Bromsgrove School have won the NatWest U18 schools trophy in a close match against Dulwich College at Twickenham. The match took place on 25 March and the final score was 30-18, with Bromsgrove’s Captain Luke White named as the man of the match.
Dulwich College were defending champions, having won the cup for the last three years and this being their fourth successive finals appearance. They had been unbeaten in their previous 33 matches and had scored over 50 points in their semi-final. This was Bromsgrove’s first final for the schools cup, having previously made it through to the semi-finals.
“It was a marvellous game played by two superb sides,” says Bromsgrove’s director of rugby, Tony Windo. “The handling by our team was almost flawless and the running rugby the best we have seen all season. Captain and man of the match, Luke White, controlled the game brilliantly, converting three tries, slotting three penalties and his cross-field chip kick to find wing Cooper Bent in space drove his team into the lead with the game finely poised and 10 minutes remaining. Dulwich threw everything they had at the Bromsgrove line but couldn’t put a dent in it.”
Almost 1,000 supporters, school pupils, parents, staff and Old Bromsgrovians went to Twickenham to support the team, with a live stream to the school for those of us who couldn’t go to the final.
“You get out what you put in, and they worked so hard for each other,” says Tony Windo. “This is a life lesson for all of them.”
Bromsgrove team were: Harry Ferguson, Henry Walker, Harrison Fowke, Beck Cutting, Justin Clegg, Ben Schmermund, Joseph Morrice, Thomas Ford, Paolo Parisi, Luke White, Cooper Bent, Alexander Nisbet, Chase Edwards, Jonty Thornton, James Taylor, William Lockhart, Nikita Khatin, Jack Weston, William Hands, George Wootten, Benjamin Tibbetts and Blake Edwards.
