Walsh to live Twickenham dream

His players put him through the wringer for an hour but eventually Paul Walsh was rewarded with a trip to Twickenham by John Cleveland College at Castlecroft after a tense Under 15 Cup semi-final.

Walsh, a coach for 25 years, suffered a terrible sense of deja vu as he paced behind one set of posts watching Dean Richards' old school struggle to impose lasting superiority on a tigerish St Peter's, Gloucester, side.

Seven years to the day, he had seen his team take a 5-0 halftime lead against Whitgift in a semi-final, only to lose 9-5.

The big occasion again seemed to have got the better of his players on Saturday. They took the lead after 17 minutes with a well-worked move which was finished off by hooker Aled

Roberts. It was to prove a rare glimpse of their attacking potential but they held out to win 5-0.

'It would have been a travesty had we lost,' said Walsh, 'but we can play much better than that. But I can retire a happy man now after taking a team to Twickenham.'

They will have to conquer their nerves on April 3 against a Sherborne side, who, in contrast, played with a real sense of style to come from behind and inflict a first defeat of the season - 17-12 - on Northampton School for Boys.