Champion Schools is the RFL’s flagship schools' competition. It returns this year for the first time since early 2020, when the competition was curtailed by the Covid pandemic.
Year 7 Girls
St Peter’s RC High School (Manchester) 32 Malet Lambert School (Hull) 16
In the first final of the day, the Manchester girls held off a magnificent effort from their opponents from Hull to clinch the Year 7 Girls title in style.
Even a player-of-the-match performance from Malet’s Caitlin Middleton couldn’t prevent St Peter’s from holding off a succession of comebacks to run away with the game in the closing stages.
The sides were separated by only two points at half-time, following a tightly-contested first half. There were eye-catching tries from St Peter’s Ava Smith and Malet Lambert’s Indie Tindall, with a conversion by Henriquet Simbu-Bin Monta giving St Peter’s the edge.
The sides exchanged tries throughout most of the second period, with Simbu-Bin Monta, Keisha Kalemera and Sionah Jamieson scoring for St Peter’s, and Ava Smith and the outstanding Middleton helping to draw the scores level at 16-16 going into the final quarter.
But the scores didn’t remain tied for very long, as Devine-Blessing Adafin, Kalemera and Jamieson all crossed to give St peter’s a richly deserved success.
Year 8 Girls
Malet Lambert School (Hull) 10 Castleford Academy 16
A star is born! A breath-taking hat-trick from Beau Owens helped Castleford Academy come from behind to claim the Year 8 Girls title.
With both sides coming into the final on the backs of convincing semi-final victories – Malet Lambert defeating Hexham Middle School 40-14 and Castleford Academy earning their place through a 32-10 victory over St Peter’s – a tight contest was virtually guaranteed. And so it proved.
Malet Lambert made the early running and, despite some heroic Cas’ defence, were eventually rewarded with the opening try through the unstoppable Ellie Mann.
Castleford then suffered a setback through an injury to Ruby Barley, but recovered their composure to level the scores at 4-4 through Owens, who scored again as the half time hooter sounded to give her side a hard-fought 8-4 advantage.
And it was Owens again who crossed early in the second half to stretch Castleford Academy’s lead to 12-4.
But Malet Lambert simply would not go away and, despite determined Cas’ defence, sheer persistence from Betsy Clark was rewarded as she zig-zagged her way to the whitewash through a seemingly unbreachable defence.
At 12-10 it was all to play for, until Olivia Hobbs claimed the winning score, running ran hard at the Malet defence, bravely ducking low and reaching out to place the ball on the try line.
Year 8 Boys
Ryburn Valley High School (Calderdale) 20 Standish Community High School (Wigan) 20
A late try and conversion from Matt Halton earned Standish High a share of the spoils in an enthralling encounter.
The boys from Sowerby Bridge had produced a superb second half performance to overturn a 14-8 deficit and until Halton’s dramatic intervention had looked set to claim the Year 8 crown for themselves.
Halton himself had opened the scoring for Standish, who were good value for their half-time lead. They scored breath-taking tries through Alfie Silcock and Toby Calderbank-Mannix, with Archie Willis crossing twice for Ryburn Valley is response.
Tom Burns brought Ryburn right back into contention after the break, then prop forward Brady Bottomley romped 70 metres for an astonishing solo to give Ryburn a 20-14 advantage going into the final quarter.
But just when it looked like the title was going to Yorkshire, up stepped Halton to calmly convert his own close-range try to level the scores.
Year 9 Girls
Archbishop Sentamu Academy (Hull) 8 Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (Cardiff) 18
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf became the first Welsh girls team to win a Champion Schools trophy thanks to an incredible defensive effort against a talented Hull side.
In a keenly contested first half, well-worked tries from Lili-Nel Stevenson and Grace Rayer gave the Cardiff girls an 8-0 lead, before Tillie Hawley and Ella Howe scored either side of half-time to bring Archbishop Sentamu level at 8-8.
Both sides enjoyed plenty of territory and scoring opportunities during a pulsating second half, but ultimately it was Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf who made them count.
An Elan Hall try put the Welsh school back in front at 12-8 and Howe crucially converted to make the score 14-8, before forward Lily O’Neill popped up on the wing to put her side out of sight at 18-8.
Year 9 Boys
Archbishop Sentamu Academy 0 Castleford Academy 22
Castleford Academy’s Year 9 Boys followed up their Year 8 Girls’ success earlier in the day, defeating Archbishop Sentamu Academy in convincing style.
The Hull school restricted Cas’ to a solitary first half try through Rhys Firth and trailed only 0-6 at the break thanks to a determined rearguard defensive effort.
But with the Castleford school dominating field position and possession throughout, Archbishop Sentamu Academy found scoring opportunities in short supply. Archbishop Sentamu’s stand out player Alfie Ebot Enombi was held over the line, then Spencer George spilled under pressure in the act of scoring.
That was as good as things got for the Hull school as Hardy, Firth and then Jack Egley rubbed salt into the wounds with further tries to give Castleford Academy a richly deserved success.
Year 10 Girls
St John Fisher CVA (Dewsbury) 18 Castleford Academy 8
St John Fisher denied Castleford Academy a Champion Schools hat-trick with a dominant display in the Year 10 Girls final.
The Dewsbury school enjoyed a mightily impressive Champion Schools campaign to reach finals day and maintained their excellent form against a Cas’ side who gave everything but never seriously threatened their Yorkshire rivals.
Stand-off Kelbie-Rai Wilkinson turned and twisted her way to the line to open the scoring for St John Fisher, Imogen Hallas converting to give her side an early 6-0 advantage.
Next, Weronika Kuriata forced her way over to extend the St John Fisher lead, before Courtney Lettice followed up a Wilkinson chip to take full advantage of a horrible bounce to give the Dewsbury school a 14-0 lead.
Castleford Academy’s Faith Thorpe scored wide on the left to briefly bring Cas back into contention and did so again in the second half, narrowing the deficit to 8-18 shortly after St John Fisher’s Ruby Walker had crossed.
But the St John Fisher girls, with Hallas to the fore in defence and attack, refused to buckle and maintained the 10-point margin all the way to the final hooter.
Year 10 Boys
Spen Valley High School 24 Great Sankey High School 26
Talk about saving the best till last!
Spen Valley and Great Sankey served up a thrilling spectacle in the last Champions Schools final of the day, with the Warrington side coming from behind and defending their hearts out in the closing stages to win 26-24.
Great Sankey looked to be running away with things as they led 14-0 early in the second half thanks to tries from Kaden Johnson, Billy Hughes and Ben Edgar.
But Spen Valley hit back in style, stunning their opponents with three tries in five minutes to hit the front. First stand off Harley Wood created havoc amongst the Great Sankey defence before loose forward Sam Beety stormed over, then resurgent Spen attacked from deep within their own half from the restart, with full back Joe Diskin racing in from half way. Beety again converted and suddenly it was all to play for at 14-12.
Then Wood rounded off another thrilling move to score beneath the posts and the dramatic momentum shift seemed complete when Sam Spencer scored and Beety converted from the touchline to give Spen an unlikely 24-14 lead.
But just when Great Sankey were looking dead and buried, Lucas Mulqueeny burrowed his way over and Regan converted to give his side hope at 24-20.
And when Oliver Garmston scored out wide with minutes remaining, Great Sankey were level at 24-24. Then up stepped Regan to land a towering, match-winning conversion to give his side a lead they refused to relinquish in a dramatic finale.
