Wickham leads the way as Saracens young stars secure county title
Back row (left to right): John Mullens, Dylan Jinmi, Tom Stanton, Charlie Gray, Joe Connolly, Toby Wickham. Front row: Zack Lester, Ben Oubridge, Tom Watt, Ross Jordan, Ethan Pearsall, Andrew Ekeledo Smith, Henry Gibson. - Credit: Archant
Highgate’s Toby Wickham was the top try scorer for Saracens Amateur Rugby Club’s Under-11s as they celebrated a historic victory, being crowned the champions of Middlesex.
The youngsters defeated rivals from every corner of the capital in the annual county competition at Ruislip, fielding a team that included a number of north London talents.
Wickham attends St Michael’s School in Highgate, while Andrew Ekeledo Smith goes to Hall School in Hampstead and Zack Lester is a pupil at Belmont in Mill Hill.
Wickham, 10, said: “Most of my friends play football. There is a big chance I might mention this win to them at least once!”
Saracens won the title without conceding a single try in what is believed to be a first in the competition, defeating clubs including Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Bank of England and Finchley along the way.
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Head coach Miles Gibson said the victory felt sweeter because of a strict open door policy.
“We’ve never turned a boy away,” he said. “We really don’t care about how big or fast or strong a boy is as long as he’s open to having some fun.
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“Although it’s nice to be champions, we just love rugby and try and share that with the boys. Maybe that’s the secret behind this win. Sometimes we train at the professionals’ stadium at Allianz Park.
“The boys absolutely love training at the stadium. It’s also great when some of the international players from the professional club come down to Bramley Road [in Southgate] and run special training sessions for the boys.”
For information on the club, visit www.saracensamateurrugby.com
