HARWICH and Dovercourt High School have been crowned year nine rugby league champions for Essex and Suffolk.

It's an outstanding achievement for the team, who faced tough competition to end the year as double county champions. The finals took place at Colchester Rugby Club, with Harwich having to see off both Thurstable and Tendring to claim the championship.

The side were led by captain Ozzy Barker and played with grit and determination throughout.

It was thanks to their strong defence that they were able to run out victors.

The man-of-the-match for the finals was jointly shared between Keenan Brown and Philip Sebastian, who both scored excellent individual tries and had a hand in setting up several other scores.

The team now look forward to the next round of the competition, which will be held in the autumn against the winners of the London Leagues.

The team was Bradley Stanford, Charlie Gueizelar, Floyd Barker, George Webb, Harrison Mann, Jacob Parker, Joe Taylor, Keenan Brown, Konner Mitchell, Ozzy Barker, Phillip Sebastian, Siv Sivakumar, Taylor Warner, Thomas Palmer, Tyler Beezley, Zachary Keeley and Aaron Gerghaty.