Wednesday’s U15 Schools Vase final sees two teams head to Twickenham for the very first time for this 11am kick off, Kenilworth and Beechen Cliff.
Naturally, both have enjoyed strong campaigns so far. Each had some pretty spectacular early round victories, Beechen Cliff beating Norton Hill 52-7, John Hanson 57-7, and Sir William Borlase’s 52-0, while Kenilworth beat Prince Henry’s 61-5 and Tewkesbury 57-7.
As the tournament has gone on, each side has had faced harder games, as you would expect. Yet through the tournament neither has been in a game where at the end of it the score suggested it could have gone either way.
Yes, Kenilworth had to hold off a remarkable comeback from QEGS Penrith in the semi final as having had a 15-0 lead they found themselves 17-15 down. However 17 unanswered second half points showed not just their own quality, but also their ability to cope mentally under pressure, and in the end it was a comfortable 32-17 win.
Beechen Cliff of course have the benefit of being linked up with the Bath Academy. At U18 level they are one of the AASE College’s, playing in the AASE League. Exposure to that environment should help them in a high pressure situation like this, though as Kenilworth showed in that semi final second half, they are not too bad under pressure either.
Either way, it looks as though Wednesday will be an excellent game of rugby played out between two sides that unquestionably deserve to be there. Their result just go to prove that they have been the class of the field. It should be an excellent way to kick off U18 and U15 Cup and Vase finals day at Twickenham Stadium.
U15 Schools Vase Final – Wednesday 14th March, 11am, Twickenham Stadium
Kenilworth v Beechen Cliff
Route to the Final:
Kenilworth (Midlands A)
32-17 v QEGS Penrith – Semi Final
26-12 v Richard Hale – Quarter Final
w/o v Fairfax – Last 16
35-24 v Dene Magna – Round 4
29-15 v Pate’s GS – Round 3
57-7 v Tewkesbury – Round 2
61-5 v Prince Henry’s HS – Round 1
Beechen Cliff (South West B)
24-12 v London Oratory – Semi Final
34-12 v Uffculme – Quarter Final
20-5 v Backwell – Last 16
52-0 v Sir William Borlase’s – Round 4
57-7 v John Hanson – Round 3
52-7 v Norton Hill – Round 2
Bye – Round 1
Past Performance:
Kenilworth – 2018 Best Performance
Beechen Cliff – 2018 Best Performance
