[visiongallery set=72157630251565760]
Photos: Tom Wooldridge, Ian Packard & Alex Finnis
Halifax will square up to Goodricke in the Cup Final tomorrow as part of this weekend’s College Rugby Competition.
Halifax emerged top of Group 1 after amassing a superior points difference to both James and Derwent, thanks in large part to their 22-7 win over the latter.
Meanwhile, in Group 2, Goodricke comfortably beat Alcuin and Vanbrugh, although they possessed more university players in their armoury compared to everyone else.
The event lived up its expectations as sizeable crowds attended the games, and some of the rugby on show was of excellent standard.
As each team had 13 players, and the halves were just 20 minutes long, the games were fast-paced, while the incoming university players added an extra quality to the overall play.
The first match in Group 1 was the highly-anticipated Derwent v James tie, as the college rugby champions were up against a side with a back row comprised entirely of university-calibre players.
James made the better start, enjoying lots of territory but on a quick Derwent counter-attack, Phil Hammick fed Ed Kemp who went over. Wessely notched the extras to open up a 7-0 lead.
A Wessely penalty made it 10-0, but James brought the scores back to 10-7 just before the interval. Although they rallied for long periods in the second half, Derwent managed to hang on and recorded a memorable victory.
James recovered, however, in their following match as they came from behind to beat Halifax 15-12 in an enthralling contest.
David Gopinath touched down for James early on before Jordan Welsh equalised, but Hugo Watson restored the advantage at 10-5.
Although Halifax underwent a resurgence as Welsh got his second try, converted by Matt Darroch, James’ Sam Morrison had other ideas as he went over in the dying minutes to make it 15-12 at full time.
Halifax knew they could top the group if they beat Derwent by a sizeable margin in their final match and they did just that thanks in large part to Ben Turner.
Turner scored tries, conversions and even a penalty as he inspired his college to an authoritative 22-7 victory to book a place in tomorrow’s Cup Final.
Afterwards, Halifax captain Andy Cox said: “We didn’t expect to come top but it’s good to go out and play for the shirt.”
Over on the other pitch, there was a clash of the titans early on as Goodricke edged Alcuin 21-15.
With nine university players on the pitch for Goodricke – over the quota previously specified – it was always going to an uphill struggle for Alcuin as they were pushed back by the pace and power of the Greens.
Goodricke continued their impressive form with a comfortable 22-7 win over Vanbrugh as Chris Smith delivered a terrific performance including a marvellous second try to propel his teammates to the Cup Final.
In the final match, Alcuin turned on the style to crush Vanbrugh 24-0 as Will Sharp scored a hat-trick of tries, while Sam Asfahani completed the afternoon’s work with a late conversion, to send out a message to James in the Shield Final tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s fixtures:
Plate Final: Derwent v Vanbrugh (1pm)
Shield Final: James v Alcuin (2.30pm)
Cup Final: Halifax v Goodricke (4pm)