MATTHEW Bleckhall insisted Woodhouse Grove School could still hold their heads up high despite missing out on the top prize at the 76th Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens.

Bleckhall and his Woodhouse team-mates pitted themselves against some of the country's best when they competed in the Open competition at the world's largest school Sevens tournament in south west London.

Drawn in a group of five, Grove made sure to give it their best shot, winning their games to progress through to the knockout stages before defeat saw them drop into the Plate competition.

Yet Bleckhall's team refused to let their heads drop and stormed back, falling just one game short of the Open Plate final after a 29-24 defeat to eventual champions St Joseph's College of Ipswich.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on silverware, Bleckhall admitted it had still been a worthwhile outing for his team at the annual event in the English capital, with the Boys Under-16s team also competing in the group stage of the Colts competition.

"It was really disappointing to lose in the last minute of the game of the semi-final. We worked as hard as we could and couldn't really do much else," said 18-year-old Bleckhall.

"There are fine margins at such a high level, so it's really hard. But I'm proud of my team. We weren't expecting to get out of the groups, let alone get this far. It was unfortunate to lose in the deciding game but the better team won on the day.

"It is my third year of coming here – it is such a high level, all the players are great, it has been immense really. It has been a positive experience, despite the defeat."

A total of 650 teams, comprising 7,500 participants aged from 13-18, took to the pitch in various different competitions across the week, with the two Open finalists also getting the chance for a rematch at Twickenham during the ninth and final round of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Bradford Grammar School were also in action, in the Junior, Colts and Festival competitions.

The latter two saw the Under-13s' and Under-16s' bid ended at the group stage but the Under-18s fared slightly better by reaching the Plate quarter-finals.

They were also watched closely by England international Mike Brown and the full back was left impressed by what the next generation of rugby stars, such as those at Woodhouse Grove and Bradford Grammar, had to offer.

"It's been great to see the different schools in action and the high standard of rugby that is out there," said Brown.

"There are some good kids out there; some very quick players. I remember when I was that age and couldn't even stretch that quick. It will be good to see if any of them carry on all the way to the top level.

"Rosslyn Park Sevens is massively important to help develop grass-roots rugby and help the players down here move forward and hopefully they'll enjoy their rugby even more so they want to carry on."

* HSBC are proud to sponsor the world's largest schools rugby tournament. All HSBC's rugby sponsorships aim to help develop and grow the sport and ensure even more youngsters get involved with rugby.