Big day at Twickenham for St. Benedict's

West London Rugby showdown with St. Paul's in prospect

The Daily Mail national U-15s rugby competition which started with 476 teams will end with a local derby to decide the winner.

St. Benedict's School in Ealing will be contesting the final with St. Paul's School from Barnes. The geographical closeness of the teams is emphasised by the fact that two of the participants in the final are also next door neighbours.

St. Benedict's reached the final by beating St. Peter's School from York 19-11 thanks to two tries centre Adam Cole. Pierre Cameron, Ravi Joshi, hooker Arthur Ellis and open-side Rowan Halsall stood out in a powerful pack with Cameron getting the first try of the match. The loss of two key players for the York side decisively tipped the balance of the game and they only had the consolation of a late try which meant the score more accurately reflected the balance of play.

Coach Rupert Allhusen said of the performance, "It was a tight game but they dogged it out. It will be a great day out for both schools and the support should be fantastic."

The win maintained the side's amazing 5 year unbeaten run.

St. Paul's, who beat Wellingborough School in the semi-finals, are likely to be the team's toughest challenge yet. They also have a long unbeaten run - stretching 39 games - to protect and the wider Twickenham pitch is said to suit their fast-running style.

As it the last day of the term, boys from both the junior and senior school at St. Benedict's are being given the option of taking the day off to see the match which takes place on Wednesday 23rd March.

March 14, 2005