St Peter's move closer to heaven

St Peter's have knocked on the gates of heaven - rugby heaven that is - before and the Gloucester boys believe it could be their year to burst through and contest the Daily Mail Under 18 Cup Final at Twickenham for the first time.

'We've had our knock-backs but the dream is still intact,' said St Peter's rugby guru Dave Pointon, the ex-Gloucester forward, who has done more than most to establish the comprehensive as one of the most feared opponents,not only in the west country, but in the top rank of schoolboy rugby.

Only one team has lowered their colours this season in a full game and the 13-6 defeat by Colston's, six-times Daily Mail winners, is almost counted as a moral victory.

'For a school like ours, it is important to earn respect,'said Pointon. 'It is all very well beating the same opponents on your own little circuit every year but you need to keep testing yourself against better teams. The Daily Mail Cup has been so important for that. The result against Colston's showed how much we have progressed. A few years ago they were putting 40 points on us.'

Another measure of the achievement by Pointon and his coaching staff is the quality of the rugby throughout the school. Until the Under15 side lost at RGS High Wycombe in the Daily Mail last 16 just before Christmas, they, theU14s and U13s teams were unbeaten this season. St Peter's are consistently producing high calibre players and have become a main feeder school for the Cherry and Whites. Pointon is currently watching proteges Bradley Davies and Marcel Garvey turn it on in the Premiership for Gloucester while hedoes the stats and analysis on the touchline for his old club.

If St Peter's do reach their Twickenham paradise it will be even more satisfying after a couple of hellish experiences in the past two seasons. They reached the 2000 semi-final but could not cope on the big day against QEGS, Wakefield and last year lost to Campion in a torrid quarter-finalwhen the eventual champions came back from 14 points down to win 23-22 with a late penalty.