London Skolars U17’s continued their remarkable unbeaten season as they overcame a determined and classy Elmbridge Eagles side this weekend, to reach the Grand Final of the London U17’s League.
In searing temperatures at New River, the Skolars boys were prepared for an almighty tussle, having already had to overcome an impressive Elmbridge team earlier in the season. Fielding a near full-strength side, the Skolars were well aware that they would have to be at their best, against an Elmbridge team that possessed attacking threats all over the pitch.
With some well-built players on both sides, there were some big collisions in the middle of the park, with both sides making some positive metres in the middle. The Skolars looked far more dangerous out wide, with some slick handling resulting in over-laps and it was Sam Hurding who crossed first after a great break from winger Tom Scott.
The left edge combination of Nicky Freeman and Tom Scott was causing havoc in the Elmbridge defence, with flyer Tom Scott being the recipient of some fantastic line-breaks and off-loads from Nicky Freeman, back in the side after his school season with Clifton School in Bristol. However Elmbridge were dangerous in the middle, and their darts from dummy – half and their footwork in the middle caused the middle men some serious trouble.
At half-time there were some stern words in the Skolars camp, unforced errors and generally slack defensive play, meant they were down by 8 points. However in the second half, Elmbridge began to tire and the Skolars began to dominate with big forward Jonathon Kpoku to the fore, crossing for 2 tries from tap penalties. The Skolars moved into a more comfortable position with further tries from Jordan Rhoden, the outstanding Nicky Freeman, Tom Scott and Tom Hamer, however Elmbridge continued to show their danger, with some excellent individual moments of brilliance which resulted in some unorthodox tries. Credit must go to both sides for a fantastic game of Rugby League.
As the final few sets were played out, the Skolars side-line began to celebrate safe in the knowledge that they had won another difficult game and secured a Grand Final place, setting up a mouth-watering re-run of this year’s Cup Final against Brixton Bulls.
It’s a fantastic achievement for the young Skolars side, who currently boast an unbeaten record in all competitions. They have already won the Season Opening 9’s, the London Youth Challenge Cup, and ended their league season with 12 wins from 12, conceding only 56 points across all games.
The Grand Final will take place at Ealing Trailfinders, the home of London Broncos on Saturday 23rd July 2016, with kick off scheduled for 1.30pm. Any support would gratefully be received.
