Director of rugby Andrew Le Chevalier lauded his ‘band of brothers’ after Felsted School booked a trip to Twickenham for the Continental Tyres Schools Vase Final.

Two second-half Harry Courts penalties proved crucial as Felsted beat Durham School 16-14 in a tense under-18s semi-final tie at Aylesbury.

In a dramatic finish, Le Chevalier and his squad watched Durham line up a last-minute penalty kick to win the game but were relieved to see it narrowly miss.

Felsted can now prepare for a trip to the home of English rugby on 14 March where they will play Ivybridge Community College in the final.

It was a doubly special day for Le Chevalier, whose son Ethan came off the bench to help his team seal the win, and he credits his team’s close bond as a significant reason for their success.

“To have a son playing in the game, it means so much more to me,” he said.

“I just feel that the boys, they look at each other and they have this closeness. You can almost see this nod and they know they have got each other.

“A lot of them have grown up together from the prep school, which does help. We have only had three boys come new into the sixth form. It shows that we don’t have new boys coming in all the time.

“They are best friends on and off the field. They spend all their time together. It is amazing.”

Continental Tyres and the RFU are working together to grow rugby through school-linked activities and 171,404 age grade players have registered to play this season, almost 3,000 more than the overall figure last year.

A trip to Twickenham beckons for Felsted, with Courts’ penalties backing up first-half tries from midfield duo Charles Morley and Marcus Windsor, and Le Chevalier believes they deserved the win.

 “I am ecstatic, really, really pleased. Durham are a tough team, they brought it to us and all credit to how they played,” he added.

“I just think at the end of the day we had a little bit more in us and a bit more stability and control.

“It is something we had been focusing on for a while. We knew what we were going to face today, a tough in-form Durham team, but I think the way that the boys kept going and kept calm most of the game.

“We have got what we have been focusing on all season, so to see our team achieve that, personally for me is amazing.”

The Continental Tyres Schools Cup is an important part of the age-grade rugby landscape in England, with schools’ rugby often where players fall in love with the game for the first time. For more information visit the Continental Tyres Schools Cup section of the England Rugby Website