Super Sedbergh reign supreme at Rosslyn Park
SEDBERGH saved their best until last as they retained their U18 Cup crown with an emphatic 38-5 victory over Dulwich College at the Rosslyn Park Sevens.
The Browns capped a week where 917 teams descended on south-west London with a clinical six-try display in the final, adding to their 2018 title ahead of possibly doing the doubledouble when they defend their Sedbergh Super Tens title over the next three days.
En route to the final, both sides had shown destiny awaited with Sedbergh beating 2018 finalists Cranleigh 24-5 and Dulwich beating Clifton 28-19 in the two semi-finals.
Defeated narrowly by Dulwich 12-10 in the quarter-final pool stage, Sedbergh flew out of the blocks thanks to two quickfire tries from George Barbour. His first was paved by some elusive footwork as he cut inside the defender to score after two minutes.That was followed with his second try on four minutes when he finished on the opposite wing.
With skipper Tom Curtis converting both of Barbour’s tries, Sedbergh held an early 14-0 lead and relied on their ferocious defence to thwart a potential Dulwich reply, Will Panday knocking the ball out of an opponent’s hand in the ingoal area.
Panday’s impact in defence then proved just as invaluable in attack when he made a 60m burst down the left wing to dot down just before half-time.
A Dulwich attack was soon turned into a Sedbergh counter in the second half, as a pass a little too far behind the on-running carrier allowed Curtis to scoop up the loose ball and grubber through for Ollie Melville to be rewarded with a try after offering support. In truth, Dulwich had done little wrong but found themselves 24-0 down at the hands of Sedbergh’s intensity. Curtis proved influential for the Browns’ fifth try, producing an offload which won the applause of all spectators to send Will Haydn-Wood through to score.
With Curtis converting, Sedbergh were now 31-0 ahead, however Dulwich fought on determined to have something to show for their efforts. They kept coming and eventually got their reward through a score from Isaac Gleave down the right wing after a lung-bursting team effort.
With the match clock ticking past the final minute of play, Dulwich pushed hard for a second try but Sedbergh showed their mettle to force a penalty turnover at the ruck. A quick tap saw the ball worked to Panday out wide, who fended two defenders on his way to dotting down underneath the posts – Curtis’ conversion bringing an end to an exhillarating Cup final.
