The U18 and U15 NatWest Schools Cup and Vase semi finals take place this weekend.
All eight semi finals will take place at Allianz Park, with the U18s on Saturday 7th March and the U15s on Sunday 8th March.
Every single game will be streamed live by the RFU and should be available here at www.fifteenrugby.com – while we will be live tweeting and reporting, with additional reports and photos throughout each day.
The action on both days follows the same format, with a kick off every two hours from 11.00, with the two Cup semi finals in each age-group following the two Vase semi finals.
U18s
The first U18 Cup final will be between Oundle and Bromsgrove at 15.00 on Saturday 7th March. Both sides are competing in their first Schools Cup final, and both are in tremendous form.
Oundle defeated Lymm High School 21-12 in the quarter finals following a stunning first half performance, buoyed by their superb home following.
Bromsgrove were equally impressive defeating a highly in form Dauntsey’s side 44-17 in a real show of strength. Such has been the form of the West Midlands side that at the time of writing they are the Fifteen Rugby readers’ favourites to win this year’s competition, with just a shade under 60% of the vote. You can vote by following this link: NatWest Cup Vote.
The other game, at 17.00, sees the Champions of the last three successive year’s, Dulwich College, face Wimslow High School, who return for another go at the semi finals after falling at this stage back in 2011.
Wilmslow came through after a 25-25 away draw at St Joseph’s College in the quarter finals, where their superior try count saw them progress. It was a spirited showing and will have given Dulwich plenty to think about, not least for the manner in which they responded to what was a high pressure situation.
Dulwich came through the toughest of tests against Hampton, just scraping through 8-7 thanks to a Jonny Waugh drop goal, having been 7-0 behind with around twenty minutes to go. As ever the champions are proving just how hard they are to beat and it will be the toughest possible task for Wilmslow. For Dulwich, they are already history makers in this competition, but to make a fourth final in a row really would be stunning – this incredible group of players and coaches have never lost an U18 Schools Cup game.
One incredible stat that is worth remembering is that the L6th members of this Dulwich College group were only in their first year at the senior school when Dulwich claimed their first title, back in 2012.
It is the Vase that kicks proceedings off on Saturday though, beginning with Stockport Grammar v Seevic College at 11.00.
Both enjoyed dominant quarter final victories over Welbeck and St George’s College respectively, so it looks like we can look forward to a fast paced and exciting start to the day as these two battle for a place in the final.
The second semi final in the Vase starts at 13.00, with KES Aston taking on Churcher’s College. KES needed a late score in the quarter finals to see them beat West Buckland 12-10, but they will be raring to go for this one, Churcher’s had a close one too, beating Cheadle Hulme 25-21.
U15s
Like the U18s on Saturday, Sunday’s U15 semi finals run every two hours from 11.00 to 17.00 with the Vase games first, followed by the Cup.
The first Cup game sees QEGS Wakefield play Wirral Grammar School. This is a remarkable third semi final in a row for QEGS at this age-group, and they have reached the final in the previous two. Unfortunately for them they are yet to win one, but that will surely only serve to make them even more motivated against a Wirral side who drew 15-15 at Northampton School for Boys, progressing via the away rule. QEGS meanwhile put the hammer down for a 31-7 victory at Dulwich.
The other semi final, at 17.00, sees Brighton College face Warwick. If Dulwich College are the dominant force at U18 level these days, Warwick are very much the dominant force at U15 level.
They have won the past two editions of the competition, beating QEGS both times so a third repeat in a row is very possible, a truly outstanding effort, particularly given the extremely high player turnaround at this age-grade.
Warwick beat Wellington College, their opponents in last year’s semi final, 14-10 to reach Allianz Park this year, while Brighton College put in arguably the performance of the quarter finals as they beat Ivybridge 56-8 in their quarter final – this should be a superb game of rugby.
The Vase all begins on Sunday with RGS Newcastle v Sherborne, two traditionally strong rugby schools who are sure to make a great spectacle on Sunday morning. RGS beat Felsted 17-14 to reach Allianz Park, while Sherborne secured a 21-8 victory over St Columba’s College.
The second game sees one of the legendary Schools Cup sides, Oakham, play Bishop Wordsworth. It has been a while since Oakham were at Twickenham so they will be hoping to build on their 24-13 quarter final win over St George’s College, while Bishop Wordsworth denied Stockport Grammar an U18 and U15 Vase semi final double, knocking out their U15s 25-17 in the last round.
It is all set to be a superb two days of schools rugby, and we will have further previews throughout the week.
NatWest Cup Semi Finals Schedule:
U18 Cup & Vase, Saturday 7th March, Allianz Park:
Vase:
11.00 Stockport Grammar School v Seevic College
13.00 KES Aston v Churcher’s College
Cup:
15.00 Oundle v Bromsgrove
17.00 Wilmslow High School v Dulwich College
U15 Cup & Vase, Sunday 8th March, Allianz Park:
Vase:
11.00 RGS Newcastle v Sherborne
13.00 Oakham v Bishop Wordsworth’s
Cup:
15.00 QEGS Wakefield v Wirral Grammar School
17.00 Brighton College v Warwick
Quarter Final Results:
U18 NatWest Cup Quarter Finals:
1 Oundle 21-12 Lymm High School
2 Bromsgrove 44-17 Dauntsey’s
3 St Joseph’s College 25-25 Wilmslow High School
4 Dulwich College 8-7 Hampton
U15 NatWest Cup Quarter Finals:
1 Brighton College 56-8 Ivybridge Community College
2 Wellington College 10-14 Warwick
3 Dulwich College 7-31 QEGS Wakefield
4 Northampton School for Boys 15-15 Wirral Grammar School
U18 NatWest Vase Quarter Finals:
1 Stockport Grammar School 32-15 Welbeck
2 Seevic College 30-19 St George’s College, Weybridge
3 West Buckland 10-12 KES Aston
4 Churcher’s College 25-21 Cheadle Hulme
U15 NatWest Vase Quarter Finals:
1 St George’s College, Weybridge 13-24 Oakham
2 Bishop Wordsworth’s 25-17 Stockport GS
3 RGS Newcastle 17-14 Felsted
4 St Columba’s College 8-21 Sherborne
