Daily Mail Schools U18 Rugby Cup Fourth Round
RGS Lancaster 3-19 Wilmslow High School
RGS Lancaster is a grey walled Victorian citadel that sits on a hill overlooking Morecambe Bay. It oozes tradition and to visiting rugby teams, a long line of famous rugby sons. On Wednesday they offered a welcome of sorts to some upstarts from Wilmslow High, inviting them to kick into a cold breeze up a muddy slope on a small pitch.
For two thirds of this match it was a war of attrition that took place either side of the halfway line. This was not a problem however, for the visitors. From the kick off, the Wilmslow forwards asserted an authority in the set piece that cost the Grammar School three tries within a 15 minute spell. The first from a mystery line out call that surprised everyone. Hubbard somehow combined with Fantom who scored. In doing so, he had also inadvertently injured a Grammar School forward. This resulted in a reshuffle in the home pack, which Wilmslow were to fully exploit.
Pressing home their territorial advantage, Wilmslow scored two more tries. Identical in many ways they resulted from scrums being won about 15 yards out. It was James' first, running a scintillating line from inside centre to score under the posts. The final try was scored by Harding from outside centre who took the same line. Both were converted, and the visiting fans relaxed anticipating a try fest.
Playing rugby on windswept hills however, obviously builds resolve. From this point on, RGS presented an impenetrable wall of defiance. It was feisty, it was absorbing, it cried out for a big dry pitch where the backs on both sides might exploit some of the space they tried so hard to create.
This was in the main therefore a forwards battle, and Wilmslow showed an obstinacy themselves but more importantly great discipline. The one score in an absorbing second half was an RGS penalty scored from the half way line. If Wilmslow had been sloppy at the breakdown, it would surely have been much closer and this bodes well for the future. It is certainly one game at a time, but it is now only 4 games to Twickenham.
This is a member post by Mike Harding.
