On Saturday 13th December, a day’s break in the rain gave us perfect conditions for a day of sport for our Old Novaportans and current school teams. All games were preceded by a moment of reflection and hope for one of our ONs, George, who should have been there but who remains missing in Romania. 

The morning started with netball in the sports hall, as ever, expertly umpired by Adams' legend Rodney Jones. It was also lovely to see Mrs Hickey back at school to assist. The Old Novaportans fielded two teams. In the first match, School beat the Old Girls 26-19. In the second game, the other Old Girls team beat School 30-24 and in the final game the two Old Girls teams went head-to-head in a close game ending 28-26.

The hockey match took place at Lilleshall Sports Centre hockey pitch and was refereed by ONs Ash Williams (class of 2010) who runs Newport Hockey Club and Tom Hurst (class of 2005) who works at Adams as our Inclusion Officer.

It was a fiercely competitive match and thrilling to watch. Both sides displayed impressive energy and skill, finishing regular time tied at 2-2. The tiebreaker kept everyone on edge, with neither team gaining the upper hand during shuffles. Ultimately, it came down to penalty flicks, where the Old Boys clinched the victory.

Meanwhile, the football started a little later at Longford under a chilly mist. This game was also very closely fought and saw the Old Boys football team edging in front of the current school team with a final score of 4-3.

Finally, the rugby started at 1pm at Longford, where the mist had turned into mud. There was an excellent turnout of spectators, who were kept warm by coffees and hot chocolates from the new Pavilion coffee machine. Headteacher Dan Biggins and honorary Old Novaportans Ian Fowler and Rob Mulhern also turned up to show their support. A huge well done to the Old Boys rugby squad who managed a decisive 10-0 win in the final match of the day before heading the showers for what seemed to be a water fight, followed by refuelling with chilli and curry in the Pavilion.

It was a wonderful, well-supported atmosphere. Thank you to all those who played, refereed and attended. We hope to see you back next year!