IPSOBLTA: Jamie Boden, Toby Rust, Miles Edmeston, Eduardo Martoglio, Rory Pullinger, George Donnelly
KCS: Safin, Harvey, Ben James, ‘Little Man’, Zig, Kiely
It’s always a pleasure returning to your old school and seeing just how much has changed. There’s now an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a wind turbine on the roof, and ambitious plans to expand into Wimbledon village. A far cry from the muddy rugby pitches of old!
Of course, no trip down memory lane would be complete without a teammate mocking your original iPubs tennis shirt - heavy cotton and faded logo. Vintage, if we’re being generous.
Speaking of age, I had a humbling moment at this very fixture a few years back. Chatting away with this fresh-faced kid, I casually asked: “So, is this your last year at the school?” He replied, deadpan: “No, I’m the master in charge and I’m 30!” Ashley Tatum promptly called me a taxi!
The iPubs got off to a slow start. Rory Pullinger and George Donnelly, reunited for the first time since their Surrey Cup glory at Putney Lawn Tennis Club, took a staggering 20 minutes to win the opening game. Their opponent, a certain Safin (surely related to Marat?), was serving down bombs and their lob returns were too short and defensive. However, they soon found their rhythm and raced to a 6-2 victory.
At first pair, Jamie Boden and Toby Rust showed instant chemistry – unsurprisingly, as they had both joined Magdalen Park LTC at the same time. Their tennis was smooth, composed, and clinical. Barely a mistake between them as they secured a classy win.
Eduardo Martoglio arrived fashionably late but with Rory and George still locked in their marathon first game, it didn’t matter. He teamed up with Miles Edmeston against an opponent affectionately known as “Little Man” who whipped some dazzling cross-court lefty forehands past them. But Miles and Eduardo kept their composure and closed out another iPubs victory.
After the tennis, we wandered over the road to the Hand In Hand pub, where Rory remained mildly paranoid about bumping into his old teachers, while George entertained us with tales of how to improve the worst Challenger tournaments across 20 countries – a true masterclass in tennis diplomacy.
Ben James was the perfect host and the King’s boys were, as always, polite, engaged and curious - particularly about our nomadic iPubs existence, with no home venue and only away fixtures on the calendar.
Rory Pullinger - Match Manager