Having qualified for the finals from the Midlands regional qualifiers, the boys entered the tournament in great spirit. A round robin format was the order of the day and the team from Dame Bradbury's which is part of the Stephen Perse Foundation, were placed in a group with St George's from Weybridge in Surrey, Widford Lodge from Chelmsford, Eversfield in Solihull and Ludgrove from Wokingham in Berkshire.
The opening game of the day was against St George's and in what was a closely contested game with some great rugby played by both teams, the Dame Bradbury's boys came out of top with a 1 try to 0 victory. The second match against a familiar Widford Lodge side whom the team had previously played earlier on in the season, allowed the boys to score a number of tries with the match ending in an 8 tries to 1 victory for Dame Bradbury's.
Our third match was against Eversfield from Solihull. In what was a hugely physical match with both teams applying pressure on the opposition's try line throughout. Dame B's took the lead early on, only for all of our hard work to be snatched away from us in the final play of the game. With Dame Bradbury's applying pressure on the Eversfield try line, a kick over the top from our opponents saw the ball bounce cruelly into the arms of one of the onrushing opponents who ran clear and scored in the corner. Match over 1 try apiece.
The final match of the day was against an impressive Ludgrove School from Wokingham. Once again another physical contest saw the boys play out of their skins and match the opposition for the majority of the game. With both teams scoring early on, Ludgrove then took hold of the game and their powerful runners and good handling skills saw them run out winners by 4 tries to 1.
Nick Evans, Head of Sport at Dame Bradbury's, said: "This tournament brings to a close what has been an amazing season with the boys achieving far more than what we could ever imagined.
"It has been an honour to be part of their journey and to see a small school from Saffron Walden hold their own against some of the best rugby schools from around the country has been a real privilege.
"Many thanks go to all of the boys, parents and Mr Hughes who has coached them this season."
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