In their third national U15 final in a row, Dr Challoner’s Grammar School secured the U15 Schools Plate with a 29-7 win over Brighton College at Sixways Stadium.
Having won the U15 Vase in 2016 and reached the final of the same tournament last year, Dr Challoner’s are well versed in these big finals, but this was their biggest, coming in the higher tiered U15 Plate.
Perhaps that showed on Tuesday afternoon at the home of Worcester Warriors, or perhaps it was simply the quality of a side that have been largely untroubled right from the onset in this tournament, indeed only in the semi final and final have they scored less than forty points, and they were still dominant in both games.
They came flying out of the blocks here at Sixways, going 17-0 up inside of the first fifteen minutes, an irrecoverable mountain for Brighton College to climb, as it was to prove.
This is a Brighton College side, remember, that has plenty of quality of its own, quality that at times through the game was on real display. Unforunately for them in this opening period they simply could not get their hands on the ball.
That lead would hold until half time as Brighton’s game management enabled them to counter the fast start of Dr Challoner’s with some good field position.
Dr Challoner’s were back on it in Brighton territory early in the second half, and the pressure soon told as Brighton College saw yellow and Dr Challoner’s went crashing over to send the scores out to 24-0.
That momentum kept on building and they were shortly over again to make it 29-0 with time running down fast.
All credit to Brighton College though, while the game may have been effectively over, they refused to die down. Thank goodness they didn’t, for in their endeavour to keep playing they scored perhaps the try of the day to make the final score 29-7 in Dr Challoner’s favour.
It is a quite remarkable run this from Dr Challoner’s, 3 U15 finals of varying types in a row. An age-group, remember, where yeargroups are not mixed together, that means they have had three very distinct teams reaching three different finals, winning twice. Perhaps most impressively of all here at Sixways.
U15 Schools Plate Final: Dr Challoner’s GS 29-7 Brighton College
Teams:
Dr Challoner’s
15 Dan Cox, 14 Michael Adcock, 13 Chris Grant (c), 12 Alex Bower, 11 Callum Davis, 10 Josh Williams , 9 Angus Love, 1 Max Eggleton, Ben Rooker, 3 Finn D-Cummins, 4 Ben Eggleton, 5 Drew Cordiner, 6 Theo Weatherall, 7 Ben Harper, 8 Max Morphey.
Replacements: 16 Henry Klean, 17 Callym Halpin, 18 Rob Treloar, 19 Ollie Walter, 20 Luke Brown, 21 Ben Kilcullen, 22 Michael M-Crooks.
Brighton College
15 Austin Emens, 14 Alexander Pert, 13 Henry Coleman, 12 Ben Bishop, 11 James Pavey, 10 Josh Taylor, 9 Patrick Mayhew, 1 Oli Greenhalgh, 2 Benjamin Skinner, 3 Tom Horler, 4 Alexander Hennah, 5 Toby Kircher, 6 Sam Graves, 7 Hugo Hughs, 8 Misha Agureev.
Replacements: 16 Jude Tyrell-Broad, 17 Max Kemsley, 18 Alexander Pitman, 19 Marley Chambers, 20 Aadil Rahim, 21 Dominic Lock.
