What a day of Rugby League here at the Warners Champion Schools...
See below for updates and match reports from all the action and ALL SIX finals will be available to watch on Our League – IN FULL – in the coming days.
Thanks for joining us!
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20:17 | FT: BOYS YEAR 10S - SADDLEWORTH SCHOOL 20 BROOKSBANK 28
Brooksbank School fight back in the second half to win the final Warners Champion Schools title of the day!
REPORT >
The Yorkshire school tasted success at year 9 level in last year’s Champion Schools Final – and they’ve done it again at Year 10 in 2019.
Brooksbank from Elland held off a determined challenge from Saddleworth to claim the Year 10 crown in the last game of a final’s day that brought more than 1,000 spectators to Warrington’s Victoria Park stadium.
Saddleworth gave an impressive account of themselves in their first final’s day appearance, overturning an early 10-0 deficit to take a 14-10 lead through tries from Alfie Gosling, Zach Eckersley and Jack Taylor, then threatening late on to come back from 28-14 down when Eckersley scored a sensational long-distance try.
But all the while it seemed Brooksbank had just enough guile and just enough class in the likes of Morgan Gannon to keep their Roses rivals at bay.
Centre Luca Powell opened the scoring for Brooksbank before the impressive Gannon extended his side’s lead to 8-0, Jack Brown’s conversion making it 10-0.
Saddleworth though refused to panic, flowing handling moves creating tries for both Gosling and Eckersley out wide on the left, and for Jack Taylor on the opposite flank.
Eckersley’s towering touchline conversion gave Saddleworth a 14-10 half time lead, but it didn’t last much longer than the interval break. Morgan Gannon’s grubber was fumbled at the back, allowing the Brooksbank loose forward the simplest of touch downs.
Brown’s conversion restored Brooksbank’s lead – a lead that was extended soon after by Billy Davies who timed his run on to Dylan Jackson’s deft short pass to perfection.
One again Brown converted, as he did superbly from the touchline minutes later following Ben Bland’s try.
Eckersley’s long distance effort and conversion brought Saddleworth back to 28-20, but Brooksbank dominated territory in the closing stages to keep their opponents at bay.
🆠@TheBrooksbank lift the final Warners #ChampSchools title of the day! pic.twitter.com/KxPJJgZXl0
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
19:35 | HT: BOYS YEAR 10S - SADDLEWORTH SCHOOL 14 BROOKSBANK 10
Saddleworth fight back from 10-0 down to lead at the break.
18:58 | Our final match of this fascinating day of rugby is the massive year 10 boys clash between Saddleworth School and Brooksbank School...
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18:51 | FT: GIRLS YEAR 10S - ST PETERS 16 ST JOHNS DEWSBURY 28
Another wonderful individual performance, on a day full of them, as Gabrielle Akaidere scores FIVE TIMES to lead St Johns Dewsbury to victory!
REPORT >
St John Fisher of Dewsbury made it a clean sweep for Yorkshire in the Champion Schools girls’ finals as they defeated familiar foes St Peter’s of Manchester
The Year 10 girls had previously beaten their Manchester counterparts at years 8 and 9, since a Year 7 golden point defeat to St Peter’s back in 2016.
Oyinkan Dare and Faye-Peace Richardson were outstanding for St Peter’s, but even they had no answer to St John Fisher’s Gabrielle Akaidere.
The centre supreme scorched in for a first half hat-trick, then added two more for good measure after the interval to claim the Player of the Match accolade.
It was a game of contrasting styles, the individual athleticism of the likes of St Peter’s Oyinkan Dare contrasting with St John Fisher’s swarming defence.
Akaidere and Richardson traded tries early on in a pulsating first half, and Dare offered a constant threat before a slick passing move saw Aikadere cross for her second try to put St John Fisher 8-6 in front. That lead was extended to 12-6 just before the break, Courtney Gooch’s wonderful vision and clever kick allowing Aikadere to cross unopposed for her hat-trick try.
Tries from Ruby Enright and Akaidere (who else!) early in the second half threatened to end the game as a contest, but a second try for Sale Harriers sprinter Dare gave St Peter’s hope at 10-22.
That hope was extinguished when Akaidere went over for an incredible try number five, though Richardson’s late try was a deserved consolation.
🎶 We are SJF!
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
🙌 @SJFDewsbury’s celebrations are underway as Year 10 Girls Warners #ChampSchools winners! 🆠pic.twitter.com/Lb9t9VNfLs
18:18 | HT: GIRLS YEAR 10S - ST PETERS 6 ST JOHNS DEWSBURY 12
17:52 | We're off in the girls year 10s final between St Peters and St Johns Dewsbury...
