On Wednesday 15th December 2021 the St. Olaves 1st XV rugby team battled out against the Hayes School 1st XV at Sidcup RFC Stadium in a FJ Cup final. Both teams played valiantly in an effort to win but St. Olaves came out victorious.

 

Prior to the match, the St. Olaves 1st XV had faced The Langley Park School for Boys in the semi-final, winning 8-7 to book a place at the finals. In the second semi-final match, the Hayes 1st XV triumphed over Eltham College, winning 19-12. Both finalists had already clashed in early October, with Hayes winning 36-31.

 

On a chilly Wednesday evening, both teams arrived at the Sidcup RFC grounds ready to play. There were many fans from both sides who attended, including the local mayor of Bexley James Hunt. The match began and immediately tensions increased. 7 minutes into the first half, the Outside Centre of the Hayes team slid his way through the Olaves defense to score a try. The conversion was confidently scored by the Fly Half, making it 7-0 to Hayes. The match resumed again with the same intensity as both teams attempted to get more points on the board. Minutes before the half was over, winger Chima Ndukwu received the ball from an Olaves penalty and bolted round the Hayes defense to clinch a try for Olaves. This, followed by a clean conversion by Fly Half Billy Boyd, managed to draw Olaves level with Hayes at half time. 7-7.

 

The second half began and it looked to be Olaves dominating with the ball residing in the Hayes half 73% of the time. After the waves of attack being hurled at Hayes, Olaves managed to force 2 penalties, increasing their lead to 13-7. Another try came from the Olaves Fly Half, increasing their lead to 20-14. Just minutes before the whistle blew for full time, Hayes managed to reduce the damage done by scoring with their winger. The final score was 20-14. St. Olaves celebrated their cup win and both teams received medals for their efforts that evening.