Benedict's Win Tense Encounter

School through to semis in national rugby competition

St. Benedict's School First XV made further progress in the Daily Mail Cup with a 17-8 win over Filton College of Bristol. The game was a tense affair with the Ealing boys being behind until the final quarter.

Filton were a strong side with several boys playing in premiership rugby academies and as a specialist sports academy they were well prepared. They also had a significant size advantage in the forwards both in terms of height and weight.

Benedict's held up well in the scrums in the first half and looked the more likely to score but a breakaway try from Filton gave them the lead. The sides added a penalty each but the home side should have been ahead having missed two straightforward penalties.

In the second half Benedicts were camped in their opponent's half and looked certain to score but time and again uncharacteristic handling errors led to opportunities being missed. A sin-binning for one of the Filton forwards looked as though it could be decisive but no points were scored while he was off the pitch.

The game was well into the final quarter and an upset looked a possibility until flanker Arthur Ellis made a break on the blind side. That levelled the scores at 8-8 and left a high pressure conversion to be made by Stuart Parnham. Despite being immeasurably more difficult than the kicks missed in the first half this one was slotted home.

Benedicts continued put the visitors under the cosh and Arthur Ellis got a second converted try from a quick tap penalty. At this point Filton started to exert some concerted pressure for the first time in the game and the home team backs were required to put in some sterling defensive work. Relief as much as joy greeted the final whistle and the team now go on to a semi-final on March 1st in Coventry. The team were defeated in the semi-final last year but have high hopes of going one step further this time.

February 8, 2008