Bill Beaumont OBE, Chairman of the RFU and former captain of the British and Irish Lions, capped the ESF Lions Celebration Fixture by signing a framed greeting and British Lions Shirt for each of our schools. In a match which pitched a team drawn from Emmanuel College against a scratch team from Trinity and The King's, almost 200 gathered, including a trumpeter(!), to see the game finish 18-17 to the "Trinity Kings".

Hosted at Darlington RFC on 25th April, making travel possible for parents and friends from all three schools, Emmanuel opened strongly with tries from McQuoid and Kitson, and a conversion by McFarlane. However, the excellent boot of Trinity's Barrass and a try out wide from The King's Forbes pulled things back to 12-10 by half-time.

During the interval, a Sevens Match between Trinity and The King's Year 9 teams saw the Doncaster team come out on top but the main game stayed close throughout the second half as injuries took their toll on both sides. Emmanuel played the whole of the second half with 14 men but, in spite of a second Kitson try, it was a Barrass penalty and a jinking try from Trinity's Hanson that saw the Academies Team home.