Oakham squeeze past Hymers

It was closer than they expected, but Oakham squeezed through to their first Daily Mail U18 Cup semi-final, beating Hymers 9-8 after losing at the quarter-final stage for the last two seasons.

They face cup specialists RGS High Wycombe at Castlecroft Stadium, headquarters of the English SchoolsUnion near Wolverhampton, in the first semi-final (ko 11am) on March 2.

Oakham had had their spies out watching Hymers struggle to beat Loughborough Grammar in their previous game, opposition Oakham had already beaten comfortably. But when it came to the incentive of the cup, Hymers found their best form and gave Oakham a real scare.

The home side took consolation from the fact that they finished the stronger, unlike their previous tie when they hung on against King's Worcester to win 17-15.

'To be honest, I don't think we really deserved tobeat King's but we were worthy winners against Hymers,' said Oakham coach Charlie Welch. 'We played with the wind in the first half but were unable to exert the pressure we wanted in the line-out because they had a very good player in Simon Puckering who secured their ball. We were also missingour injured captain, Gray Cullen, in that area.

"Hymers then added to our problems by breaking out and scoring through full back Tom Biggs after a kick-and-chase.Then, as we did against King's we hit a purple patch before half time. Tom Gregory kicked three penalties to give us something of a cushion defending against the wind."

The key to Oakham surviving was their discipline. While Hames Ferguson closed the gap to one point with a penalty, it was the only one conceded by Oakham and with a resolute and organised defence, they managed to keep theHull side at bay.

"We finished strongly and it was a good performance. It had to be. Hymers coach Chris Fitzpatrick, although obviously disappointed, felt his lads had given it their best shot and played as well as at any time this season.Their first-half defence was superb."