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At the end of a very long, gruelling and hugely successful season for the U15 rugby side, the national title slipped cruelly from their grasp as they went down 24-17 to Sedbergh in the national final at Twickenham on Wednesday 16th March.
Unbeaten for the regular season, hopes were high that the boys had one last victory inside them but a superb first-half performance from the Cumbrian school, in which Sedbergh defended brilliantly and capitalised clinically on any Wellington error, meant that this was not to be.
It was a frenetic start: within a couple of minutes, Sedbergh had landed a penalty only for Wellington to score immediately in the far right hand corner through Alex Wilson. Man of the Match, Will Sinfield, converted and it was 7-3 to Wellington. Sedbergh were roused into action, however, and scored three unanswered tries in the next twenty minutes which sealed the match for them. 24-7 at half time.
The resilience and spirit of the boys was tremendous and Wellington dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half with Sinfield slotting another penalty to make it 24-10. Sustained pressure was then rewarded with a try under the posts from scrum-half, Jamie Miller, meaning that the match went into the final five minutes with just one score separating the teams.
The Wellington team threw everything they could at the boys in brown, who defended resolutely, but the sporting gods were not listening and, despite winning the second half 10-0, too much had been left too late and the national title found its way travelling up the M6 to Sedbergh.
No-one watching could deny that this was a match of the highest quality between the two best sides in the country at this age group and Sedbergh should be warmly congratulated on their outstanding first half performance and victory.
The Master, Julian Thomas, said, “I am immensely proud of these boys who have simply been stunning all year. The pride and commitment with which they train and play is tangible, and although it was not to be in the final, they should know that everyone within the Wellington Community is hugely proud of everything they have achieved. They leave Twickenham with their heads held high. I would also like to thank the coaches, Mr Kinniburgh and Mr Tkachuk, who have been so instrumental in this amazing season, and also all the members of the Wellington Community who came to Twickenham to cheer the boys on. Wellington spirit at its very best.”
