Head of rugby Andy Wolstenholme insists Epsom College have the right blend of talent to be right up there challenging at next week’s Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens.
Epsom College will be one of 650 teams who will gather in west London as of Monday for the five-day annual Rosslyn Park Sevens event.
In total, 7,500 boys and girls aged between 13 and 18 will strut their stuff in various different competitions at the world’s largest school Sevens tournament with teams coming from not only across the UK but as far away as Dubai, Lebanon, America, Sweden and Singapore.
The main prize on offer at the world’s largest schools Sevens tournament is a chance for the Open competition finalists to run out at Twickenham during the ninth and final round of the HSBC Sevens World Series in May.
That won’t apply to Epsom College who will instead bid for success in the boys Under-18 Festival, girls Under-18 competition and boys under-16 Colts draw.
And with a crop of international players among their ranks, Wolstenholme insists there is reason for optimism this year.
“Over the years, Epsom has been pretty consistent with our performances at this Sevens event,” he said.
“In 2006, our Under-16 Colts won that particular tournament, while our Under-18 boys’ team makes the latter stages of the Festival every year and we are hoping to do the same this time around. Last year our Under-18 boys’ team made the semi-final group stage.
“All the teams have their strengths and weaknesses but we have to focus on our own abilities.
“We have some top players here at Epsom, two of whom are playing at international level for their respective age groups. We have Archie White, who plays for England under-18s, and plays as a back row forward.
“Scrum-half Niall Saunders is the other international player in our midst, and he has played for Ireland under-18s. So we have some good players capable of helping us do well.”
HSBC is proud to sponsor the world’s largest schools rugby tournament. All HSBC’s rugby sponsorships aim to help develop and grow the sport and ensure even more youngsters get involved with rugby.
