11 hours Ago
The East Anglian outfit had taken the scalps of The Leys School, Culford School, Framlingham College and Langley School during previous rounds of the competitions to register their most successful run in the competition in the National Vase since over a decade ago. And though tries from outside centre Tom Hendrick and winger Dan McAleese couldn't prevent defeat to King Edward's School, Birmingham amid tricky conditions, head of rugby Jones reflected on what would be a season to remember for his side. “It was tense and a good battle and there were a lot of errors because the ball was wet but they were deserved winners, they played very well on the day,” he said.
“It's the furthest we’ve been as a school to the quarter-finals so I was really pleased for the boys. “In 2010-11, our U15s got to the last-16 in the old format of the cup so it was probably on par I reckon. We punched above our weight a little bit because we are just a state school and we managed to take a couple of notable scalps which was quite nice.
“We spoke on Monday night training that even if we don’t win, it’s the furthest we’ve been so it’s a huge achievement. It wasn’t a hard loss for me to take because I was really proud of where the boys have come from this season.” The RFU Continental Tyres Cup is foundational to age-grade rugby in England, enabling students from across the country to compete against one another and represent the best the game has to offer.
While King Edward's School, Birmingham may be one step further to cup glory, Jones revealed Wymondham College remain hungry for more. He added: “I just want more now. I spoke to my skipper yesterday before the game and said I don’t want to be out of it, I want to stay in it and want to go as equally far if not further next year with our current crop of year 12s and 11s.
“They’re such a nice group of boys, the journey for me has been lovely and that’s given me a fun task this season to work towards and training and matches in the leadup has all been building towards that. “I was worried at the end of last year that we wouldn’t be as strong as we are but the boys really committed to training, they’ve gelled together as a group, they get on really well and want to play for one another so I’m really proud of them. “The school’s really pleased with it and had a few mentions in the staff briefing from leadership which has been really good and most of the PE department was there watching so it was really good to have the support of my colleagues so it’s a really big thing for the school and myself so I was really pleased.
” The Continental Tyres Schools Cup is an important part of the age-grade rugby landscape in England, with schools’ rugby often where players fall in love with the game for the first time. For more information visit the Continental Tyres Schools Cup section of the England Rugby Website.
