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Warwick School 17 Bromsgrove School 16
Warwick School progressed to the Daily Mail RBS Under 15 Cup final after a pulsating victory over fellow West Midlands side Bromsgrove School in Saturday's semi-final at Broadstreet RFC near Coventry.
Bromsgrove drew first blood and opened the scoring on nine minutes when Henry Walker released centre Blake Edwards for a try on the left.
Their lead lasted only four minutes, however, as Edwards’ opposite number Nick David fly-hacked a loose ball to dive over and restore parity.
David Elphinston regained Bromsgrove’s advantage with a penalty, but Warwick captain Alex Nisbet gathered Jordan Ainslie’s pass off a five-metre scrum to scamper over and edge his team in front 10-8 at the break.
Three minutes into the second half and Elphinston gave Bromsgrove the lead for the third time in the match with his second penalty, although wing Cooper Bent soon saw yellow for retaliation.
And Warwick took full advantage with a fantastic try from Ainslie, who rose highest to a high kick and weaved his way past three defenders before splashing over under the posts. William Stride added the extras.
Bromsgrove pressed relentlessly upon Bent’s return to the field and James Taylor-Watts ran in unopposed after a series of pick-and-drives.
But Elphinston’s conversion drifted wide and Warwick held out to book their place at Twickenham.
Warwick coach Tom Pierce said: “It’s hard to put into words how nerve-wracking that was, but it was a wonderful game of schoolboy rugby.
“Because of the conditions we tried to kick in behind them and play, and the boys probably switched on a little bit quicker than the opposition overall.
“Jordan Ainslie was fantastic. He was all over the pitch and his try at the end of it summed up his will to win.
“But certainly it wasn’t just down to Jordan. It was a huge squad effort and everyone played their part.”
Warwick will play a strong QEGS side who saw off Bishop Heber in the other Semi-Final. After Tom Curry had put Bishop Heber ahead, QEGS wing Henry Longhurst pounced to level the scores at 5-5. Tom Allot kept his cool under pressure to slot the conversion and in the end it proved decisive.
Both sides can be proud of their huge efforts in defence and whilst it's heartbreak for Heber, QEGS will appear in their third U15 Twickenham final.
