THREE Wisbech rugby players have got off to a winning start after being selected for Leicester Tigers under-17 academy side. Former Wisbech Grammar School students William Pettit, Sam Coe, and Michael Gillick, all 16, impressed the Tigers academy selecto

THREE Wisbech rugby players have got off to a winning start after being selected for Leicester Tigers under-17 academy side.

Former Wisbech Grammar School students William Pettit, Sam Coe, and Michael Gillick, all 16, impressed the Tigers' academy selectors at trials, and all three played in last week's academy match, in which the Tigers beat a team from Ontario, Canada, 51-7.

William, a fly half, Sam, who plays number eight, and full back Michael, have already enjoyed great success in rugby, and were team mates in the under-13 Wisbech team that won the County Cup in 2003.

William has played for Cambridgeshire, and both Michael and Sam represented the Eastern Counties before he moved up to play for England under-16s last year.

All three have now completed their GCSEs and Sam and William are preparing for further education in Sedbergh, Cumbria, while Michael has decided to stay in Wisbech.

And it is not only in rugby that the boys excel.

Sam has also represented England at under-17 level, as a young hammer thrower, and has been invited to compete in the UK School Games, in Glasgow, in which promising young athletes experience competition and life in an 'Olympic' village.