Cranleigh land U18 double in big schools Sevens festival
JAKE Andrews was a fighter and on Friday Cranleigh School honoured his memory by retaining their Rosslyn Park U18s Cup title beating Brighton College in the final.
Andrews, who passed away on February 26 aged 19 after a two-year battle with cancer, was one of the rugby team’s most fervent supporter and he always cheered on them from his hospital bed, like during the St Joseph’s Festival back in October which Cranleigh also won.
Following a clean run through the pools on Thursday, the Surrey school almost pulled out of the second day given Andrews’ funeral was being held at the school on the same day.
But they decided against it and sent him off in style.
Five wins, including a hard-fought 15-12 win over Bedford in the semi-finals, took them only 14 minutes from retaining their crown with only the impressive Brighton left in their way.
Brighton returned to Rosslyn Park with a similar squad to the one that won the Colts tournament in 2016 and they had lost to Cranleigh only 12-7 on the last play in the quarter-final pools earlier on the day.
But Cranleigh were on a mission and they suffocated Brighton in the first half to take a 14-0 lead into the break after tries from Sam Lubbock and Harry Barlow.
Brighton hit back soon after the break through Toby Smith but Jamie Barden’s double sealed a 28-7 win to keep the trophy in Surrey for at least another year.
“To lose Jake was really tough for us so I’m so proud we were able to win for him today,” an emotional director of rugby Andy Houston told The Rugby Paper.
“To win it last year was a miracle so to back it up is pretty special. They’re just normal school kids but they’re so special and I’m very proud of them for how they’ve handled themselves given they just lost a friend.”
Brighton started day two by beating Wellington College 19-0 in the elimination round while the other surprise came from across the Severn Bridge as Cardiff and Vale beat Barnard Castle after coming top of their group, which included St Joseph’s and last year’s finalists Harrow, on day one.
Millfield and Hartpury College were next on their list and Cardiff and Vale found themselves in the semi-finals against Brighton.
A 24-17 defeat meant the end of the road for the Welsh college while Brighton were still dreaming of an incredible Colts-Cup back-to-back title double.
It wasn’t to be for the Sussex school but director of rugby Nick Buoy said: “We only had one upper sixth student in our team so it’s an incredible achievement to reach the final in an U18s tournament with an U17s team. The future looks bright.”