CAPTAIN Joseph Richardson insisted Sedbergh School could still hold their heads up high despite missing out on the top prize at the 76th Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens.

Richardson and his Sedbergh teammates pitted themselves against some of the country’s best when they took to the field for the Colts competition at the world’s largest school Sevens tournament in south west London last week.

Drawn in a group of five, Sedbergh made sure to give it their best shot, winning two of their four games although it was not enough to see them progress through to the knockouts.

The Boys Under-18 team fared slightly better though, making the quarter-finals of the Open Cup competition.

And Richardson admitted it had still been a worthwhile outing at the annual event in the English capital.

“We came out strongly in the first game and were dominant in parts, but in the second and third game we were outplayed in the physical side of the game. We did play so good rugby though,” he said.

“The results have been a bit of a shame but we gave it a good effort and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

“It’s a privilege for any team to play here. Hopefully if I work hard I will be back again with the first team.”

A total of 650 teams, comprising 7,500 participants aged from 13-18, competed in various different competitions across the week, with the two Open finalists also getting the chance for a rematch at Twickenham during the ninth and final round of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

They were also watched closely by England international Mike Brown, the full-back impressed by what the next generation of rugby stars, such as those at Sedbergh School, had to offer.

“It’s been great to see the different schools in action and the high standard of rugby that is out there,” he said.

“There are some good kids out there, some very quick players, I remember when I was that age and couldn’t even stretch that quick. It will be good to see if any of them carry on all the way to the top level.

“Rosslyn Park Sevens is massively important to help develop grassroots rugby and help the players down here move forward and hopefully they’ll enjoy their rugby even more so they want to carry on.”

- HSBC is proud to sponsor the world's largest schools rugby tournament. All HSBC’s rugby sponsorships aim to help develop and grow the sport and ensure even more youngsters get involved with rugby.