A Somerset school’s director of rugby believes his team have put themselves “on the map” despite coming up just short in the final of a prestigious national rugby competition, writes Phil Campbell.
Ben Thomas watched from the sideline as Taunton School went down 38-24 to Oakham School in the Continental Tyres Schools U18 Plate final at Trailfinders Sports Club.
After conceding two early tries, and three overall in the first half, Taunton bounced back with scores through Morgan Jenkins and Jack Saxton to trail by just five points at the break with the scoreboard reading 19-14.
Taunton twice got within two points of Oakham during the second half through a penalty and Artem Barbariush’s try, but three second-half Oakham tries, including a late double, ultimately saw the West Country outfit fall short.
Thomas said: “All I can say is I'm just so proud of the boys.
"They stuck at it for 65 minutes.
"A bit of indecision cost us in the last five minutes, but I’m still very proud.
"It was a great performance, and it was fantastic for us to get to this national final.”
The competition pitted schools from all across the country against each other, aiming to increase participation.
As of March 2, the number of Age Grade players is up 6% year on year at 181,453, with a huge 14% increase in girls’ registrations.
Thomas added: “We’ve got a really young side.
“This team has loads of growth in it for next year and the following year.
"We spoke at the start of the season about whether we could put ourselves on the map, and that was our goal.
"I feel the boys have definitely done that today, even without the result.”
RFU executive director of rugby development Steve Grainger said: “The Continental Tyres Schools Cup finals are a massive highlight for us; three days of rugby action, first at the Trailfinders then the Allianz.
"It’s a culmination of a huge amount of time, effort and energy for both the players and for the teachers in schools right across the country.
"We’ve seen a really high quality, right from the opening rounds.
"It’s intense, there are a huge number of schools that enter the competition and the quality of the rugby is so high, you are inevitably watching some stars of the future in these tournaments.”
The Continental Tyres Schools Cup is a vital part of the age-grade rugby landscape, with schools’ rugby often where players fall in love with the game for the first time. Catch all the latest highlights and updates from the competition by following @CommunityRugby.
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