Felsted School rugby coach Andrew Le Chevalier believes his side’s unbreakable bond will come to the fore in the Continental Tyres Schools Cup finals at Twickenham.
Le Chevalier’s will play Ivybridge Community College at the home of rugby in the Vase showpiece on Thursday afternoon.
Former Wasps prop Le Chevalier heaped praise on his band of brothers, who are bidding for their first competition triumph after losing the 2013 final 17-15 to Yarn School.
“We have had some times with year groups that we haven’t had that family bond and I just feel that, the boys, they look at each other and they have this closeness,” said Le Chevalier.
“You can almost see this nod and they know they have got each other. A lot of them have grown up together from the prep school which does help and we have only had three boys come new into the sixth form, so it shows that we don’t have new boys coming in all the time.
“They are best friends on and off the field. They spend all their time together. It is amazing.”
Le Chevalier will balance the roles of coach and parent at Twickenham, with his son Ethan a member of the title-hunting first XV side.
And the prospect of seeing his son lift a trophy at the home of rugby is adding a little extra motivation.
“It has got to a point where I have said to him, it is a coach-player relationship and it has been quite tough a couple of times,” he said.
“He started some games and we changed the way we were playing, I had to say to him, you have got to be more of an impact player coming on rather than starting.
“Almost putting an arm around his shoulder, saying that. I know it sounds funny, but the relationship I have with all the players, we are part of a family.
“They are almost all my sons. You have the highs and lows with them all. It is amazing.”
Few teams even dream of playing at Twickenham but Le Chevalier and co have been plotting this hoist for some time.
“It is something we have been focusing on for a while,” he added. “We have got what we have been highlighting for the whole season, so to see our team get there, it’s amazing.”
The Continental Tyres Schools Cup is an important part of the age-grade rugby landscape in England, with schools’ rugby often where players fall in love with the game for the first time. For more information visit the Continental Tyres Schools Cup section of the England Rugby Website
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