St Ambrose College scrum-half Raphael Quirke gave a man-of-the-match performance for England in a classic encounter against the Welsh.
The Sale Sharks under-18 academy player scored two tries and set up more as the Red Rose dominated in a 41–22 victory.
Raphael, 15, who has been playing rugby since the age of just five at Broughton Park and is a key man in the successful Ambrose colts side, controlled play from the base of the scrum to create the space for a fluent 15-man running game.
In blustery conditions at the Bridgewater and Albion club, he scored his first from close range taking a load off the hooker to crash over from five yards. His second saw him give the Welsh defence a clean pair of heels as he chased down a grubber kick from the wing to collect and carry over the line.
Raphael, who is taking 11 GCSEs this summer, wants to study sciences in the St Ambrose College Sixth Form and follow some of the modern greats including JPR and Jamie Roberts by combining a career as a doctor with international rugby.
He said: “Above all I want to be a professional rugby player, but I also want to continue my studies. At the moment I am just going to try as hard I can to do my best both on the pitch and in class.”
St Ambrose College Headmaster James Keulemans said: “Raphael is very intelligent and extremely likeable young man with a gift for the game and we all look forward to seeing his career develop, whether on the rugby field, the medical laboratory or both.”
