King’s Ely sixth-form student Thomas Stiff has been picked for the Lambs under-18 Midlands rugby squad.

The 17-year-old represented Lambs and King’s Ely by playing for the Midlands Lambs against North Lambs at Worksop College.

And having joined King’s Ely Junior in year three and been a stand out performer for the school’s first team this year, the call-up is richly deserved.

He said: “I started playing rugby at King’s Ely in year three and for the under-nines team at Bury St Edmunds.

“I love the fact rugby is a team sport and how every time you go out on the field you look to play your best for yourself and your team mates.

“This year has by far been my best year for rugby and I put that down to Mr Thompson’s coaching over anything else. I felt honoured to play for the Midlands Lambs and was quite surprised to be selected.”

Director of Sport at King’s Ely, Jim Thompson, added: “I am delighted that Tom has been selected for the Midlands Lambs Squad.

“Tom fully deserves to gain these representative honours on the back of some outstanding performances for the school 1st XV team this season. He has been a joy to coach over the last few years and is to be congratulated on his selection.”

King’s Ely has a proud reputation of students being selected for renowned rugby teams, with a number of boys in recent years being projected into the limelight and grabbing the attention of several national coaches and scouts.

Founded in 2006, the Lambs exists to create openings for boys to showcase their rugby skills at a representative level. To find out more about opportunities at King’s Ely, kingsely.org.