Claires Court on the march
Rugby: First XV show character to come from behind against Reigate Grammar and reach quarter finals
Claires Court School's first XV have made it through to the quarter finals of the NatWest Vase competition after coming from behind in difficult conditions to beat Reigate Grammar School 30-12 at Braywick Park last week.
In front of a 400-strong crowd of supporters, the school team progressed to the final eight of the national competition and produced the kind of performance which suggests they may be capable of going all the way to the final at Twickenham.
So far in the competition, they have overcome John Hampden, Haberdashers, Mill Hill and Brentwood School before last week's clash with Reigate Grammar.
They didn't have things all their own way at Maidenhead Rugby Club's Braywick Park, falling behind in the first half to a well-worked catch and drive from a Reigate lineout.
Up to then, the visitors had dominated possession and territory, but the home side rallied well, slotting a penalty kick through fly-half Finn Keylock before getting on top in their opponents as conditions deteriorated.
They were initially thwarted by outstanding defence from Reigate, and some uncharacteristic handling errors, but, on the stroke of half-time, Raph Seigner played the ball out for Josh Fisher to race toward the try line. He was held up just short, but Claires Court managed to recycle possession for Billy Ray to crash over from close range. The try was converted by Keylock and Claires Court held a narrow but useful 10-5 lead at the break. The hosts punished Reigate for further illdiscipline, with Keylock sending over
another penalty from long range, but Reigate came roaring back, touching down again from close range for a converted try that cut the gap to just a single point heading into the final quarter. However, Claires Court found their rhythm in the final stages just as Reigate began to run out of gas. They were able to stretch the visitors' defence with runs from deep, and two further penalties from Keylock gave them a 19-12 lead.
This time there was no response
from Reigate and Claires Court took the game away from their rivals in the final stages. Tom Molhoek finished off a 10-phase move to score wide on the left while a succession of powerful carries from Will Keylock led to younger brother Finn scoring on the opposite flank. Finn managed to convert both tries to cap off an excellent day for him with the boot, making the final score 30-12.
Their quarter final is due to take place at Braywick Park on Wednesday,
December 7 against either Ivy Bridge College or Old Swinford Hospital School.
First XV coach and head of rugby, Simon Carter, said: “It was another fantastic performance.
“The team really is going from strength to strength with every new challenge that is thrown at them. I think this game was won early in the second half when we played a very mature brand of rugby controlling the game; then had the fitness to convert this pressure into points deep in the second half.”
Mr Carter cited the creation of the school’s ‘Rugby Development Programme’ as key to this year's success in the competition. It's given the players up to eight hours of additional training during the week and has included strength and conditioning advice and video analysis.
He added: “I knew it would make them better players but couldn't have imagined it would have this impact so quickly, being a small school, we are picking from a much smaller player pool so it is vital we get the most out of the boys we have. We’ve had a great season overall so far but now the boys know they are two wins from a game at Twickenham, there won’t be any let off in the run into Christmas.”
1. William Paveley; 2. Ben Davies; 3. Aaron Mussell; 4. Harry Chaplin; 5. James Hudson; 6. Billy Ray; 7. Robbie Jones; 8. William Keylock; 9. Jack Downing; 10. Finn Keylock; 11. Andrew Paul; 12. Raphael Seigner (Capt); 13. Tom Molhoek; 14. Joshua John Fisher;
15. George Crowe; 16. Freddie Duff; 17. Jakob Allen; 18. Eddie Holmes.