Dulwich College, Hampton, Lymm High School, and Wilmlsow High School all reached the NatWest Cup quarter finals ahead of tomorrow’s draw with victories on Wednesday afternoon.
Oundle were the first side through to the quarter final draw, live tomorrow from 12.15, having put in a stunning performance to beat King’s Worcester 50-12 last week.
They were joined yesterday by Dauntsey’s, whose U6th were Vase winners as U15s, who surprised a few by beating Sherborne 13-11. It was not without some drama though as a last minute try from Sherborne left the game resting on a tough conversion, which fortunately for Dauntsey’s went their way.
Wednesday’s games had plenty to capture the imagination too, with some of the biggest names in the competition in action, not least triple champions Dulwich College, and one of the most successful sides this season, Monmouth.
Monmouth, who have beaten the likes of Millfield and Bromsgrove, hosted Hampton, who after an injury plagued first half of last term had an extraordinary second half of term, which they built on with a superb 6th round win over RGS High Wycombe a couple of weeks ago.
Nevertheless Monmouth were the firm favourites for this one, however they were stunned by a Hampton side in fine form and with a driving maul that Monmoth could simply find no way to stop, with the South West London side winning 34-20, immediately marking themselves out as one of the favourites for the title.
Another side who have been experts of the maul in recent years are Dulwich College. They travelled to Trinity, one of the top teams in the region this year, and showed all of their Cup nous to secure a 21-16 victory, for which you can see our report here: Trinity v Dulwich.
In North B Lymm High School, with just one defeat to their name this season, travelled to Hymers College, with only two to their name.
A strong win had a big influence on each half as Lymm surged to a 27-0 half time lead before fought back in the second half to close it to 15-32, an impressive effort at a comeback given the half time deficit but ultimately a strong and deserved victory for Lymm, who will be a side to look out for in the quarter finals, as Dulwich would testify having had a tough game against them at the same stage last year.
Wilmslow High School secured the day’s most decisive victory though, beating St Peter’s York 32-3 in North A to continue an impressive run that has also seen them knock out the likes of Stonyhurst College and King’s Macclesfield. The trip to Wilmslow would be one that few will fancy should it come up in the draw.
Of course it is not just the U18 Cup quarter finals that are to be drawn, the U18 Vase as well as the U15 Cup and Vase competitions are all to be drawn too.
Perhaps the most impressive result across all competitions came from King Edward’s Aston in the Midlands A section of the U18 Vase, they beat Spalding by a staggering 74-5 margin.
Also through the in Vase are Churcher’s College, St George’s Weybridge, and Stockport Grammar, who beat Ilkley Grammar 25-5.
In the U15 Cup the team to look out for once again appear to be Warwick, 2013 and 2014 winners, who beat Langley 59-7 in their last 16 tie. QEGS Wakefield, Northampton School for Boys, Brighton College, and Ivybridge Community College have so far also confirmed their quarter finals places.
In the U15 Vase Sherborne, Felsted, and Bishop Wordsworth’s all picked up impressive victories, with RGS Newcastle just edged out Lymm High School 5-0, giving the U15 Vase quarter final line up a very competitive looking line up so far.
It has been an exciting week of Cup action, and Thursday’s quarter final draw is unlikely to make it any less so, such is the importance of that draw for each side.
Who do you think will win the 2015 NatWest Cup? Let us know what you think via @FifteenRugbyXV or via the comment box below.
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U18 & U15 NatWest Schools Cup & Vase Last 16 Fixtures/Results (results in italics):
U18 NatWest Cup Last 16:
Wilmslow High School 32-3 St Peter’s, York – North A
Hymers College 15-32 Lymm High School – North B
Bromsgrove v Stamford – Midlands A, Tuesday 3rd February
Oundle 50-12 King’s Worcester – Midlands B
St Joseph’s College v Whitgift – London & South East A, Wednesday 4th February
Trinity 16-21 Dulwich College – London & South East B
Dauntsey’s 13-11 Sherborne – South West A
Monmouth 20-34 Hampton – South West B
U18 NatWest Vase Last 16:
Stockport GS 25-5 Ilkley GS– North A
Harrogate GS/Silcoates v Cheadle Hulme – North B
King Edward’s, Aston 74-5 Spalding – Midlands A
Hills Road 21-21 Welbeck – Midlands B
Seevic College v Hurstpierpoint College – London & South East A
St George’s, Weybridge 28-14 Simon Langton – London & South East B
Shedlon v West Buckland – South West A
Yeovil College 6-25 Churcher’s College – South West B
U15 NatWest Cup Last 16:
QEGS Wakefield 13-7 St Ambrose College – North A
Wirral GS v Grammar School at Leeds – North B
Warwick 59-5 Langley – Midlands A
Northampton School for Boys 8-7 Cheltenham College – Midlands B
Dulwich College v Harrow – London & South East A
Brighton College 27-11 City of London Freemen’s – London & South East B
Ivybridge Community College 17-5 St Peter’s Gloucester – South West A
Wellington College v Canford – South West B
U15 NatWest Vase Last 16:
RGS Newcastle 5-0 Lymm High School – North A
Stockport GS v TBA – North B
Bishop Vesey’s GS v St Columba’s College – Midlands A
Oakham 33-5 Arden Academy – Midlands B
Simon Langton v St George’s, Weybridge – London & South East A
Felsted 20-7 London Oratory – London & South East B
Churchdown 7-22 Sherborne – South West A
Bishop Wordsworth’s 24-19 Royal Latin – South West B
