The team behind the Oakham School win at Twickenham last week have shared their thoughts on the victory over Croydon's Trinity School - who have previously won the cup.
On Thursday 16 March, Oakham School's 1 XV Rugby players celebrated a victory at Twickenham.
At 4pm, the whistle blew to mark the beginning of the Schools' Cup Final, which saw Oakham School come up against Trinity School at Twickenham Stadium - the official home of England Rugby.
This came after the unbeaten 1st XV rugby players secured their spot in the Schools' Cup Final by beating Finborough School in the Semi-Final.
The boys managed to maintain their perfect season record and took the win, the final score coming in at 31 - 24.
Read more about the game here.
World Cup winning duo Martin Johnson and Sir Clive Woodward inspired Oakham School to their first Continental Tyres Schools Cup victory in 20 years at Twickenham.
Oakham's last title came all the way back in 2003, a year both Johnson and Woodward remember for completely different reasons, but after a rousing speech from England's World Cup winning captain and coach, the drought was ended, defeating Trinity School, Croydon 31-24 in a classic.
Trailing 19-5 before half-time, Oakham had to dig deep, and scored 26 unanswered points to put themselves into a 31-19 lead, before holding on at the end.
Co-captain Felix Starkey led from the second row to follow in Johnson's footsteps, and he took on board the words of England's greatest captain.
"It is unreal to win, but at the end of the day, as Martin Johnson said to us, it is just a rectangular piece of grass," he said.
"You play the same game wherever you are in any stadium, and I think we stayed true to our game plan throughout the game, and we got the win, which is so special to us.
"I got full on chills from the team talk, we also had a few messages from some OOs, and from Sir Clive Woodward, everyone was cheering us on, and it has just been great."
Starkey's fellow co-captain Ben Taylor looked at it from a more emotional angle, with two years of hard work together culminating in a day none of them will ever forget.
He said: "It is massively special to win this at Twickenham, we have been playing for two years together and this was the last dance as we said.
"We have been waiting for this for ages now and it is great to just get out there and put in the performance and get the result we were looking for."
Headmaster Henry Price said: "It was an enjoyable and memorable day for Oakham School. I would like to congratulate the team, who demonstrated great discipline, strength of character and skill to secure the win. I would also like to thank everyone who has coached, guided and supported them to this point. I know that there are proud parents and proud staff, who also deserve great credit in this success."
"It was a day on which all our school values of Care, Courage, Contribution and Connection could be seen and felt. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of the day at Twickenham, and I commend Trinity and Oakham for a fantastic spectacle and good sportsmanship."
To those final year students who will be leaving Oakham at the end of the academic year, the U18 Schools Cup victory was a crowning moment in their schoolboy rugby careers.
Andy said: "It can take many years for a squad to develop to deliver their full potential and to do this they need to be supported by the right team of people. We are incredibly lucky to have received the coaching wisdom of Ian 'Dosser' Smith in nurturing the team and helping them to appreciate the tactics of the game. Many generations of Oakhamians have benefitted from Ian's expertise and I would like to thank him for his passion and unstinting dedication to coaching our pupils."
Oakham School pupils are in rugby action again, competing in the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens. The U18 boys' squad are hoping to continue their winning ways and go one step further after finishing as U18 Runners-Up in 2022. Meanwhile Oakham's girls are set to make history by fielding two teams in the competition for the first time. Other recent sporting success has seen Oakham's U19 netball squad compete in the National Finals, finishing 11th in the country.
Find out more about Sport at Oakham School.
As part of Finals Day, girls from Campion School, Northamptonshire, Caroline Chisholm School, Biddenham International School and Sports College and Bedfordshire and Collingwood College, Surrey played their part in XRugby Games on the pitch as part of the Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Programme, showcasing the progress of girl's school rugby.
Pete Robb, Marketing Director for Continental Tyres said: "We are proud to be supporting the growth of grassroots rugby with our title sponsorship of the Continental Tyres Schools Cup.
"For school teams to come together at the iconic Twickenham Stadium to play for the coveted Continental Tyres Schools Cup trophy will no doubt whet the appetite of those competing, increase their ambitions for a career in rugby and help to develop the next generation of rugby players."
The Continental Tyres Schools Cup is an important part of the age-grade rugby landscape in England, with schools' rugby often where players fall in love with the game for the first time. For more information on how to get involved with Age-Grade rugby visit the England Rugby website.
Your local rugby club, Oakham RFC, would also love to see you. Find them at:
Rutland Showground
Showground Way
Oakham
Rutland
LE15 7TW
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