Hard to replicate those post-war halcyon days

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby‘s great schools

RUGBY success at Christ’s Hospital School over the decades has been sporadic but the Horsham school have enjoyed their moments on the pitch and indeed off it with a penchant for producing important sports administrators.

The post war years stretching into the mid-50s were the undoubted highwater mark for Christ’s Hospital with a succession of outstanding sides and talented schools internationals.

It all kicked off with an unbeaten season in 1947 when the Playfair Rugby Annual declared it was their best team in 30 years. They won their eight regular season games and accumulated some big scores by the standards of the day against well-established schools such as Brighton College (46-3), Whitgift (26-3), Eastbourne (36-8), Epsom (23-6) and Dulwich (19-0). Only the game against Cranleigh (9-6) offered any threat of an upset.

Fly-half AP Jackson was a key man as was MK Gurton in the pack and Jack Bailey – later to achieve more fame as a cricketer and secretary of the MCC – was another prominent member of the team. Jackson and Gurton represented England Schools that winter against Wales down at the Gnoll in Neath with Jackson clinching a tight game with a late dropped goal.

Given their fifteens strength and the individual talent available, Christ’s were among the favoured teams at Rosslyn Park that year but after a serene progress to the final, in which they didn’t conceded a point, it all went a little pear-shaped in the final against Taunton when they went down 15-6, the only game of rugby they lost all season.

The following year they were again unbeaten at fifteens with Eastbourne College pushing them closest before succumbing 6-0 but Christ’s were again thwarted at Rosslyn Park although they made history of sorts when they lost their fourth round match 3-0 against Taunton, their conquerors from the year before, after five periods of extra time. Taunton did go on to reach their second final on the bounce, but out on their feet, had nothing left to counter Stonyhurst.

Second row forward William Morrison made the England Schools team that year and the following season Dennis Silk replicated that honour at fullback. Silk was another of the cricketer-rugby players from Christs and later became president of MCC and chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board as well excelling as Warden at Radley College for 31 years.

The 1950 season was a rare blip during this era – just two wins from nine games – but there was fun and games again at Park where there was another epic against Taunton which was again won in the fifth period of extra time.

According to contemporary reports it was the 40th minute of the fifth period of extra time when Christ’s clinched their 8-5 victory. Exhausted by their efforts they lost 14-3 to Stonyhurst in the following round.

After those two ‘timeless matches’ the competition regulations were changed to make it sudden death in extra time with such protracted contests clearly making it virtually impossible for the victors to mount a credible challenge during the rest of the tournament.

Christ’s finally landed their Rosslyn Park title in 1951 after yet another fine fifteens season in which they lost just the one game, 5-0 against Cranleigh. The Cranleigh defence was notably strong that season conceding only 32 points in regular season games.

They arrived at Rosslyn Park as favourites but had to fight their way to the final. Old rivals Taunton were dispatched in the first round and Merchant Taylors in the second round before they squeezed home 8-6 against Rugby in round three.

Then came Sherborne in the quarter-final and King’s Taunton in the semi-final before finally taking the silverware with a tense 8-6 victory over Stonyhurst. Two very strong seasons followed at fifteens. In 1952 they lost just twice to schools and in 1953 a very good side were unbeaten against schools although they lost to a powerful Old Blues (Christ’s old boys) team who were reaping the benefits of four of five vintage years at school.

Thereafter Christ’s fell off a little from their glory years although they were invariably pretty competitive and more than held their own against fellow Sussex opposition. One useful addition to the coaching ranks between 1971-74 was Wales and Lions wing Gerald Davies who was hired mainly for his English teaching abilities but inevitably helped out in midweek with the rugby teams.

Christ’s most notable recent products have been Bath and England A wing Andrew Higgins, who was forced to retire prematurely with a serious knee injury, and Wasps and England lock Joe Launchbury.

Launchbury spent seven years at the schools between 2003 and 2009 and won England Schools caps although it is the wide spectrum of sports and extracurricular activities on offer that he remembers most fondly.

“In my final year I was proud to be in the First XI for both cricket and football and the First XV for rugby. I captained rugby in a season of mixed success. I also represented England U18s but as well as sport I was immersed in other aspects of school life not least being a house captain and a school monitor in my final year.

“Christ’s Hospital is unique and I feel privileged to have gone to such an amazing school. As I stepped off the team coach before my debut in 2012 against Fiji and the team was snaking through the crowd, there was a sudden shout of ‘Housey’! (Christ’s Hospital’s nickname).

“I instantly turned and there was just time to shake an extended hand. I did not know him – he was of a different generation – but in that moment we were joined and we both knew we shared something special.”

The school have launched a Joe Launchbury rugby scholarship and the first recipient, centre Lennox Anyanwu, now at Quins, did the name proud by immediately going on to win an England U16 cap.

Another notable day for Christ’s had been their victory in the Rosslyn Park U13 tournament in 2019 which augurs well for the future.