Last gasp Epsom will have final say

13 April 2012

The word defeat is clearly not part of Epsom College's vocabulary.

They stared down the barrel again at Castlecroft on Saturday but kept their nerve and conjured a marvellous last-gasp try to shatter Bradford Grammar School and reach the Daily Mail Under 15 Cup Final at Twickenham on March 31.

Bradford, beaten only once in 23 games, believed they had luckily prevailed when two late penalties from John Walker gave them a 14-10 lead.

But Epsom refused to die, swarmed forward to win the ball from the kick-off and fed the ball crisply across their superior backs, honed to perfection two days earlier during a training session from old boy Paul Burke, the Ireland and Quins fly half.

Outside centre Jamie Laidler took the team's destiny in his hands by setting off on a 60-metre run. It took him through four tackles and ended with him being caught a metre from the line but still able to get over near the posts with the help of two team-mates.

So, incredibly, 15-14 to Epsom and Laidler still had the composure to convert his own try before excellent referee Peter Sharp blew the final whistle.

'They have put me through the wringer until the final seconds in three successive cup-ties,' said coach Richard Whiteley. 'But it has been a privilege to work with these boys. They have given me some unforgettable sporting memories.'

Whiteley's team gnawed away at the over-confidence of a disappointing Bradford side by refusing to give an inch in the forward battle, tackling anything that moved and responding instantly to every Bradford score with a better one of their own.

Laidler's try was the pick, but right wing Dafydd Evans finished a move that swept the width of the pitch and left wing James Marjoram popped an inside pass to fly half Matthew Lee on the line after his 40-metre run.

John Fisher, from Purley, showed only glimpses of their expansive, strong running game in subduing a battling Yarm side 17-0 in the other semi-final, but they were enough to whet the appetite for the first contest on the wide open spaces of Twickenham between two Surrey schools only six miles apart.

Daniel Pratt looked a class act at fly half for John Fisher. He made a lovely break off a scrum 30 metres out to score the first try after only two minutes and rewarded incessant first-half pressure with a second down the short side after beng set up by prop James Driver.

Yarm did not have the power or pace in the backs to worry John Fisher, but their spirit was never broken and the only score of the second half owed much to the soccer skills of full back Daniel Leidecker, who kicked on from halfway to collect his 34th try of the season.

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Last gasp Epsom will have final say

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