It was lovely to see so many familiar faces at the OPs vs College Sports Day, held this year on Saturday 31 August. It was also great to welcome Old Coventrians (King Henry VIII’s alumni association) to the College for the final match of the day against the older OPs.

The College teams had their most successful day for many years clinching three wins, including a nailbitingly close Netball game and victory for the Staff/College side in the increasingly popular Football, and only suffering two losses in the Girls’ Hockey and the John Shinkwin Trophy Match.

In the OPs v College 1st XV (John Shinkwin Trophy match the OPs (leavers of 2018 and 2019) were clearly physically stronger, and their greater strength proved to be their trump card. As is usual in this fixture, the College team paid their elders far too much respect which the OP side capitalised upon.

At the after match awards, it was honours even with the College proudly raising the Alex Wallis Memorial Shield and the OPs the John Shinkwin Cup.

The OPs v Old Coventrians match ended up being a 10 a side game, due to a somewhat depleted OPs side. The OPs stayed in the game to the last quarter when, a slightly more well drilled Old Coventrians side eased ahead to a comfortable victory.

Special mention must go to Simon Wilkins and Michael Edwards who gamely took the pitch for the OPs vs Old Coventrians side - 25 years after leaving the College in 1994!

Neil McCollin, Foundation Director of Sport, commented, “We were incredibly pleased to see so many familiar faces, all the games were played in true Princethorpe spirit and enjoyed by all who watched and played.

“Post our recent South Africa Sports Tour we knew the College teams would be competitive but we were over the moon to win the Shield after a tough couple of years. Huge well done to all those who played and made the day so special. I look forward to seeing them all return on Saturday 5 September 2020 for the next OPs vs College Sports Day”

The results of the matches were as follows:
Football – Staff/College 2 v OPs 1
Netball – College 23 v OPs 20
Boys’ Hockey – College 4 v OPs 1
Girls’ Hockey – College 1 v OPs 5
Rugby – College 0 v OPs 29
Rugby – OPs 27 v Old Coventrians 43

Thanks to all the players, supporters, organisers and caterers for making the day such a lovely relaxed affair.