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Marlborough have managed five wins from first six games to sit sixth in table
The team were taken on a pre-season tour of France to help them bond
They beat rivals Clifton College 30-7 to avenge last season's 29-30 defeat
A pre-season trip to France helped give Marlborough a flying start in the SOCS Daily Mail Schools Trophy.
Marlborough capped the opening month by toppling arch-rivals Clifton College 30-7 last weekend, erasing memories of last year's 29-30 defeat.
Such stylish wins have fired Marlborough into sixth place in the early table of this national competition, sponsored by the schools management system SOCS.
The training camp near Biarritz brought a new group of players together and helped forge four wins from five.
Besides the Clifton win, Marlborough have toppled Stowe, St Edward's of Oxford, and Cheltenham.
Terry Gilmour, director of rugby, said the trip to France had brought the group together.
'It was important the new players felt part of the group quickly and settled into what we wanted to do,' he said.
The team have recorded five wins from their first six games to ensure they are sixth in the table
The win over Clifton ended a run of four defeats in a fixture - established in 1864 - which is understood to be the oldest schools fixture in the calendar.
Marlborough's new group avenged that agonising defeat last year by dominating this year's renewal led by captain and No 8 Toby Hargrove, who scored two tries.
Hargroveis part of a strong back-row made up of flankers Jude Fry and Charlie Cooke.'It's been the catalyst to what we have done,' added Gilmour whose pack isshored up by Wales schoolboy prop Archie Griffin.
'One of greatest traits of this group has been their ability to share the workload and take responsibility and ownership,' Gilmour said.
'They have gained confidence in their ability to cope with pressure but most importantly as a group they have created an environment where they demand a high standard from each other.'
A pre-season bonding trip to France has been pinpointed as a reason behind their form
Marlborough are among a chasing group trying to overhaul champions Sedbergh who have so far posted six wins out of six, the latest, 34-10, over Durham.
Millfield, who are unbeaten in four, are in second place followed by former champions Woodhouse Grove who have put together a string of five wins.
The games last weekend were the first played in mostly bad weather but the rain came as a relief to Cranleigh where the pitches have been so hard it has prevented full contact training.
A first-half try from hooker Bear Williams and a second-half effort by full-back Finn Brown earned Cranleigh a 13-3 win over Hurstpierpoint College.
To read more about the SOCS Daily Mail Trophy on MailOnline click here!
