OWERS TROPHY
St Paul's School, Barnes, 28th September 2013
The Old Paulines cemented their position as the strongest club in Rugby Fives by winning the Owers Trophy for a fourth time. However, this year it was not the manner of their victory that impressed – in fact, their win over the Alleyn Old Boys in the final was by the narrowest margin for some years – but the fact that they could be denied many of their top players, yet still had the strength in depth to win the title against what was the strongest AOBs team for some time.
Just as the 2013 N/national Doubles tournament proved, younger players are making a mark, and so it was that only one player in the final – former N/national champion Hamish Buchanan – was over 30 years old; the majority were under 25.
For some time, it had looked as if it could well be an all-Pauline final, as both Pauline teams won their groups in the round-robin stage. That left the same four semi-finalists as last year – the two Old Pauline teams, with the AOBs and Old Eastbournians – and the first semi-final (OPs I v OEs) was a repeat of last year's final. Indeed, the result was the same: an emphatic win for the OPs against rapidly tiring opposition. The second semi was a closer affair, but in the end it was the AOBs who won three of the four games and took their place in the final.
The final was a fitting conclusion to what the organiser said was the highest-quality Owers Trophy ever. The eight players have already proved their mettle at various levels, but it's testament to the Old Paulines' strength that they could not include Dan Tristao, Charlie Brooks or Ed Kay (who played in last year's winning team), but could still win. The four in the final were Tom Dean, Ben Beltrami, Matt Shaw and James Tilston, and they were able to win over a very experienced AOB team of Hamish Buchanan, Inigo Ackand, Peter Hanton and Adam George.
Last, but not least, the plate was won Derby Moor, again proving the strength of youth, claiming the silverware with a foursome all of whom were under 25 - and well under 25 in some cases!
RESULTS
Group stages
Group 1: Old Paulines bt Alleyn Old Boys 60-14, bt Old Bradfieldians 60-20; Alleyn Old Boys bt Old Bradfieldians 57-36
Group 2: Old Paulines II bt Old Eastbournians 60-23, bt Derby Moor 58-35; Old Eastbournians bt Derby Moor 47-43
Knockout stage
Semi-finals: Old Paulines I bt Old Eastbournians 60-18; Alleyn Old Boys bt Old Paulines II 59-28
Final: Old Paulines I bt Alleyn Old Boys 55-39
Plate: Derby Moor