After three days of furious voting the polls closed on your Schools Rugby 2019/20 Counties XV and you have selected a superb group of players.
In total 23,165 votes were cast, just 40 votes shy of the total cast in the Schools Rugby 2019/20 Dream Team vote, a vote that included incredibly well known academy and junior international players.
Like that vote, the Counties XV vote went down to the wire, with a number of players unluckily missing out on a place in the side by the finest of margins, none more so than Hurstpierpoint College prop Archie Khouri. Khouri was just 16 votes shy of a place in the starting XV and has to make to with a place on the bench.
It was a similar story for Paddy Mallows and Jonny Haynes, who were just 4% away from a starting spot, while Ollie Casson was only 3% off, Berkhamsted’s Harvey Graham, meanwhile, was just 2% shy of the starting XV.
In total the Counties XV is made up of players from ten different schools. Wirral Grammar School turned out their vote in force, with Will Morris at full back, Alfie Kimption on the wing, and Cameron Mercer at openside.
Alongside Mercer is Olly Garratty of RGS High Wycombe at number 8 and schoolmate Jake Aspinall in the second row joins him. New Hall’s Tomiwa Agbongbon completes the back row.
Alongside Aspinall in the second row is Trinity’s Alex Connaghton, one of two Trinity men in the side, Chris Lipczynski was voted into the inside centre berth. Newcastle School for Boys are the other side with two players in the team, Fergus Simpson joining Lipczynski in the centres, with Dan Baines at scrum half.
Pangbourne College’s Ollie Andrews-Hirons is at fly half, with Coventry College’s Sam Everett completing the backline on the right wing. Meanwhile the forward back is completed in the front row by John Fisher’s Dom Brooks and Bablake’s Chris Romano propping either side of KES Birmingham’s Theo Mostert at hooker.
It all makes for a fantastically exciting side, and in truth any of those on the list would have been more than worthy of topping the vote, the only shame is that we will not get to see this side in action – you can be sure that they would play some stunning rugby.
It has been a brilliant season, congratulations to each and every player that pulled on their school shirt this year!
Schools Rugby 2019/20 Counties XV:
15 Will Morris (Wirral Grammar), 14 Sam Everett (Coventry College), 13 Fergus Simpson (Newcastle School for Boys), 12 Chris Lipczynski (Trinity), 11 Alfie Kimption (Wirral Grammar), 10 Ollie Andrews-Hirons (Pangbourne College), 9 Dan Baines (Newcastle School for Boys), 1 Dom Brooks (John Fisher), 2 Theo Mostert (KES Birmingham), 3 Chris Romano (Bablake), 4 Jake Aspinall (RGS High Wycombe), 5 Alex Connaghton (Trinity), 6 Tomiwa Agbongbon (New Hall), 7 Cameron Mercer (Wirral Grammar), 8 Olly Garratty (RGS High Wycombe).
Replacements: 16 Jack Hussey (Berkhamsted), 17 George Southall (Barnard Castle), 18 Archie Khouri (Hurstpierpoint College), 19 Ollie Casson (Cheadle Hulme), 20 Paddy Mallows (John Fisher), 21 James Crabtree (Princethorpe College), 22 Harvey Graham (Berkhamsted), 23 Jonny Haynes (Epsom College).
