After a fiercely contested game, Newbridge High School ended up victorious in the inaugural East Midlands Housing Coalville Cup organised by Coalville Rugby Club by beating local rivals Castle Rock High School.

Coalville RFC President, Tom Siddon, commented, “It’s great to see two local schools competing so fiercely. It was an exciting game but it was also fantastic to witness the sporting way that the young players all conducted themselves.”

Newbridge took an early lead when Charlie Vine and Matt Wilkins scored an unconverted try each. However Castle Rock soon hit back when captain Billy Chamberlain touched down to make it 10-5. Despite excellent tackling by Castle Rock the superior speed of Newbridge started to tell and Connor Booth made several breaks to allow Charlie Alldread and Cameron Stevens to get on the score sheet to extend Newbridge’s lead at half time.

The second half saw Newbridge capitalise on their brighter play with Vine and Wilkins adding to their tally. However it was Castle Rock who ended the stronger with Chamberlain adding to his earlier try. The final score was Newbridge 42, Castle Rock 10.

Chief Executive of East Midlands Housing, Chan Kataria, presented the trophy to the winning captain, Luke Preston and added, “We’re very happy to be involved with local schools and encourage competitive sport in the area. It was a really exciting game and I look forward to seeing many more keenly contested games in the future.”