A TRIP TO TWICKENHAM
England vs Argentina
Prep and Senior pupils attended England’s latest Autumn International at Twickenham on Saturday 26 November.
Hoping to see England continue their winning streak that stretches back to October 2015, the crowd were shocked into virtual silence after England winger, Eliot Daly was sent off for a dangerous tip tackle in the opening minutes. This didn’t stop the 53 Warminster staff and pupils getting behind England as their task of a thirteenth successive victory suddenly looked a whole lot harder.
Sat in the West Enclosure, Warminster pupils were surrounded by World Cup heroes in front of and behind them. A turn to the left saw a pensive and nervous looking former Head Coach, Clive Woodward. Jonny Wilkinson looked on longingly from behind the vocal Warminster support, whilst Will Greenwood and James Haskell hastily prepared the half time analysis on the pitch-side in front of us.
Meanwhile, on the pitch, England were battling hard to take control of the game. As the first half drew to a close, England struggled to cope with the power of the Argentinian scrum and they soon lost another player to the sin bin. Now playing against 13 men, Argentina took full advantage and reduced the deficit to just nine points at the break. An electric start to the second half saw the moment of the match as Argentina attacked England’s wings with great success. A flowing move that started inside their 22m line culminated in a tremendous try for the Pumas and the scores were almost level.
Yet more drama followed as England fought hard to extend their lead in a typically tough encounter between the two sides. As the big screen replayed a possible incident involving foul play, Twickenham once again erupted as Argentina were reduced to 14 men following some reckless play with the boot. By this time, England had assumed control of the match and the final whistle blew to end a tense and enthralling battle.
As the players left to a rousing reception, Warminster pupils gathered themselves for the final leg of their journey back to school. It was a pleasure to be able to take so many enthusiastic and well behaved pupils to Twickenham and we look forward to the opportunity to run a similar trip in the future.
Mr Morison