TALENTED teenagers from Bishop Wordsworth's booked their place in the semi-finals of the NatWest Schools Under 18s Cup.

The grammar school secured an emphatic 32-24 quarter-final victory over The Judd School on Wednesday.

Next stop is a clash against defending champions Bromsgrove at the 10,000-seater Allianz Park - the home of Saracens - on Saturday, March 4 for a place in the final.

Victory would see the Bishop's young guns emulate the class of 1991 who reached the final of the very first under-18s final, losing 4-3 to King Edward VI of Stratford. In that team was 2003 World Cup winner Richard Hill who played alongside Jon Murley, whose son Cadan skippered the under 18s to success.

Bishop's ran into an early lead on the all-weather surface in Kent thanks to Xavier Hastings' penalty.

But two tries, one of which was converted, from Tom Barnes and Tom Kendrick gave the hosts a 12-3 advantage.

Tries from Tom Boxer and Finley Lloyd-Gilmour, both converted by the trusty boot of Hastings, saw Bishop's turn the game on its head to lead 17-12.

Lloyd-Gilmour crossed the whitewash again to extend Bishop's cushion by a further five points as the first half finished 22-12.

After the interval, Murley, who is in the England under 18s' squad and was shortlisted as a finalist for Rugby Player of the Year at the Journal Sports Awards, crossed over. Hastings converted.

Callum MacTaggart then rounded off Bishop's scoring with one of the tries of the game which started on halfway.

The hosts mustered 12 more points but the visiting side's defence stood firm.

Bishop's coach Terry Gilmour said: β€œIt was an excellent game and all credit to The Judd for the way they kept playing. They pushed us right to the end, but we got our noses in front in that middle period and it gave us an advantage.”

The other semi-final tie is between Warwick and Felsted on the same day.

Bishop's have reached this stage in the competition following wins over Christ's Hospital, Pangbourne College, Dauntsey's School and King Edward VI School.