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Clifton College surge to Trophy glory... after team-building summer trip to South America
An eight - match winning streak and a trip to South America have helped Clifton College seize glory in the 2024 SOCS Daily Mail Schools Trophy.
A 44-13 win over Seaford College last Saturday kept the Bristol-based school ahead of the pack in this national competition played over the autumn term by more than 140 teams.
For Clifton, the campaign started on a three-week summer tour which took a 50-strong squad to Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
And the trip, which culminated in a match against the Brazil Under 18s, set up the squad for a title-winning season.
Director of rugby Matt Salter explained: ‘We went from the Andes to Argentina and finished off in the rainforests of Brazil. It’s made for a very united group throughout and they have wanted to achieve something all along.’
Clifton made a statement of intent on arrival back to the UK when beating the 2023 champions Harrow 26-12 in the opening Trophy match in September.
Though that was followed by a narrow, 21-19 loss away to Sedbergh, Clifton’s consistency and greater points scoring eventually took them clear of their rivals.
When Sedbergh slipped up away to Warwick last month, Clifton took over at the top amid that relentless winning run.
Two crucial wins against heavy weights Millfield (31-26) and Wellington (19-12) were backed up by try-bonus victories over Kingswood, St Edward’s, Taunton, Sir Thomas Rich’s, Blundell’s and, finally, Seaford.
‘It’s been a long journey but a very good campaign,’ reflected Salter, the former Bristol captain and back-rower.
‘We’ve used 41 players in all across the fixtures and it’s really good to have so many boys feel part of something successful.
‘It’s a strong squad but balanced, a good mix of upper and lower sixth players. You want sport to be something that captures as many people as possible.’
Salter paid tribute to his coaching team, including former England lock Danny Grewcock, and added: ‘We’ve had terrific support from the whole school for the programme over the past few years. A number of the boys have been involved from nursery school.’
The only hiccup was injury to England Under 18s centre Victor Worsnip, who needed an operation on a shoulder injury after playing in the win over Harrow.
Clifton have been led by full back Ollie Harris, while wing Glen Gammell was top points-scorer thanks to 12 tries and another 72 from the boot. Overall, the new champions amassed 433 points — more than any other team.
Salter picked out three forwards in prop George Leyland, flanker Harrison Jones and lock Jake Smith for special mention.
Clifton will collect the Trophy on Saturday after a friendly against the visiting Sunshine Coast GS from Australia. They finish their term against Terenure College from Dublin on Saturday week.
Meanwhile, Millfield climbed the table into third by producing one of the displays of the season on Wednesday, toppling Sedbergh, 33-10 — fired up by a first-half display which brought three tries. Their only defeat came to Clifton — which may well have cost them the title.
Dean Close, the Cheltenham-based school, recorded their best result of the season after their 22-12 win ended King’s Worcester’s unbeaten run.
The match was played under the lights at Sixways, the former home of Worcester’s now-defunct Premiership team, and three second-half tries swung the match in Dean Close’s favour.
Campion School, the highest-placed state team in the Trophy, recorded win No 10 by defeating Bedford Modern 39-19.
The Hornchurch-based school are enjoying one of their best seasons since they won the Under 18 section of the old Daily Mail Cup in 2001 — the only true comprehensive school to pull off such a feat.
