Rugby Union: Bedford School capture prestigious sevens crown for first time ...

Captain Ollie Lyons admitted he was lost for words after seeing Bedford School defy the odds to be crowned Festival champions at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens.

Bedford’s under-18s travelled to the Rosslyn Park Sevens having not lifted the Festival trophy in over 30 years with their last triumph coming back with the class of 1978.

But they put that record straight on the 75th anniversary of the prestigious tournament in London, edging a thrilling final against King’s College School Wimbledon 19-17.

It was far from plain sailing for Bedford however as they only made it out of the initial group stages on points difference before winning just one of their two quarter-final pool games.

Still they sneaked into the semi-finals pools and two wins from two got them back on track and into the final where there was no looking back with Lyons saluting the grit and determination of his side.

“It feels amazing; I can’t really put it into words. It’s the best send-off we could have had, 11 years of playing rugby together at school and we go and win the nationals,” said the 18-year-old.

“We were confident before we arrived but we lost a couple of games at the start and had a shaky start but the boys fought back and here we are.

“Once we lost those games at the start we were so keen to put the next opponent to the sword, which really helped our confidence out.

“We fought hard to the end of the game and didn’t give up and we went on until the last whistle.”

Bedford’s under-18s were joined at the Rosslyn Park Sevens by the under-16s who went unbeaten throughout their group before losing 26-19 to Bromsgrove School in their first knockout game.

Both were among over 600 teams from across the UK and abroad to compete in London but they still managed to catch the eye of England scrum-half Danny Care.

And Care, who has won 47 caps for England and is an HSBC Ambassador for the Rosslyn Park Sevens, insists he saw enough from Bedford to notice that they have a few stars in the making.

“It’s an unbelievable tournament – the biggest school’s tournament in the world – so it’s great for the kids from everywhere in the UK to come and there are also international teams as well,” said Care.

“The talent on show was really good, I did a few coaching clinics and the kids were good and keen to learn and listen. Hopefully there were a few stars of tomorrow around. There were definitely a few flyers and star players around the pitches.”

• England Rugby Union and former England Sevens player, Danny Care was speaking on behalf of HSBC at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens where he helped run HSBC coaching clinics for schools during the tournament. For more information visit www.rpns7.co.uk

Article source: http://www.espnscrum.com/france/rugby/story/203613.html

Rugby Union: Bedford School capture prestigious sevens crown for first time ...