ENJOY THE MOMENT...

CLIFTON College’s victorious Class of 2024 have been urged to ‘enjoy the moment’ after clinching the Daily Mail Schools Rugby Trophy.   Director of rugby Matt Salter told his players they should not take winning titles for granted as success like this does not happen very often in a player’s career.Clifton received the trophy last Friday at their final match of the autumn, a friendly against Terenure College from Dublin, held at the Dings Crusaders club in Bristol.   Salter, a former Bristol captain, explained: ‘Titles do not come about very often. Look at my own career, I did it once at Bristol when we won promotion.’To emphasise the point, Salter pointed to the playing record of fellow coach Danny Grewcock, the former England and Bath lock, who never earned a club title in his own career.‘We’ve told the boys to make sure they enjoy the moment and to relish the achievement,’ added Salter. ‘I think it’s beginning to dawn that this chapter in their rugby careers is coming to an end and you have to celebrate your triumphs. ‘We say to the boys that though they may be rushing to do other things in their lives, they should realise that their school days may be some of their best days. ‘Playing with your mates on a Saturday in front of the school, parents and supporters are among the best days.‘The boys don’t want it to end, but I think it’s beginning to dawn that it’s coming to an end.’   For Clifton, this success sees them finally rise to No 1 after challenging the best in the country for the past few years.They added extra fixtures after finishing second two years ago, but fell to 15th in 2023 after losing close contests against Harrow and Wellington College.   This year, Clifton enjoyed a successful tour of South America in the summer and made an impressive start to the season. A 26-12 victory against Harrow showed their capabilities and they then pushed Sedbergh close before falling to a 21-19 defeat in Cumbria.But Clifton’s consistency and superior points-scoring eventually took them clear of their rivals as they put together an eight-game winning run. When leaders Sedbergh slipped up away to Warwick in early November, Clifton leapfrogged them at the top and refused to budge during the run-in.   They secured crucial victories against heavyweights Millfield (31-26) and Wellington (19-12), which supplemented bonus-point wins against Kingswood, St Edward’s, Taunton, Sir Thomas Rich’s, Blundell’s and Seaford.Full back Ollie Harris led the charge for Clifton, while wing Glen Gammell was their highest points-scorer with 12 tries and another 72 from the boot. The new champions amassed 433 points in total — more than any other team.   Salter hailed the efforts of prop George Leyland, flanker Harrison Jones and lock Jake Smith but praised the collective effort of his 41-player squad, saying: ‘It’s been a top effort all round."