Rugby stars reap rewards with selections

Thursday 26th January 2023

Rugby players Roman, Isaac, Will, Jordan, Nima, Vuso, Oscar and Toby were involved in the DPP Festival held over the Christmas period

The hard work of the rugby players, both on and off the pitch, at Stockport Grammar School has been paying off with a number of pupils selected to represent Sale Sharks Academy, Cheshire and the North West Developing Player Pathway (DPP).

After a successful season for the 1st XV, reaching the last 16 of the National Schools Cup, a number of players have gained representative honours.

Albert Bradshaw, Frank Chatterton, Isaac Deans and Dominic Hanson have all been playing for Sale Sharks U18 in the U18 Academy League and they played against Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons. Frank and Dominic have also been involved in recent England U18 Development Camps.

Rowan Abbott and Navid Mousavi both represented Cheshire U18s in the North U18 County Festivals, playing in games against Lancashire and Yorkshire. Navid was also selected for the North U18 Development Day from which the North U18 team will be selected.

A number of players have been selected for the U15 and U16 North West DPP. Harry Cook is part of the U16 DPP whilst a number of players were involved in the DPP Festival held over the Christmas period which involved playing opportunities against other DPP centres. The following players from Stockport Grammar have been involved in the program: Roman Deans, Isaac Finney, Will Harvey, Jordan Ikeh, Nima Mousavi, Vuso Munaiwa, Oscar Reeder-Hirst and Toby Wells.

After a series of assessment sessions, the U14 DPP groups were announced and it was pleasing to see the following players from SGS selected: Connor Atkinson-Lamb, Arthur Wolstenholme, Hamish Morton and Sam Tyley.

The number of players involved in the various pathways shows how Stockport Grammar School, Sale Sharks, the North West DPP and a wide range of local clubs can all work together to put the player at the forefront of their development.

The Sevens season kicks off in earnest after half-term with the majority of age groups entered into at least three tournaments and the U13, U14, U16 and U18 squads all heading down to the Rosslyn Park National Schools 7’s in March.