Warwick School under-18s set up Twickenham finale

Warwick School under-18s beat Durham School at Allianz Park on Saturday to progress to the NatWest Cup final at Twickenham on Saturday March 29.
Devon Berrington with the ball for Warwick, with Carrick Waldron, Henry Stride and Joshua Fox in support.Devon Berrington with the ball for Warwick, with Carrick Waldron, Henry Stride and Joshua Fox in support.
Devon Berrington with the ball for Warwick, with Carrick Waldron, Henry Stride and Joshua Fox in support.

It was to prove a very tense final ten minutes for Warwick as Durham staged a fierce late comeback from 20-3 down to 20-15 at the final whistle.

Warwick had the perfect start when Will Priestley crossed the line after only two minutes.

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Durham reduced the deficit with a penalty but the turning point was to to come after half an hour when the Durham wing was sent to the sin-bin for a mistimed tackle.

Warwick took advantage of the extra space and after some lovely offloading among the forwards, captain Joe Blake was adjudged to have been held up over the line. From the resulting five-metre scrum Blake made no mistake, with William Stride converting to make it 12-3 at half-time.

Warwick struck early in the second half with full-back William Stride -at 16, two years younger than most of the players - going over in the corner.

The conversion was missed but Jamie Shillcock kicked a penalty mid-way through the half to put Warwick 20-3 up.

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Injuries to Warwick backs and a yellow card for fly-half Henry Stride gave Durham a lifeline and their winger Matthew Wilson went over seconds later for a converted try.

Full-back Adam Redman then crossed the line to close the gap to five points.

However, Warwick held on to set up a Twickenham final against 2012/13 champions Dulwich College.

It is hoped Warwick will be joined by their under-15 team who face Wellington School in their semi-final at Allianz Park tomorrow.

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