Rugby Union in Clitheroe on the increase as Schools show their strength in RFU competitons!!

All four secondary schools now regularly hold coaching sessions for budding players and this has shown with the success in the North Lancashire RFU Emerging Schools Festivals.

This season has seen a big progress of Rugby Union in the Ribble Valley, especially in secondary schools, and is now rivalling Football to be the top sport in the area. Ribblesdale, Bowland, Clitheroe Grammar and St Augustine’s all now offer Rugby in Curriculum and as an Extra Curriculum activity with number improving every week. This has also helped by all the schools having regular fixtures and festivals to enter meaning the prospect of competitive matches has appealed to school pupils.

All Clitheroe secondary schools competed in the RFU Emerging Schools Festivals at Year 7, 8 and 9, this is the first time all four schools have entered in every age group, which itself is a great achievement. When at the competitions they did not disappoint and showed the strength of Rugby in the area.

In the Year 9 event St Augustine’s were the pick of the schools making it to the round robin finals against Carr Hill and Garstang with all teams winning one game it came down to tries scored, St Augustine’s being placed 2nd only one try behind Garstang. Ribblesdale, Bowland and Clitheroe Grammar did not make it to the finals, but showed 100% commitment in all the group games.

In the Year 8 festival Bowland showed they were in no mood to let slip the trophy they won as Year 7’s last season and triumphed in the round robin finals against Darwen Vale and neighbours Clitheroe Grammar, proving that this age group is the strongest in the area. Bowland now go forward and play in the State Schools which will be held in February and is a step up in opposition. Ribblesdale gained their first win in an Emerging Schools Festival and also went on to draw a game as well, St Augustine’s in probably the toughest group found the going hard but nether the less played with a smile on their faces in defeat.

St Augustine’s claimed bragging rights in the Year 7 event from the Clitheroe Schools as their 1st team made it to the final but narrowly lost to Carnforth High. St Augustines 2nd and Bowland did well in their group stages and qualified for the Shield phase but lost out to Baines School. Ribblesdale and Clitheroe Grammar did not do so well in their group stage but subsequently met each other in the final of the Bowl phase and in a fantastic game honours were even at 5-5.

A Year 10 Clitheroe Schools 7’s Festival also took place at Clitheroe RFC in October, with again all four schools competing against each other in a league format. Many of these players competed in the Emerging Schools last season but, other than St Augustine’s, were never really given any other coaching or competitive opportunities. St Augustine’s showed their strength at this age group by comprehensively beating the other 3 schools, 20-0 v Bowland, 25-0 v Clitheroe Grammar and 25-5 v Ribblesdale, and claiming a 100% record. So the battle was on for second place and Clitheroe Grammar took that with wins over Ribblesdale (25-5) and Bowland (20-5), and in the ‘Wooden Spoon’ decider Ribblesdale beat Bowland 15-5 to claim the first win for this side.

Finally Clitheroe Grammar who host the only Further Education establishment in the area regularly hold training sessions and enter school Rugby competitions such as Lancashire Schools, Daily Mail Schools but also the RFU FE 10’s Festival at Preston Grashoppers on November 10th. The FE 10’s is entered by 7 College and 6th Forms from North Lancashire as a Development process to enable more players competitive Rugby but also the chance to talk and meet with club members who are on the look out for more young talent in the area.
Clitheroe Grammar who have some very talented individuals played with tremendous spirit and character which found them finish 2nd in Group B and therefore qualify to the finals. In the Semi Final they were to play Lancaster and Morecambe College who topped Group A and in a fantastic encounter Clitheroe came out on top winning 10-7 and in the final they met Blackpool College, who they lost to twice in the groups so knew they were the underdogs. Blackpool College showed there class, and although Clitheroe defended superbly once one try went in after 6 minutes of the 10 minute game, and there was no stopping them. The final score of 19-0 was a true reflection of Blackpool’s brilliance but Clitheroe can hold their heads up high in what was a competitive 10’s Festival.

The future of Rugby Union in Clitheroe looks very bright now that all schools are playing rugby on a regular basis and with the success all teams have had in competitions this season, it can only get better!

Regards,
Martin Powell
RFU Community Rugby Coach- Clitheroe.