THERE was short-term disappointment at Lymm High School when they were beaten by Wallington Grammar in the final of the Daily Mail Schools Under 18 Vase in 2000 but the thrill of reaching the final and getting to Twickenham lit a flame which continues to burn as brightly as ever in a school that cherishes sporting excellence.

In 2003, Lymm reached the semi finals of the Under 15s Cup and last year they were winners of the Under 18s Vase when London Leisure were beaten 27-8 at Twickenham.

Now they are back at Castlecroft, Wolverhampton, on Saturday at 11am aiming to beat Berkshire's Wellington College in the semi finals of the Under 15s Cup and earn another outing at Twickenham.

Their record on the road to the last four underlines the calibre of the side.

So far, they have scored 218 points and conceded 15 in six matches, an average score of 36-3 confirming that the north is represented by a high-class outfit.

"We're at full strength," says coach Simon Baker.

"We managed to get some good quality preparation in by winning the Bradford Grammar Sevens, which was useful for morale and fitness.

"To be honest, finding schools who want to play us at this level has been quite difficult.

"That said, we are the best under 15s team in the north without a shadow of a doubt. Sedbergh might contest that claim, but leading up to the semi final is not the time to explore that situation."

And that first Daily Mail Twickenham appearance? Was that the catalyst for the success that has followed?

"That had a massive impact on the school and the rugby," says Baker.

"Every year group now wants to do better than the previous one and the school is geared up to giving all our kids the best coaching they can get to enable them to progress right from the start.

"In the current under 15s team we have four lads who came from the local rugby union club and a couple from rugby league, but the rest have all been introduced to the game at Lymm High School. We've polished the ones who knew the game and developed the lads who didn't."

Says Len Davies, head of rugby: "Extra-curricula activity is very important within the school and that does not simply embrace sport, but all areas of ability.

"We have some fine talent in all sporting disciplines, but we also have some fantastic musicians and kids who do really well in Duke of Edinburgh scheme activities.

"We also had our first tour to Canada in 2000 which also impacted on rugby and netball and we followed that up with a trip to Australia in 2004. This year we're going to South Africa.

"The place is really buzzing and all the skills of the kids are being developed, while the academic results are also blossoming - from a 60 per cent A/C pass rate in 1998 we are now at 94 per cent."

Despite coming from such a burgeoning environment, of course, the pressure of the semi-final occasion - as well as the opposition - still imposes a measure of uncertainty.

"When all is said and done, they are still youngsters." says Davies.

"Some lads blossom and some freeze at this stage. You can only hope for them that they are able to deliver their best - and if that doesn't happen, then, like 2000, we'll be back to try again."