Temple Moor and the Road to Wembley
By John Wheelhouse, September 2010
Temple Moor Year 7 Rugby Team's Wembley odyssey began in late September 2009. They qualified, unbeaten, at a tournament between schools from our part of Leeds. A few weeks later, the top 10 schools from the whole of Leeds met in Kirkstall to decide which 4 teams would represent Leeds in the Yorkshire stages of the National Cup.
This was played on a wet and dull October afternoon and Temple Moor did enough, by finishing second, but realised that talent alone would not be sufficient. Under the guidance of Mr. Nicholson the team itself installed the Ethics of Commitment, Hard Work, Team Work, Skill and Ability, Professionalism, Concentration and a Desire to Win.
The first Yorkshire tie was a tricky trip to Kettlethorpe in Wakefield. This was where they really started to make a strong impression. After winning this game the coach of Outward Grange (last year’s Wembley Champions) remarked that Temple Moor looked like “The best school team he’d ever seen.” The next few rounds included tackling past Wembley finalists Freeston (from Normanton) 22 - 8. They were now widely acknowledged as genuine Championship contenders. Next up was a tough win at Andrew Marvel High in Hull –the victory put them through to the National last 16.
The accolades began to flow in. The local press began to take notice, and perhaps best of all, the Leeds Rhinos recently rewarded each player with a ticket to the World Club Challenge Final at Elland Road. They made it through to the National Cup Quarter Finals after beating St Peter and Paul from Widnes 36-0 – the team’s most ruthless display – scoring 3 tries before the Cheshire team even touched the ball!
The Year 7 Rugby League side returned from the Easter holidays with two massive matches in the space of just seven days. Firstly, they travelled to South Wales where they played Afon Taff in the Quarter Final of the National Cup - which despite winning 26-36, was perhaps their untidiest performance of the season but it was enough to take them just one hour from a Wembley final.
A gigantic improvement was needed in the Semi-Final, against St Augustine's from St Helens - an unbeaten team that were widely considered as the strongest in the UK. Temple Moor raced to a 28-0 lead in this game in which their opponents quality shone through in the final minutes as they clawed the deficit back but Temple Moor hung on to win 20-28.
Temple Moor is now the first Leeds school to ever reach the national final – to play in front of a crowd of up to 90,000 at Wembley as the curtain-raiser to the Challenge Cup Final. Leeds Rhinos have supported the team from day one and Rugby Foundation coach Jonny Wainhouse has been part of the coaching team along side Gavin Nicholson. They are also supporting them by helping the team raise money towards their trip and to provide them with high quality kit.
Share
