Director of rugby John Mallett believes Millfield School under-15s will benefit from the bitter experience of a semi-final defeat after they lost to Radley College in the Continental Tyres Schools Cup.

Millfield were just one win away from a trip to StoneX Stadium, the home of six-time English champions Saracens, for the national final but lost 24-14 at Aylesbury on Sunday.

Millfield trailed early in the contest but Magnus Watson and Aston Barrington-Hibbert scored tries to change the course of the game, before Radley struck late in the match to seal the win.

“It is a tough and emotional one for them. It is so hard,” Mallett said.

“You can see how emotional it is for a 14, 15 year old boy when they have poured everything into it. It is really hard to be on the losing end of it, just as it is fantastic to be on the winning end. 

Ealing Times: James Haskell watched the next generation of stars in action at the Continental Tyres Schools Cup

“It is tough to see, it is hard for the parents to see their boys be so upset, but that is part of the challenge in sport.

“This competition is part of their development, it brings out the best in them and they will keep getting better as rugby players, as sportsman and as people. 

“That is important to us as a school. The rugby is great, but it is actually the wider thing of them having those experiences.”

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.

England legend James Haskell and current squad member Charlie Ewels were at Aylesbury and helped out the schools’ coaches with warm ups, ran on the drinks and interacted with fans.

Haskell knows just how valuable this competition is. He won the under-15s Cup with Wellington College in 2000 and admits the competition helped him fall in love with rugby.

"My very first experience of playing rugby involving a bit of jeopardy in intensity was the Continental Tyres Schools Cup," Haskell said

"It kind of made me fall in love with rugby, these boys will love the opportunity to play in a final at StoneX Stadium.

"For me it was addictive and you can see the emotion of the kids today, for some it is heartbreak and for some others elation.

"For some it's the opportunity to become legends, and for some it's to treasure, then want to go on and do more 

"For some, this is the peak, this is the greatest summit they'll ever reach. And that's it.”

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