Winchester College Football - Minor Matches

Minor Matches

Two other notable matches are Herman Pot and Poon Pot. Both are played on the morning of the last day of Common Time. Herman pot is played by the VIth Book I men from Trant's and Phil's. These two houses are traditionally two of the strongest Winkies houses and they are both on Culver Road (as such it is a Culver Road Derby). The match is attended by both houses in full and, as all the players are out of their usual position and slightly the worse for wear, it's quite an entertaining game. The result is always twenty seven and a half all. Poon Pot is the same premise but played between Beloe's and Furley's (a Kingsgate Park (KP) derby) and is always refereed by Mr. Nevin. Recently these two matches have been copied with matches between Hopper's and Cook's (Edgar Road derby) and College and Toye's (Kingsgate Street derby) also being played.

Jun XXIIs used to be another end-of-term game, although somewhat less competitive as the score was by tradition seventeen and three quarters all. It was played between the junnest (that is, lowest in order on their scholarship roll) twenty-two Collegemen who were not otherwise engaged and two top-year Collegemen, usually including the captain of College VI. It was refereed by the Aulae Prae, who would award free busts to all and sundry, giving any reason he chose. The Bogle Prae (the most Sen Collegeman to keep a bicycle in College) would cycle up and down Ropes, and the crowd would periodically throw buckets of water over the players. Afterwards, a Hot was held in Logie, the stream which runs between the College buildings and the Warden's Garden. This previously annual game has been discontinued, as the throwing of water onto the pitch was deemed to damage the playing surface.