Saffron Walden added to their 2011 U15 Schools Vase title on Tuesday afternoon as they sealed the 2018 U15 Schools Bowl title at Sixways Stadium.

They did so by beating Worth School 19-10 in a cracking game at the home of Worcester Warriors that was full of tension throughout.

Saffron Walden got themselves into an early 7-0 lead, but Worth came bouncing back with a penalty and a try as half time approached. Saffron Walden, meanwhile, were down to 14 men after a yellow card.

That sent the sides in at the break with Worth leading 10-7, and in truth as the second half began, they seemed the more in control. Possession and territory were with them – and in some ways stats from the tournament. Throughout it Worth have been the masters of the tight game, winning a succession of them in this Bowl run.

Saffron Walden, on the other hand, had not. However that was simply because they had not had to, theirs had been far simpler wins, and that quality began to shine through as the second half wore on.

A bit of luck never goes amiss either though, and they got that as possession squirted back their way after a long clearance kick from yet another Worth attack. Pouncing on the free possession, they turned it into points with a neat finish to go 14-10 ahead with Morgan Evans’ conversion.

That score seemed to breed new confidence throughout their team as they now dominated both possession and territory as the game edged ever-nearer to the final whistle. As it did, they worked a fantastic position down the right hand side for their third try of the game, sealing a 19-10 victory in the very last play of the game.

It was a brilliant victory for Saffron Walden, one that involved superb attacking play, some excellent defence, and perhaps most importantly, bags of determination and self-belief.

U15 Schools Bowl Final: Worth 10-19 Saffron Walden

Teams:

Worth

15 Kitan Ojo (c), 14 Ben Lipman, 13 Casper Poeppinghaus, 12 Colm Geraghty, 11 Dan Persad, 10 Joe Jones, 9 Josh Nunn, 1 Marongyan Cheng, 2 Ollie Brown, 3 Nico Lopalco, 4 George Conley, 5 Louis Hinkelman, 6 George Valentine, 7 Ethan Cunha, 8 Josh Paisley.

Replacements: 16 Josh Webb, 17 Sam Hearn, 18 Daniel Duarte, 19 Alex Charlton, 20 Jack Flanagan, 21 Zac Collins, 22 Jacob McLaughlin.

Saffron Walden

15 Matt Rumsey, 14 Jacob Park, 13 Alex Keys, 12 Fraser Murray, 11 Zak Zanella, 10 Morgan Evans, 9 Finn Thomas, 1 Beau Longaretti, 2 Spike Walker, 3 Ryan Curtis, 4 Ming Sang Ho, 5 Alex Benn, 6 Harry Vincent-West, 7 Charlie Cansell (c), 8 Oliver Keys.

Replacements: 16 Aiden McErlain, 17 Luhan Bely, 18 Axel Early-Nylander, 19 Jared Pilkington, 20 Amrik Braico, 21 John Cannon, 22 Pukar Gurung.