The U11 QEGS Junior School Rugby Team – featuring Huddersfield RUFC U11 player Rory Heath – was on Sunday crowned winners of the prestigious National Schools Rugby Tournament (NSRT) held at Epsom College, beating Donhead School (Wimbledon, London) 5-0 in a tightly fought final.
Launched in 1996, the Lexus NSRT is now one of the premier rugby tournaments in the world in the Prep Schools calendar.
On a day which saw initial sunshine make way for a biting wind and rain, QEGS was represented in the finals at U8, U9, U10 and U11 level. All boys represented their school with a great competitive spirit and exemplary sportsmanship. The U8s went out in the Group Stage of the Tag festival, with the U9s and U10s both progressing to the Quarter Finals.
Giving the younger boys inspiration and desire for future tournaments were the stars of the day – the talented U11 squad, who in an U11 event featuring 40 teams emerged the best U11 team in the country. A QEGS U11 team last won the event in 2012 and 2010 – a winning hat trick in the last 5 years is quite some record!
Ian Shuttleworth, QEGS U11s Coach “The boys should be very proud of their achievement, each and every one of them performed outstandingly throughout the whole tournament.”
U11 Squad
Joshua Stephenson
Stevan Opacic
Tom Fleming
Finn O’Neil
Ben Crabtree
Aameer Khan
Leighton Shuttleworth (C)
Patrick Morgan
Matthew Deighan
Joe Mounsey
Luke Hutchinson
Bailey Mann
James Binney
Rory Heath
U11 2014 Tournament Results
Group Stage
v Rokeby – won 80-0
v Northcote Lodge – won 20-0
v Donhead – won 15-0
Last 16
v Chesham – won 25-5
Q Final
v Denmead – won 20-0
S Final
v Shrewsbury House – won 5-0
Final
v Donhead – won 5-0