They travelled to the Isle of Man and held King William College to 7-0 in the first round, while in the second round were on their travels again, this time to Altrincham Grammar School.

A 10-10 draw saw them win on the away ruling and they then beat Birkenhead School 15-7 in the third round to await the winners of the clash between Saints Peter and Paul CHS and St Anselm's College.

On heavy ground, Peter Bradford, Danny Bellfield and James Mulcrone scored tries for Widnes and Runcorn, with outside centre David Milligan and flyhalf James Mulcrone crossing for Birkenhead.

"We've got a good squad of around 40 boys wanting to play rugby," said Widnes and Runcorn Sixth Form College coach, Mark Wasenczuk.

"We are going again on tour of South Africa in the summer after going two years ago to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the college and many of the boys will be with us."

The likes of powerful centre and full back Ian Wilkinson has been attracting the attention of Warrington Rugby League club, while Robert Critchley has looked promising too and has been in the Lancashire u16s squad.

"We've had a good relationship with Widnes Rugby Union Club," added Wasenczuk, "and if we haven't got a game on Saturday, then a lot of the lads are playing in the Colts."