St Ambrose College in Cheshire has a record number of young rugby players earning county caps. Both Lancashire and Cheshire have come knocking at the Hale Barns Catholic grammar school for emerging talent with five under-13s earning their call-ups and another seven at under-15 level. The under-15s have also confirmed their status as one of the best young teams in the country by reaching the quarter-finals of the Daily Mail National Cup, beating St Peter’s York in the last 16 in an end to end 23-15 battle. In the picture above, from left to right on the back row are the under-15 men to gain representative honours. They are: scrum-half Matthew Beasley, aged 15, fly-half Jacob Riley, 15, centre, Dave Jones, 15, number eight, Ciaran Parker, 15, centre Harry Callaghan, 14, prop Connor Whyley, 14 and hooker Liam Lyons, 14. On the front row are the successful under-13s, scrum-half Rory Devereux, 15, flanker Thomas Butler, 12, prop Patrick Jennings, 13, flanker Dominic Butler, 12 and hooker Conor Booth, 13. Nigel Handy, St Ambrose head of rugby, said: “To have so many young men in their respective county teams can only be great for the future of the school and let’s just say that there will be some interesting derby matches when the boys line up against each other in the Lancashire and Cheshire games.” St Ambrose College was founded by the Christian Brothers during World War Two. St Ambrose College has strong relationships with the history and ethos of St Ambrose, for instance, the insignia upon sixth-form ties are beehives as, legend has it a swarm of bees settled on St Ambrose’s face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered this a sign of his future eloquence and honeyed tongue.