The Crossley Heath School reach quarter-finals of Continental Tyres Cup

Crossley Heath head of rugby Isaac Riley relished the opportunity to test his side's mettle against one of the best sides in the country despite his side's quarter-final exit in the Continental Tyres Cup. Riley's charges fell to King's Ely 45-19 in the last eight, with Crossley Heath left to lick their wounds as control of the game ultimately slipped away despite an even contest in the early stages.

And while he acknowledges the superiority of their opponents on the day, Riley is determined to use the result as a platform for bigger and better things. “From kick-off I think we just started a bit slow,” he said. “Their backs in particular were really sharp and without making an excuse you could tell that we’d done a bit of travelling, we were really rusty.

“Our forwards played really well and had a good handle on things but their backs were electric and clinical in the right areas and that cost us. We got to a point where we were down 16-13 and that was after going 16-0 down in the first place and not playing well at all those first 15 minutes.

“We really dragged ourselves back into it with some gritty defence but then we just ran out of steam a bit and they were playing with a lot of freedom and managed to steer clear. They ran away with the game in the last 10 minutes and it was a deserved win for them.

“It was a good experience for the lads and its opportunities like this we wouldn’t be able to fulfil otherwise in friendly games.”

The Continental Tyres Cup is foundational to age-grade rugby in England, enabling students from across the country to compete against one another and represent the best the game has to offer at schoolboy level. Riley added: “I went to Crossley Heath as a student and 10 years ago I would’ve been playing around that level and the standard we had then was a lot more prominent.

“It dropped off a bit since Covid but these boys have kicked on well and have given us a good platform for the next few years and I think if we stick together and get back to training and incorporate next year's intake, we can win more games and get far. They’ve put the school in a really good lie in terms of getting the school behind them as well. They’ve done the school proud and they’ve put rugby back on the map.”

The Continental Tyres Schools Cup is an important part of the age-grade rugby landscape in England, with schools’ rugby often where players fall in love with the game for the first time. For more information visit the Continental Tyres Schools Cup section of the England Rugby Website