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17:39 | FT: BOYS YEAR 9S - CASTLEFORD ACADEMY 12 BEAMONT COLLEGIATE ACADEMY 6
It's a Cas double on the day! Tyler Czmeiduch scores all the points as they sneak past Beamont to keep their remarkable unbeaten record in this competition intact.
REPORT >
It’s official: Castleford Academy are Rugby League record-breakers.
Previously victorious at Year 7 and Year 8 in the Champion Schools competition, this Castleford Academy year group came into the final unbeaten in all competitions this season.
Warrington’s Beamont, absent from Champions Schools finals day for 14 years, gave them an almighty fright but the Yorkshire side would not be denied their place in history.
And they had Tyler Czmeiduch to thank for all their points, the powerful forward scoring two second half tries and converting both of them to deny Beamont a fairy tale return.
Beamont led at 6-0 at the end of an attritional first half characterised by determined defence and forced errors as two big packs battled for supremacy.
The only try of the half came from Beamont centre Tyler Litherland, converted well by scrum half Billy Myers.
And the second half followed a familiar pattern as both sides simply refused to give an inch in defence. Eventually Czmeiduch made his own luck, collecting a fortunate rebound from his own speculative kick to cross wide on the left, before converting to bring his side level at 6-6.
Beamont immediately tried to bounce back only for Kristiers Graudins to be denied by full back Taylor Spence-Horton’s outstanding cover tackle.
It was a tackle that changed the momentum of the game, allowing Castleford Academy to regroup and relaunch an attack that finished with Czmeiduch’s second try following a barnstorming break.
Czmeiduch again converted to put Castleford Academy 12-6 to the good and, although Beamont had promising moments late on, Castleford’s defence held firm.
👠@CastlefordAcad’s unbeaten Warners #ChampSchools run continues with another title! 🆠pic.twitter.com/lyQgoLpnuY
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
17:05 | HT: BOYS YEAR 9S - CASTLEFORD ACADEMY 0 BEAMONT COLLEGIATE ACADEMY 6
A fiesty first half comes to an end with Beamont with their noses in front. Plenty more to come in this one I'd wager...
16:35 | The action is relentless! Castleford Academy looking to go back-to-back here in the Year 9 boys against Beamont Collegiate!
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16:27 | FT: GIRLS YEAR 9S - CASTLEFORD ACADEMY 52 WEST LAKES ACADEMY 26
A tremendous contest between two fantastic teams, decided by a wonderful FIVE TRY performance from Frankie Cowell. Very well played!
REPORT >
After becoming in 2018 the first Cumbrian school to reach a Champion Schools final, West Lakes hoped to go one better this time around against the team that beat them in Year 8 – Castleford Academy.
But a five star, five-try performance from super centre Frankie Cowell and a goal-kicking masterclass from Tally Bryer once again condemned a brave Egremont side to cup final heartache.
For half a game at least, it looked as though West Lakes might just do it. Inspired by the outstanding Olivia Brinsden, West Lakes were level 18-18 at the break. Brinsden herself grabbed a brace of tries and another from pack partner Amber Lewitt served notice that the Cumbrian challenge was serious.
But Cowell’s first try and two from Aimee-Leigh Wood, all converted by Bryer, ensured Castleford went into the break all square, and in the second half they showed their champion quality.
West Lakes’ Isla Henderson helped herself to two second half tries, but Cas’ – and Cowell in particular – were at times irresistible. Cowell led the way, scoring four more outstanding solo tries, with Abbie-May Millward and Katie Carton also crossing to give Castleford Academy a memorable victory.
1ï¸âƒ£, 2ï¸âƒ£, 3ï¸âƒ£ CAS!
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
💃 @CastlefordAcad are your Year 9 Girls Warners #ChampSchools winners! pic.twitter.com/ygbD9db8u4
15:55 | HT: GIRLS YEAR 9S - CASTLEFORD ACADEMY 18 WEST LAKES ACADEMY 18
We've got a cracker on our hands here!
15:30 | It's the year 9 girls now, as Castleford Academy take on West Lake Academy...
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15:15 | FT: BOYS YEAR 8S - ST JOHN FISHER 14 WADE DEACON 36
A sensational FOUR tries from Harry Robertson the standout in an superb win for Wade Deacon. Huge credit to SJF who gave it everything until the final whistle.
REPORT >
The two schools served up a classic in last year’s Year 7 final at Wembley Stadium, where Wade Deacon narrowly edged out their Wigan opponents 14-10 to claim the Steve Mullaney Trophy.
