Cardinal Newman celebrate double
CARDINAL Newman beat Peter Symonds’ College in the final for a second year in a row to retain the girl’s cup competition.
It was another almost untouchable run to glory for Newman, and though their wait to join the RFU ACE league of academy-supported schools in the XV-a-side game might be set to continue their hopes to join the ACE competition at Rosslyn Park will be well-served by another brilliant run.
“We’ve got some really fantastic players, we’re really lucky that so many good players have chosen Newman as a place to come for college,” said coach Phil Ward.
“There were some tough tests in there, it’s great to see the girls game growing and loads of teams taking part. We’ve already had a brief conversation with the tournament organiser about possibly going into the ACE competition. That’s what we want for our girls, we want those challenges, we want to play the best teams we can find. It’s something we’re very much thinking about.”
It would’ve been hard to foresee Newman beating their record last year – which saw them score 258 points and concede just 27 – but although they ended this campaign with the same number of points against them they scored an astonishing 306.
Ward paid tribute to Samuel Whitbread Academy, Canadian side For The Love Of The Game, semi-final opponents Hartpury 2nd VII and Peter Symonds, but none of those sides could come within three tries of his brilliant youngsters.
Exeter College’s 2nd VII beat Samuel Whitbread in the Plate final, adding more silverware to their 1st VII’s win in the ACE tournament.