Our U12A rugby squad were jubilant on Sunday 2 October, after being named joint winners of the 2022 Finborough U12 Rugby Festival.
The Bedford Prep squad joined 11 other schools to compete for the coveted title. In the group stage, the squad of 14 boys won all their group matches without conceding a try and scoring a total of 21 tries along the way. It was a joy to see the progression of their play throughout the day, with their decision-making, catching and passing skills becoming crisper and more confident as the tournament went on.
The boys’ excellent results placed them at the top of the table after the group stage, resulting in a semi-final match against Bedford Modern School, who demonstrated ferocious defensive tackling and a fast-paced attack. However, Bedford Prep stepped up to the challenge and produced a brilliant performance. Every player showed a real desire to influence the game both with and without the ball. The result: a superb 2-0 win for Bedford Prep and a place in the final in the cup competition against the tournament hosts: Finborough School.
In the opening minutes of the final, Bedford Prep lacked some of the intensity of the previous games and conceded their first try of the tournament – in fairness, a brilliant individual try by Finborough. However, in the second period, the Bedford boys upped their game. Some fantastic tackling and movement with the ball saw Bedford Prep pull level, and at full time the score was tied at one try apiece. Despite a golden try period of five minutes, the two teams could not be separated, and it was decided to call the 2022 festival a tie! No one who had seen the level of commitment from either side could argue.
Mr Loader commented after the festival, “A huge well done to all the boys involved! Your challenge now is to maintain the level of performance going forward, both individually and as a team. Hopefully, this festival is an encouraging sign of what is to come from this hard-working group of players.”
The U12A Team
- Joshua Edmundson
- Max Dhillon
- Oliver Featherstone
- Albie Hanbury
- Henri Helm
- George McEntee
- Alex O’Cearhaill
- Berty Parry
- Freddie Payne
- Harry Spencer
- Joshua Stone
- Leo Tapp
- Samuel Williams
- Oscar Wood