A final to remember (From Gazette Series)

A final to remember

St Peter's 12 Rednock 8

St. Peter's retained the HSBC Bank 14 & Under Schools County Cup after an enthralling encounter against tournament debutants Rednock at Kingsholm on Friday afternoon.

The match was played with plenty of passion and both sides showed considerable skill levels and technical ability from the time St. Peter's fly half Nathan Young commenced proceedings right through to the final whistle.

The Gloucester school exerted early pressure but Rednock soon settled their nerves as their bigger forwards started to control some ball and edge their way upfield.

Scrum half Jordan Lewis soon put his side in a strong position when his superbly angled grubber kick found touch just short of the St Peters line, who then failed to secure their own lineout creating an opportunity for Rednock's backs and centre Olly Winterbotham embarked on a superb arcing run round the opposing defence from the 22 only to be bundled into touch by a last ditch tackle from the desperate defenders.

For several phases after this the Dursley School battered away at their opponents line and eventually were rewarded when an infringement at a ruck earned them a penalty in front of the posts which fly half Olly Halford converted.

St Peter's regained possession directly from the restart and set up good position but were unable to penetrate the defence which was superbly marshalled by inside centre Jak Evans who tackled everything that moved. Rednock were also able to dominate the scrums and with their ability to tidy up any loose lineout play they were able to relieve the pressure.

St Peter's too were very resolute in defence and seemed to have the edge scrapping around on the floor where No8 Matt Stone and flanker Azem Tomlins were particularly effective. Gradually St. Peters were gaining some territorial control and after taking several quick tap penalties decided to have a pot at goal but unfortunately Young pulled the kick wide.

As the half wore on Rednock found it increasingly difficult to clear their lines and eventually the pressure told. Referee Paul Vidgen penalised a Rednock player for playing the ball on the floor as a ruck had formed, scrum half John Gardiner took a quick tap and after the ball was well presented No8 Stone was on hand to take a short pass and burst over the line to give his team a 5 ? 3 half time lead.

Despite their obvious size advantage Rednock were finding ball retention difficult as St Peter's had overcome their failings in the lineout and were securing more and more turnover ball in the rucks.

It was from such a play that they increased their lead. Scrum half Gardiner made a sniping break but was well smothered by the Rednock back row, but they were however unable to prevent the quick recycle of the ball and a smart inside pass from fly half Young found Tomlins at full steam who scorched through under the posts. Young converted to give St. Peter's a healthy lead. Tomlins was becoming a menace to his opponents as his elusive running was beginning to create holes in their defence but he was also becoming isolated and was twice penalised for holding on waiting for support to arrive.

With time progressing Rednock found that by clearing their lines to touch they were still being penned in their own half, so with ten minutes to go they changed their tactics slightly and after an exchange of downfield punts full-back Stefan Hawley set off on a mazy run past several tacklers and after he was brought down a clever kick and chase put St Peters under pressure on their own line. The ball eventually came out at the bottom of the ruck but No8 Tom Broomfield charged Gardiner's attempted clearance down and he picked up the loose ball to crash over. Halford was unable to convert but this score set up a rousing finale.

St Peter's still had the edge territorially but Rednock were not going to lose without a fight and both sets of forwards were doing their bit to try and seal the match for their side. Rednock had the edge in the set plays but St Peter's were still more effective on the floor with Stone to the fore. This coupled with his aggressive style with ball in hand was enough for him to win the man of the match award as adjudged by Gloucester RFC's Adam Eustace.

Despite all their efforts to break down the St Peter's defence, Rednock were unable to create another score, although had it not been for a courageous effort from St Peter's winger Dave Hearfield who clung onto Winterbotham despite the Rednock centre attempting to run straight through him and the Gloucester school held on for a memorable win in possibly the best final that this Cup has witnessed, which is a credit not only to the players involved but also the efforts of coaches Giles Potter & Andrew Sharp