Full back Max Stelling and captain Ed Taylor from Worcester Warriors helped England Under 18 Clubs and Schools rose to the occasion of their first home international as they ran out 38-10 winners over Ireland Under 18 Clubs.
Having benefited from the experience of tough tests and narrow defeats against Northampton Saints’ and Leicester Tigers’ Academies, England put in an all-round impressive performance; solid at the set piece, quick to pressure in defence and clinical in attack.
Stelling, who was among the scorers, and Taylor, both from Old Swinford Hospital, both started the game and impressed throughout.
Head Coach, Dave Reed said: “When the final whistle went, it was a feeling of pride and satisfaction to think that these lads started the selection process in September, playing for their Clubs and Schools, and through the divisional process have progressed to international level.
“What impressed me most about our performance was the desire of the boys to try things. There was a danger of making mistakes but from the outset they never just wanted to play A-to-B or B-to-C rugby – they wanted to throw the ball around, to impress, to play with passion, with a smile and for each other.
“The warm up matches against two top academies were crucial to the preparation, so a big thank you to Northampton and Leicester for allowing us that opportunity. They were tough tests against teams that tackle and scrummage hard and it was the conditioning we needed to play against Ireland because they are a tough unit and very hard to break down.”
Scores:
Grimoldby 3P 2C 1DG, Tarrant 1C, Purdy 1T, Jones 1T, Robinson-Eames 1T, Stelling 1T
England Under 18 Clubs and Schools starting XV:
15. Max Stelling (Old Swinford Hospital, Worcester Warriors, Midlands)
14. Jordan Burns (Epsom College, Harlequins, LSE)
13. Michael Haley (Myerscough College, Sale Sharks, North)
12. Henry Purdy (Cokethorpe School, London Wasps, SW)
11. Chris Lord (St. Joseph’s College Ipswich, not attached to club, LSE)
10. Louis Grimoldby (Stamford School, Northampton Saints, Midlands)
9. Henry Taylor (Cranleigh, Harlequins, SW)
1. James Flynn (Stockport Grammar School, Sale Sharks, North)
2. Jacob Nickson (Arnold School, Fylde, North)
3. Alec Clarey (Barnard Castle, Leicester Tigers, North)
4. Joe Joyce (Filton College, Bristol/Southmead RFC, SW)
5. Morgan Robinson-Eames (Bishop Burton College, Nottingham/Hull, Midlands)
6. Ed Taylor (Old Swinford Hospital, Worcester Warriors , Midlands) (Captain)
7. Cameron Neild (Manchester Grammar School, Sale Sharks, North)
8. Guy Van Den Dries (Barnard Castle, Newcastle Falcons, North)
Replacements
16. Joe Tarrant (St. Joseph’s College Ipswich, Colchester, LSE) On at 55 mins for Grimoldby
17. Dean Keat (Hardenhuish, Chippenham, SW) On at 59 mins for Clarey
18. Luke Jones (Guernsey College of Further Education, Guernsey, LSE) On at 42 mins for Haley
19. Gabriel Carroll (St. Joseph’s College Ipswich, not attached to club, LSE) On at 46 mins for Neild
20. Shaquille Meyers (St. Joseph’s College Ipswich, Bedford Blues/Diss RFC, LSE) On at 55 minutes for Robinson-Eames
21. Curtis Greene (St Joseph’s College Stoke, Trentham RFC, Midlands) On at 59 mins for Nickson
22. Linford Brock (Exeter College, Barnstaple, SW) On at 59 mins for Taylor