a total of 445 points, conceding only 53. the team was the result of two tears of training and playing together under the guidance of Mr. Underwood, factors which undoubtedly contributed to the side's inherent co-ordination and unity. The sucess of the team, indeed, depended upon consistent team-work rather than the individual talent of any particular players. Consequently, fluent and swift movements involving both the three-quarter line and the pack were frequently forthcoming. Many players advanced to a maturity and standard of play which had not been evident in previous years. Particularly was this true of Richard Porter and Ian Hall, the wing-forwards, who jointly won the Improvement Cup. The pack was sturdy and mobile, while the backs combined exceptional speed and ingenuity. The spirit of the team could not have been higher or more resilient, and every match was discussed and analysed meticulously.
The results reveal high-scoring wins against Tottenham G. S. by 34 points to nil, and East Ham by 48 points to nil. Among the best wins against school sides were those against Bec, Isleworth, Rickmansworth and Chingford, schools which possessed good records. The side's only defeat was at the hands of St. Nicholas G. S. by 13 points to nil, and the only draw was against Wanstead. Excellent victories were achieved against University College, Oxford, and the Old Gaytonians, this being the second consecutive year that the Old Boys have been defeated. The side improved and consolidated its strength in the last 15 matches, all of which were won, with a total of 303 points for and 17 against.
Timothy Rutter and Alan Routh, the captain, both played for Middlesex and London Counties, the former eventually being invited to join Harlequins as a result of his superb performance in the Kent Seven-a-side Tournament, where the school lost by 10 points to 8 in the quarter-final to the eventual winners of the tournament, King's, Canterbury. In the Oxford Sevens, the first seven lost to LLanelly G. S., the eventual winners.
Much press attention was also focused upon the team not only because of its home success but also because of an ambitious Continental tour of Italy and Germany. The tour, lasting 15 days and involving a party of 30 boys, was financed by money raised from jumble sales, dances and raffles. The tour was a resounding success and the five matches played were won. The team was accompanied by much publicity, and there were crowds at all the games.
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Martin Butcher, Secretary
(Gaytonian 1964)