And Wade Deacon’s former Year 7 boys did it again at Year 8 – this time much more emphatically thanks to another stand-out display from Harry Robertson.
Player of the Match at Wembley, Robertson shone once again on the big stage. The rangy loose-forward helped himself to four tries – three of them during a blistering second half display from the Widnes school.
Robertson set the tone for the game very early on as he was held over the line by spirited St John Fisher defenders, but fellow forward Joel Sumner soon paved the way for scrum half Lewis George to turn on the after-burners and fly in from 20 metres.
Sumner himself grabbed Wade Deacon’s second, with Riley O’Brien kicking the second of five conversions to give his side a 12-0 lead.
St John Fisher needed a score before half time, but unfortunately for them it was Robertson who obliged – straight from the restart – with a phenomenal try from inside his own half.
Trailing 18-0 at half time the Wigan school needed to hit back quickly and did just that through the at-times unstoppable prop forward Elton Paplekaj. But Robertson’s three superb second-half tries, along with another from Reece Lowe, snuffed out any hope of a comeback.
Centre Malachi Leo Price grabbed a late consolation try but for St John Fisher, a school with tremendous Champion School pedigree, the long wait for another final’s day triumph goes on.
ðŸ¤¸â™‚ï¸ TWIST AND SHOUT 🗣
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
🆠Your Warners #ChampSchools Year 8 Boys champions - @WadeDeacon! pic.twitter.com/CMsGNPqaIG
14:44 | HT: BOYS YEAR 8S - ST JOHN FISHER 0 WADE DEACON 18
14:18 | Next up, we've got St John Fisher v Wade Deacon in the year 8 boys final....
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14:06 | FT: GIRLS YEAR 8S - CORPUS CHRISTI 34 SIRIUS ACADEMY 4
A Magnificent performance from Corpus Christi. Keira Gittins announced as player of the match. Congrats to all the girls, what a match to start us off.
REPORT >
Corpus Christi made it two Champion Schools titles in two years with another convincing triumph over their counterparts from Hull.
The Leeds side had already defeated Sirius Academy West in the Yorkshire Cup Final earlier this season and once again played a near-perfect game.
Corpus Christi dominated from the off, racing in to a 10-0 lead thanks to tries from Demi-Leigh Abbott and Blessing Dundo. Sirius skipper Jasmine Fielding reduced the deficit to 10-4, but a second try for elusive full-back Abbott on the stroke of half time gave Corpus Christi a commanding 14-4 lead at the interval.
It was all one-way traffic after the break, with livewire scrum half Frankie Blakey, Blessing Dundo and Chevelle Clarke stretching their side’s lead to 28-4.
And as the final hooter neared centre Millie Kemp ran the length of the field for a pulsating try that brought the crowd to their feet and crowned a sensational team effort. Player of the match Millie Kemp converted to seal a 34-4 win.
📸🙌
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
🆠Warners #ChampSchools pic.twitter.com/JERMi1Ixnv
13:39 | HT: GIRLS YEAR 8S - CORPUS CHRISTI 14 SIRIUS ACADEMY 4
AND WE'RE OFF - SIX TOP MATCHES ON THEIR WAY BETWEEN NOW AND 8PM TONIGHT, SO STAY TUNED. FIRST GAME COMING UP...
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It's a massive day for some of the very brightest rugby league prospects around, as Warners Champion Schools final day comes to Warrington's Victoria Park.
With six massive games across three age groups to look forward to, you won't miss a beat with us. Our League members can watch wall-to-wall coverage on the app or website from 1:15pm, or you can stay across everything that's happening via our social media channels on Facebook and Twitter.
🉠GAMEDAY!
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
🆠We've got six HUGE Warners #ChampSchools fixtures LIVE on #OURLEAGUE!
📺 Tune in from 1:15pm!
Sign-up here 👉 https://t.co/1wOSE7o3UX pic.twitter.com/j2DD1zy9v7
Not only that, but all match roundups and full match replays will be available to Our League members in the coming days too, so even if you can't be there, you won't miss anything!
Don't forget - it's totally free to sign up to Our League, and will take a you just five minutes, so why not join today and start enjoying all the benefits of being a member?
🙌 @WiganWarriorsRL stars @OliverGildart3 & @George7Williams wish the best of luck to the @SiriusAcademy, @CorpusLeeds, @WadeDeacon, @St_John_Fisher, @CastlefordAcad, @WestLakesAcad, @BCAWarrington, @StPetersUK, @SJFDewsbury, @TheBrooksbank & @Saddleworth_Sch.
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) July 5, 2019
🆠#ChampSchools pic.twitter.com/3zA6TTkjj3
