Wellington College from Crowthorne in Berkshire have today been rewarded for a fantastic performance on the rugby pitch at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens Tournament by winning the trophy in the Festival competition.
The Festival competition is open to all schools with a rugby union Sevens team in which all the players are aged under eighteen and rugby is played for one term only in an academic year.
The team, coached by Kevin Brennan, participated in a keenly fought final against Eton College and led 7-5 at half-time on a rain soaked day in South West London. Conditions underfoot made it difficult to play flowing rugby, but after the break having succumbed to an Eton try early in the second half, Wellington went on to score the decisive try and secure the coveted trophy.
Kevin Brennan, master of rugby and 1st team coach at Wellington College, commented: “It was a very close final, a lot closer than we thought, Eton played very well and we just couldn’t get away from them when we went ahead. Luckily the boys dug deep and showed a lot of resilience like they have done all day and managed to win it at the end. This means so much to the school with the heritage we have at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National School Sevens; this is the tenth time we have won here now and this one is as special as the first. It means everything to the boys and we are absolutely delighted to have captured the trophy this year.”
Andrea de Vincentiis, HSBC Senior Sports Sponsorship Manager, commented: “This is the first year of HSBC’s association with the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens and we are proud to support such a prestigious British school sports tournament. It’s a natural progression of our commitment to rugby sevens throughout the world and in helping young talent succeed on the sports field. We extend our congratulations to Wellington on a deserved victory.”
The Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools is an annual event and is the world’s largest schools Sevens tournament. The 7,500 participants age from 13 to 19 with boys and girls taking part in the various different competitions during the week. Over 700 teams of all levels from across the UK as well as five international visiting teams from Denmark, Spain, Nigeria, Romania and Kenya, play in the tournament, which is now in its 72nd year.
The tournament has an unrivalled alumni of former participants including former England captains Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Carling, Gareth Edwards and current England Sevens captain Ben Gollings, who have all played in the tournament which was first won by St George’s Harpenden in 1939.
For more information contact Jonathan Steel, HSBC – [email protected] / 0207 593 5217
NOTES TO EDITORS
HSBC and Rugby
HSBC has a long-standing investment in rugby around the world from the pinnacle of the British & Irish Lions Tour and the HSBC Sevens World Series to the thousands of children who are introduced to rugby for the first time through HSBC’s numerous community rugby programmes.
As the first ever title sponsor of the IRB’s premier Sevens Series, title sponsor of the Asian 5 Nations and the first ever Principal Partner to renew their sponsorship of the Lions, HSBC are perfectly positioned in their commitment to the continuing growth of the game.
These sponsorships, amongst other more localised rugby partnerships, will allow HSBC to continue building long lasting relationships with its key stakeholders and also allow HSBC to further engage and motivate its employees and the internal audience.
Over the coming years, HSBC is dedicated to the international growth of the game from grassroots to the top flight, helping rugby to achieve its true potential of bringing together different people from different cultures through a shared love of the game.