Training with the Best

On Wednesday, a number of Teddies rugby players — male and female – were given the fantastic opportunity to train with England 7s Captain Tom Mitchell and England 7s player Sam Egerton. Since playing for Oxford in the 2011 Varsity Match, Tom has taken the World Rugby Sevens Series by storm, achieving the accolade of being the top points-scorer in the 2013/14 HSBC tournament, amassing 358 in his eye-catching season – 98 ahead of the next player. Samson “Sam” Egerton, with four consecutive Varsity Match victories for Oxford behind him, had the distinction in 2014 of becoming the first player since 1925 to score in three consecutive games during the time-honoured series. Sam made 11 appearances and scored an impressive seven tries for Yorkshire Carnegie in the Greene King IPA Championship before agreeing a contract with England Sevens. Sam has a very bright rugby future ahead of him with opportunities with England 7s and in the Premiership for the 15 a side version. Tom and Sam started the day on Upper 1 working with local prep school boys. Later in the day, they held two sessions, one for the Shells and Fourths, and one for the Fifth and Sixth Forms. Tom and Sam spoke about the importance of executing the basic skills to perform at the highest level, as well as introducing some 7s principles such as “pass, support, re-align”. However, Tom and Sam told pupils that the most important thing is to enjoy every moment of their sport. The pupils walked away feeling inspired by the opportunity to play with some of the best players in the world.