U13 rugby team are finalists in Nationals 7s Championships

This was the biggest tournament we have played in so far and certainly the toughest, with over 100 schools competing over two days at Rosslyn Park.

In the beginning we thought that getting to the final day would be an achievement, with Emanuel being one of the smallest schools there. In the end we were finalists and officially the 2nd best team in the UK!

We needed a good victory in our first match, v Dartford, to gain confidence, and the conditions were not going to help us; they were some of the worst we had played in.

Unfortunately we had to play on half the pitch, due to others being waterlogged. It was a scrappy encounter, with knock-ons plentiful on both sides, but in a tight game we edged them out 21-19 with Ryan Flannery scoring a last minute conversion to win us the game. After that, the group stages were plain sailing; we beat a Spanish school, Marbella, 28-7 and then crushed St George’s Harpenden 26-0, in a game shortened by the atrocious weather.

We knew that to progress to day two we would have to win our last sixteen match, which turned out to be against a Welsh school Bro Morgannwg. They had been runners up last year. However we coolly dispatched them 24-0, with Jamie Stapley scoring a hat trick.

On the second day we knew we had the quality to go all the way to the final, but we had a tough quarter-final against another Welsh school, Glantaf. This was a tough and hard fought match, but we finally got through to the semis, beating them 15-5, with Aleksi Leal-John, Cameron Edgar and Jamie with the scores. With the semi-finals came yet another Welsh team, this time it was Amman Valley. From the kick off we knew that if we won, we would be one step away from being national champions. All the nerves however, didn’t come to the surface as we ran out four tries in a 24-7 victory, which also included some of the best rugby we have played all season.

The final awaited us.

In probably the biggest match we have played in our lives, we faced RGS High Wycombe and immediately knew we were in for a very tough game; most of their players physically outmatched us for size and strength. The match started badly for us, as they scored first but didn’t convert so if we scored next and added a conversion, we would be leading.

From the restart, we gained a penalty and threw it out wide where Cameron broke through their line and after the ensuing ruck, we passed it out for Toby Ikezue-Clifford to break their line and score. With Ryan’s conversion attempt successful, we were leading in the national sevens final! Unfortunately they scored just before half-time and converted as well, making the score 12-7 at the break.

We came out fighting after a rallying call from Mr Cassidy, but alas they scored again and in the dying seconds touched down for a debatable fourth try.

The final score of the match, 24-7, didn’t truly reflect the match, as we were equal to them for most of it.

Despite the loss in the final, we can hold our heads high, as we are the first Emanuel rugby 7s team to make the national final for 34 years.

The last time we were finalists in this tournament was in 1974. This was a very fitting end to an amazing season of rugby, during which we have picked up two sevens medals and won all but two of our fifteen games.

Fantastic effort by all the boys involved and special thanks from the team to Mr Cassidy for all he has done for us this season.

Jamie Stapley