The Under 18 boys, captained by U18 England and Saracens’ Charlie Kingham, had the experience of a lifetime on Wednesday evening, 30th January. The squad of 22, cheered on by 150 parent and pupil spectators, ran out onto the week old, floodlit 4G pitch at the Allianz Park. The new home of premiership rugby giants, Saracens, was to be the setting in which Felsted took on The City of London Freeman’s School in the 7th round of the Daily Mail Vase. Match conditions were clear but windy, with the high ball proving difficult throughout the match. The early exchanges saw Felsted give away a few penalties at the breakdown, but with City unable to convert these into points, Felsted took control of the game. A driving line out and subsequent try by Will Hiett, followed shortly by a penalty from Max Malins, extended Felsted’s lead to 8-0. City struck back early in the second half, scoring from a penalty. Two superb tries by Josh Hunter-Jordan, converted by Max Malins, furthered Felsted’s lead and put the game back under their control. A final converted try by Ollie Williams and Max Malins secured the 27-3 victory and Felsted’s place in the final eight.
Felsted’s Under 15s challenged Wimbledon College at home the following day, Thursday 31st January, in tough, blustery conditions. The first half saw two evenly matched teams, with the half time whistle blown at 5-5. Wimbledon pulled ahead from a penalty midway through the second half and were set to knock Felsted out of the competition. Sheer determination and teamwork, however saw a last minute try scored by Felsted’s Simon Holme, sending the home crowd into rapture and Felsted through to the quarterfinals, alongside their senior squad. Their 10 – 8 win was thoroughly deserved and the squad looks forward to the next round.
Andrew Le Chevalier, Director of Rugby at Felsted commented, “Both teams played phenomenally and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the final result. It should be recognised that, with Felsted being a relatively small school, we only had a squad of 25 players per age group to choose from – and with that in mind the result is exceptional. Credit must go to City of London for tackling themselves into the ground and thwarting further scores. The U15's also showed great team work by grinding out a win against Wimbledon College, winning 10-8 with their last minute try. We would like to thank Saracens for hosting our game at their stadium and we are now looking forward to the next round and will continue to work hard.”
Both teams are now ranked in the top 8 teams within the competition nationally and go onto the quarterfinals with confidence. The U18s travel next Wednesday, 6th February to Chippenham Sheldon School and the U15s await the draw for the next round.
The victorious U15 Felsted team
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