Langley student relives Vase win

5:09pm Thursday 10th April 2008

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LANGLEY Park student Justin Jones was always convinced the Daily Mail Vase was returning to Beckenham, despite the team leaving it tremendously late before sealing victory.

The 14-year old loose-head prop praised his team-mates and coaching staff and revealed the confidence of the team never dwindled during the battle with Calday Grange at Twickenham last Wednesday.

Calday Grange led 7-5 in the pulsating match until a late Ben Hollister penalty kick secured victory for the Year 10 heroes.

Jones said: "When we were losing with little time left, I thought we've got to win, there's no way we're going to lose.

"The whole time you think you can still do it and we just stuck together and put every last bit of energy in to winning.

"When we scored I was in shock. I was pacing up and down with my fingers crossed before Ben took the penalty and when the flags went up, I just stood there and tried to let it sink in.

"All I remember is running over to our coach, Mr Harris, and jumping on him."

After winning the prestigious trophy, it will be a tough task to better their achievement but Jones is focused on continuing to make progress with his team.

He said: "We want to win every game next year.

"There aren't any competitions because of our exams, but we want to be well prepared for the Kent Cup the following year."

The victorious Langley Park team celebrated the win with family and friends, although Jones revealed his team-mates were too exhausted to remember much of their journey home.

He said: "We went into the Six Nations suite straight after the game to enjoy the win, but everyone was asleep on the coach home because we were so tired.

"We had a party at Beckenham Rugby Club on the night of the win, though, and we also had a party on Friday with all our friends and family to celebrate."