Captain Tim Phillips insisted King’s School, Macclesfield could still hold their heads up high despite missing out on the top prize at the 76th Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens.
Phillips and his King’s School teammates pitted themselves against some of the country’s best when they took to the field for the Festival competition at the world’s largest school Sevens tournament in south west London last week.
Drawn in a group of five, King’s School made sure to give it their best shot, winning three out of their four games although it was not ultimately enough to see them progress to the knockouts.
It was a similar story for the school’s Under-16 and Under-13 sides who also failed to make it past the group stages of the Colts and Junior competition respectively.
Despite the disappointment however, Phillips admitted it had still been a worthwhile outing at the annual event in the English capital.
“I always enjoy coming back to Rosslyn Park – it is the highlight of my season,” he said.
“It’s nice to go around the stalls when you have big breaks and watch some of the quality rugby on show.
“To wear the King’s badge and to make people proud, playing with heart, is amazing. If you don’t quite perform you have to push and show that King’s spirit that people know. It’s a big school so people know King’s always has something to give.
CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR: Tim Phillips’ team, watched at the tournament by England full-back Mike Brown, fell before the knockout stages
“I feel like we have learnt a lot, there are things we didn’t do that we practiced in training but with each game we learnt what other teams do.
“Hopefully I will be in the first team next year and the year after. I really want to make an impression at Rosslyn Park. We have got an amazing set of players here and can make something of it.”
A total of 650 teams, comprising 7,500 participants aged from 13-18, competed in various different competitions across the week, with the two Open finalists also getting the chance for a rematch at Twickenham during the ninth and final round of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
They were also watched closely by England international Mike Brown, the full-back impressed by what the next generation of rugby stars, such as King’s School, Macclesfield, had to offer.
“It’s been great to see the different schools in action and the high standard of rugby that is out there,” he said.
“There are some good kids out there, some very quick players, I remember when I was that age and couldn’t even stretch that quick. It will be good to see if any of them carry on all the way to the top level.
“Rosslyn Park Sevens is massively important to help develop grassroots rugby and help the players down here move forward and hopefully they’ll enjoy their rugby even more so they want to carry on.”
HSBC is proud to sponsor the world’s largest schools rugby tournament. All HSBC’s rugby sponsorships aim to help develop and grow the sport and ensure even more youngsters get involved with rugby.
