All photographs by Thomas in Year 13
Monmouth School for Boys kept their dreams alive in the National Schools Cup with a hard-fought 14-8 midweek third-round home triumph against rivals Bromsgrove School.
Cheered on by a large crowd, the 1st XV showed battling qualities against visiting Bromsgrove and will now host either Seaford or Berkhamsted in the regional final stage (last 16) of the competition.
Monmouth were keen to bounce back from a first defeat of the season in their previous outing, against Marlborough College, and started the derby on the front foot.
The hosts gained excellent early field position, without being able to cut through the Bromsgrove defence.
However, Monmouth retained the ball well for long spells and eventually broke the deadlock.
A powerful carry from Aidan allowed captain Theo to crash over from close-range. Henry slotted the conversion to give Monmouth a 7-0 half-time advantage.
Bromsgrove, to their credit, pressed hard after the interval, grew in confidence and gradually gained the momentum.
Monmouth’s resistance was finally broken when Bromsgrove went over for a try and, soon afterwards, the visitors added a penalty to edge 8-7 ahead.
The home side needed a swift response and their impressive forward play, once again, proved crucial from a line-out 20 metres from the Bromsgrove line.
Monmouth set up a powerful diving maul and Freddy rumbled over for their second try, which Henry converted, to give the home side a 14-8 lead.
“The final 15 minutes was heart in mouth stuff, and we didn’t make it easy for ourselves,” admitted captain, Theo.
“But our defence was valiant and we eventually won a turnover, which was kicked out of play, to seal a very hard-fought victory.”
Meanwhile, the 1st XV made it back-to-back wins with a 15-5 away success last Saturday in their first-ever meeting with Coventry-based Bablake and King Henry VIII School.
After a slow start, Monmouth eased into the game and grabbed their first try before the break when Theo crossed after good phase play inside the opposition 22.
Two further tries – one from a driving maul scored by Freddy and another finished off well in the corner by Ben – propelled Monmouth to a healthy 15-0 lead early in the second half.
However, Bablake had the final word of an entertaining maiden fixture between the schools, breaking through for a late consolation try.
