Just after the restart Churchdown were awarded a penalty inside the Crypt half of the pitch, which they capitalised on immediately as the Churchdown fly half kicked a well-judged and perfectly weighted cross field kick, to the left winger who finished superbly in the corner to level the scores. The following conversion was missed so the score remained at 5-5.
Following the restart the referee awarded a penalty for offside for an over eager defensive line against Crypt which allowed Churchdown to take the lead as they converted a penalty kick to take the score to 8-5 putting them into a a half time lead.
It was Crypt School who were first out of the blocks in the second half, as they reclaimed the kick off, with great pressure by their pack. Crypt then retained possession and with a well sustained pressure in attack stretched the Churchdown defensive line, allowing the Crypt backs to touch down in the corner for their second try of the game. The conversion missed again, they now had a 10-8 lead.
The missed conversion attempt proved crucial later in the match, as Churchdown converted a late penalty deep in the Crypt half to take the final score; Churchdown School 11 - Crypt School 10
In the second semi-final, played on Thursday 30 January, last year finalists Sir Thomas Rich's took on late entrants to the competition, Castle School Thornbury at Sir Thomas Rich's School pitches. Both sides had a strong campaign up to this point and like the other semi-final was another closely fought battle.
The pitches at Sir Thomas Rich's School were far from ideal for running rugby, as a greasy pitch surface and rugby ball, were the cause of a lot of handling errors early in the first half as both sides worked hard to retain possession and break the oppositions gain line.
Strong defence by Sir Thomas Rich's School and pressure at the break down forced Castle School to clear their lines by kicking the ball to the Sir Thomas Rich's School full back who was instrumental in setting up the first try, which was touched down close to the posts, allowing a well struck conversion sail over the bar, to take the score to 7- 0.
Castle School followed soon after with their own try after the pack worked well to build the phases sucking in the Sir Thomas Rich's defence and allowing the Castle School back to find a gap and score. The conversion attempt was missed, which kept Sir Thomas Rich's in the lead, and forced Castle School to chase the game.
Castle School did have periods of sustained possession but a strong defensive line by Sir Thomas Rich's, forced them to throw it wide, with Castle School's final attacking opportunity being side-lined by a great tackle in the corner by Sir Thomas Rich's.
Sir Thomas Rich's regained possession late in the game and with another blistering run by the full back into the Castle School half of the pitch he offloaded to the winger, who cut inside the Castle School defence for a late try. The conversion was missed, but it was too late as the final whistle was blown for a final score;
Sir Thomas Richs School 12 - Castle School Thornbury 5.
Churchdown School take on Sir Thomas Richs School in the EDF cup final at Kingsholm Stadium on Wednesday 12 March. Kick-off 4:30pm.
Entry to the ground is free and all family friends are welcome to come along and cheer the two teams on.
For more information please click here or contact simonmonahan@gloucesterrugby.co.uk
