CBs
St Benedict’s Take Lakes Trophy
Tony Simpson
Winning team St Benedict’s Sixth Form College with the trophy and their RAF sponsored T shirts
The developing relationship between the RFU, Cumbria Rugby Union and Lakes College West Cumbria was further strengthened when the latter recently hosted a 10-a-side Tournament for the FE Colleges and School Sixth Forms across the county. The festival was held in Workington and attracted five teams from across the North of Cumbria – Netherhall Sports College, St Benedict’s Sixth Form, St Aidan’s Sixth Form, Workington Sixth Form & Lakes College. The teams were very evenly matched with the tournament having a focus on development and providing an opportunity to players with little or no Rugby Union experience to enjoy the sport. The players, many of whom are involved in local rugby league, found that general skills transferred easily, with only the contact area causing problems. Workington Sixth form were a well-drilled outfit and won their games through hard work and perseverance with their game plan; St Benedicts were well-balanced; St Aidan’s were the last team to get into action and took a couple of games to get into their stride; while Netherhall and Lakes College had mixed games as they adjusted to the new format. The winners were decided in the penultimate game of the tournament where Workington Sixth Form played St Benedict’s. In a tight game St Benedict’s were quicker to settle and eventually scored three unconverted tries to win 15-0. The presentation was conducted by tournament organiser and Cumbria RDO Liam Nicholls, with Matthew Johnson from Lakes College presenting the trophy in the absence of Stephen Gilby who has been driving the partnership.“The tournament was a great success and feedback from all participants was very positive” said Nicholls: “It was great to see 80 new players involved in the game. Hopefully, this positive experience will lead some of the players to take up the sport. “We have run a few rugby camps with the college with good success, but are looking to formalise these in the near future so we have a structured half term and summer programme in place for various ages.”
