A SET of twins who had never even seen rugby on television when they came to Croydon a year ago have now been snapped up by a top club and are being tipped as future stars.
Aristot and Jonathan Benz-Solomon, 12, arrived at Quest Academy in South Croydon last year and only began playing rugby a few months ago.
But now the Year 8 pupils are joining two others from Quest – Daniel Ankomah and Paddy Bray – training in their holidays with Harlequins, for whom England captain and former Cumnor House pupil Chris Robshaw plies his trade.
"Our mum was born in Equatorial Guinea and came to Spain when she was 15 and met our dad," Jonathan said.
"We were at boarding school in Madrid and only played a bit of football there," said Aristot.
"I had never played rugby and would never have played it unless it started here. We want to be stars. I think we can be.
"Our mum came to watch us play in a match and she was proud. She said the sport really suited us."
Their chance came when the Rugby Football Union (RFU) decided to bring the game to state schools in a bid to end its reputation as an exclusive sport for privately educated children.
Lacey Congram, head of PE at Quest, said: "The RFU brought the programme in towards the end of the last school year and in September gave us £10,000 to spend on rugby over three years.
"Scouts from the Harlequins came round when the twins had only played for a couple of sessions and they were picked immediately.
"It's amazing, they've picked it up so quickly and are built just right for rugby.
"In a school like this where there are a few problems with discipline and behaviour, rugby has really improved things.
"The RFU scheme means every kid gets to try the game out. It's a really inclusive game really because there are so many different skills for the different positions, all types of kids can play it."
The four boys are also being sponsored by the Warlingham club and are being taken to France, to watch the France v England match Six Nations match.
