A TALENTED rugby star turned in a virtuoso display as part of a prestigious academy recently.

Tom Roebuck, who is a pupil at Rydal Penrhos School, was part of the Sale Sharks Rugby Academy that achieved further success at the Regional Academies Festival in what has been an action packed summer for the U18 group.

Following on from their victories against Leinster and Munster the previous week, the young Sharks followed this up with triumphs against Leicester Tigers and London Irish in their final outings before their first Premiership under 18 league fixture in January.

After an impressive performance in their win over Leicester, Roebuck was in ruthless form against London Irish and was rewarded for his exceptional attacking play with three of the team’s nine tries throughout the contest.

The outside back’s constant threat proved too much for the opposition and his hat-trick and defensive prowess was a huge contributing factor in their win.

The squad now return to their school and club rugby programmes where they will play until Christmas, and they will be back in action for the Sharks in January when they will compete in the Premiership Under 18 League (North) against Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers, Wasps, Yorkshire Carnegie, Worcester Warriors and Newcastle Falcons.

Director of Sport Allen Boyd, said: “This was yet another superb performance from Tom and further demonstrates the immense potential he has.

“His performances as part of the Sale Sharks Academy this summer have been nothing short of outstanding, and we are looking forward to watching him develop further with our dedicated coaches here at Rydal Penrhos.”