Australia were won over at Twickenham on Saturday – not by the efforts of England, but by the youngsters of Church Stretton Primary School.
A dozen of the school’s pupils and former pupils heartily impressed the battle hardened Aussies when they shared a pre-match tag rugby showpiece with Holy Trinity School from Kent.
So much so that after polishing off England, they made a beeline for the Stretton kids’ front-of-stand seats to sign autographs and chat with them.
“It set the seal on a wonderful day for the children,” said teacher and coach Ralph Davies.
“The Aussies were pretty awe-inspiring on the field but absolute gentlemen off it – they were very generous with their time and spent the best part of half an hour talking to the kids, signing their autographs and joining them for photographs.
“It was a fabulous gesture on their part and demonstrated to the youngsters what the sport of rugby is all about.”
The youngsters were at the showpiece match as a reward for topping the English RFU’s tag rugby tournament for under-11s.
More than 33,000 children from schools throughout the country were initially entered for the competition, which culminated in a final clash between Stretton and Holy Trinity.
Stretton won but there was no competitive repeat at Twickenham.
“It was strictly a demonstration of tag rugby,” said Ralph. “Both teams were on the ground for something like half an hour and their skills were greatly appreciated by the crowd – and, very obviously, the Aussies.
“While they were playing, Jonny Wilkinson was on the pitch too, tuning up his kicking. That was a great thrill for them.”
Wearing smart new kit sponsored by local pub the Travellers Rest and West Mercia Police, the youngsters also formed a guard of honour as the teams went out and experienced for themselves the noise and intense atmosphere big matches at Twickenham generate.
“It was a wonderful experience for the children, their families and everyone on the trip – one we will certainly not forget,” said Ralph.