Twickenham is Stretton dream (From Ludlow Advertiser)

Twickenham is Stretton dream

8:50am Sunday 5th July 2009

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CHURCH Stretton Primary School will take part in the National Tag Rugby Finals which will be held at Rugby School, the spiritual home of the game next Wednesday. The winners and runners-up on Wednesday will play at Twickenham ahead of the autumn international between England and New Zealand.

Stretton qualified for their place in the final by winning a competition at Police HQ at Hindlip, and then coming runners-up in the Midlands area final which took place at Lichfield.

At Lichfield they won all their games in the morning group stage to qualify for the lead-qualifying afternoon group. They were unbeaten in this stage of the competition to top the group and reach the final.

Stretton lost 4-3 in the final with the deciding score coming in the dying seconds of the game. The top two qualify for the national finals, which will involve 20 teams.

The team has received the support of West Mercia Police on their way to the final. As part of the West Mercia Police Tag Rugby Project the pupils have been supported by PC Paul Sparrow and CSO Shaun Culliss of the Ludlow Rural Local Policing Team, and both officers will be at Rugby cheering the side on.

l Tag Rugby is a non-contact style of the sport which is suitable for both males and females of all age groups and abilities. There are no scrums, line-outs or tackling allowed. To find out more visit the RFU website: www.rfu.com l Since September last year, West Mercia Police has been busy developing a Tag Rugby initiative, in partnership with the Rugby Football Union and Child Victims of Crime (CVOC), the children’s charity that the police support.

The force has trained more than 150 local officers and community support officers to deliver coaching and run tournaments as part of their youth inclusion programme. They use the opportunity to engage with local children and deliver personal safety messages.

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