Bishop Burton’s rugby team secures highest league finish
14 Jan 2025 | College
Bishop Burton College has secured its highest finish so far in the Rugby Football Union (RFU) national ACE League.
The league was established in 2019 as part of the RFU’s drive to promote rugby union to students aged 16 to 18, with a particular focus on providing an inclusive and competitive environment for talented players from diverse backgrounds.
The first half of the season is split between the Northern Division and Southern Division, with the top four performance teams in each progressing to the national play-offs.
Bishop Burton qualified for the play-offs in fourth place in the Northern Division – the team’s highest finish since the league was formed.
Having lost two of their first three play-off matches – with the third called off due to severe weather – Bishop Burton went into their final fixture against Brooksby Melton College with a point to prove.
Bishop Burton had been beaten by the same opposition earlier in the season. The Rugby Academy coaching team worked closely to analyse game strengths and weaknesses. They identified the lineout and scrum as two areas Bishop Burton could dominate – and so it proved.
The team put in their best showing of the season during a physical affair, with big performances from star players Harvey Ward, Caylen Umaga, Sam Bland and Arlo Smith all of whom are on or have been, on the RFU Yorkshire Academy performance pathway.
Bishop Burton eventually came out on top 18-12, after withstanding a late fightback from Brooksby.
The result was enough to earn Bishop Burton a best-ever seventh-place finish in the national ACE league.
Head of ACE Boys Rugby, Evan Woodward said: “To secure the college’s highest finish to date in the RFU national ACE league is a tremendous achievement by the team, and we’re all incredibly proud of each and every one of them.
“They’re a talented group who’ve worked really hard, and they thoroughly deserve it. Some of these players will be future household sporting names and we are pleased to be able to support them on their journey”
The ACE Rugby academy will now concentrate all their efforts in securing play off places in the Association of Colleges (AoC) premiership league, in which they were losing finalists last year and the England Colleges Rugby Football Union Cup (ECRFU), which we are current holders of.
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