The attention of much of the School Rugby world was focused on the wonderful St Joseph’s Festival this weekend however there were also some outstanding regular season games taking place this weekend.

Sedbergh v Whitgift

It all started on Friday afternoon as Whitgift made the long trip up to Sedbergh for what promised to be a titanic battle between to heavily fancied teams.

Whitgift travelled with determination, looking to avenge defeats to Warwick and Wellington by beating one of the most talked about teams this season. Sedbergh had no little determination themselves though; have brilliantly dismissed all opposition up to this point they were out to prove that they are not just among the best in the North but also among the very best in the entire country.

By all accounts a thrilling game ensued and it was Sedbergh who went away with the bragging rights, winning 38-20 to categorically place themselves in amongst the top three or four teams in the country.

Their next game is against Millfield in a tour game in Abu Dhabi on Friday, win that and there really will be no possible further questions about this Sedbergh side. Millfield will not roll over though, after missing out on the St Joseph’s Festival title that they were so desperate to retain they will be more determined than ever to beat their old rivals.

Sherborne v Wellington

Sherborne have been a little short of their best this season while Wellington have been nothing short of brilliant. However there was a genuine sense that this might be closer than form suggest, Sherborne are well known for an ability to raise their game and if ever there were a game to raise it, this was it.

As it was though Wellington showed their pure class, as they have all season, to secure a 29-3 victory and to further cement their reputation as one of the very best around this season.

Ampleforth v Durham

On the surface this looked like a relatively routine game for Durham, and perhaps they allowed themselves to believe that after they only managed a 17 all draw in a match that most had expected them to win.

In truth though, judgments before the game may have been a little hasty, after all Ampleforth ran RGS Newcastle unbelievably close last weekend and have always had an intimidating atmosphere at home.

Report is that at times Durham tried to do too much with the ball early on, but praise really must go to Ampleforth for a great result against very strong opposition.

Woodhouse Grove v St Ambrose College

Woodhouse Grove were determined to win this game to secure an unbeaten record going into the half term break. Things looked shaky for them though at 12-12 at half time, however this side has not gone unbeaten without good reason and they showed all of their qualities in a brilliant second half, winning 31-12.

The question now is will those in charge of the fixture lists make room for a Woodhouse v Sedbergh fixture, what a contest that would be.

Selected Results:

Saturday:

Ampleforth 17-17 Durham

Hymers 40-0 Ashville

Kirkham Grammar 93-0 Audenshaw

Blundell’s 22-22 Edinburgh Academy

Canford 22-17 King’s College Taunton

St Paul’s 43-7 London Oratory

QEH 22-18 Prior Park

Sherborne 3-29 Wellington

Woodhouse Grove 31-12 St Ambrose

Colston’s 3-3 Taunton

Downside 3-3 Milton Abbey

Friday

Sedbergh 38-20 Whitgift