Road to Twickenham (From Whitgift website - http://www.whitgift.co.uk/NewsArticle.aspx?NewsID=3555)
The journey to Allianz Park, home of Saracens RFC, has seen the Whitgiftians overcome Caterham School (60-7), Howard of Effingham School (48-5), Trinity School (19-10) and Hurstpierpoint College (27-24). The team then faced St Joseph’s College in the quarter-final, winning with a resounding 69-12 scoreline, making the journey to Ipswich well worth it.

Whitgift’s U18 squad has also had a fantastic School Cup run, resulting in a double Whitgift semi-final weekend. Unfortunately, whilst snow disruptions postponed the U18s Saturday match (to Tuesday 6 March, 11am), the RFU redoubled their efforts on getting the pitch and surrounding areas ready for the U15s match against Hampton School.

Sunday saw Hampton take an early lead but, just before half time, Whitgift’s Omari Malcolm scored a try, with Captain Connor Slevin converting for Whitgift and levelling the scores by the half-time whistle. A tight second half had Hampton taking the lead again with a 10-7 score and only 20 minutes of the game remaining. Whitgift’s grit and determination rose to the fore in the last ten minutes, with a barrage of attempts at the Hampton score line. Finally, Whitgift hooker, Piero Noah, succeeded in getting through Hampton’s defence and Connor Slevin’s conversion ensured a 14-10 lead. In an electrifying last few minutes of the game, Piero (voted Man of the Match) secured yet another try and Connor added the last two points of the match. A jubilant squad celebrated the final 21-10 score, which sees them through to the national final at Twickenham, on Wednesday 14 March, where they will face Manchester Grammar School.

Mr Adrian Norris, Assistant Head and U15 Coach, commented, “The boys are certainly resilient and must be commended on their patience, attitude and application in the face of a very good Hampton side. We now look forward to a match at Twickenham and I know the players are excited to show what they can do on the biggest stage possible.”