Brentwood School rugby teams make history

Brentwood School’s rugby teams have had a week that will go down in School history, reaching new heights at county level.

Brentwood School’s Under-12 rugby squad made history by winning the Essex Cup Under-12 seven-a-side tournament on Wednesday 6th March. The Brentwood boys were unbeaten on the day, in spite of having to face well-established rugby schools on their path to victory.

Brentwood School beat King Edward’s Grammar School 20-5, Campion School 25-5, The King John School 20-5, The Gateway Academy 30-0, and Brentwood County High School 25-0 during the pool stages, before setting up a semi-final clash against tournament hosts New Hall.

From the start, Brentwood meant business and tries from Samuel Davis (2), Joseph Payne (2), Matthew Godley and Captain Oliver Noble secured a 30-0 victory, to head into an exciting final against tournament favourites Westcliff High School for Boys.

The final was extremely tense, and with the lead changing hands four times everything was set up for a sudden death play-off. However, in a nail-biting conclusion, Captain Oliver Noble made a try-saving tackle to force a Westcliff mistake and dived on the ball to score the winning try in the final seconds. Other try scorers in the final was Joseph Payne (2), Isaiah Odunsi to give Brentwood a 20-15 victory.

Over the course of the tournament, the Brentwood squad scored an impressive 34 tries whilst only conceding a total of six, proving them worthy of this amazing accolade.

Further up the School, the Under-14 rugby team qualified for the final of the Essex Cup by beating Southend High School for Boys in a thrilling semi-final clash, 22-15. Again, this is the first time ever that a Brentwood Under-14 rugby team has reached the Essex Cup final which, this year, will take place on Sunday 24th March at Barking Rugby Club.

Photo L-R: Nathan Killilea, Fraser Forbes, Samuel Davis, Isaiah Odunsi, Robbie Johnson, Carlie Lim, Robert Godley, Toby Elliston, Oliver Noble, Louis Turner , Joseph Payne, Matthew Godley and Charley Boast.