The penultimate weekend of the school season, and the final one for a few, certainly lived up to expectations.
The benignly named Storm Desmond scuppered the plans of a fair few teams, particularly in the north of England, but the vast majority of matches went ahead.
5 Key Fixtures
Our five key fixtures proved highly entertaining this week, but word must first go to Bedford who finished off a fine unbeaten season, and could yet add the Daily Mail Trophy to their collection, as they beat Stowe 7-0 in turgid conditions.
Moving further South, the excitement ramped up with a tough and tense 12-12 draw between Cranleigh and Whitgift, two sides who have proved excellent this season.
Tonbridge carried into December where they left off in November, beating a good Eton College side 29-21, while St Peter’s York and Bradford Grammar played out a bit of a classic, which St Peter’s just clinched, 24-21.
The result of the day though came from St Paul’s, who held off a strong Wellington College side as they put in an incredibly gutsy performance to win 12-7. It was all the more impressive for the fact that St Paul’s played the entire second half with 14 men.
5 Previews
Our five previewed games suffered a little from the weather, with Durham v Barnard Castle and RGS Newcastle v QEGS Wakefield both unfortunately falling foul of the weather.
The other three fixtures more than made up for it. There was a thriller in Hampton as the home side beat Brighton College 27-21 in a hugely exciting game, meanwhile John Fisher showed their class to beat the recently crowned County champions, St Benedict’s, 31-14.
The show of the day though was surely Dulwich College’s 27-3 victory over Epsom College in Sam Howard’s final game in charge of the side. Once again they showed their ability to really rise to the occasion, a wonderful result and a fitting send off for a man who is undoubtedly a schools rugby legend.
Around the Grounds
One of the most stunning games of the day saw Denstone College beat King’s Macclesfield 31-28 with a brilliant last minute try to secure the game, a stunning way to end the term.
There was another great win for Eastbourne College as they beat St John’s Leatherhead 20-14, while in the NatWest Cup Bedford Modern are into the next round after a 17-8 win over Bishop’s Stortford High School.
Elsewhere there were huge wins for Bromsgrove and Solihull, while Bryanston and Canford played out a rugged 10-10 draw.
Reed’s meanwhile put sixty past Christ’s Hospital, and Stamford continued that stunning unbeaten home record with a 29-5 win over Loughborough Grammar School.
As ever, if you have any results, photos, reports, or videos from the weekend’s games, please send them in to writers@fifteenrugby.com
Schools Rugby Weekend Results:
5 Key Fixtures
Bedford 7-0 Stowe
Cranleigh 12-12 Whitgift
Eton College 21-29 Tonbridge
St Paul’s 12-7 Wellington College
St Peter’s York 24-21 Bradford GS
5 Previews
Durham v Barnard Castle – Cancelled
Epsom College 3-27 Dulwich College
Hampton 27-21 Brighton College
John Fisher 31-14 St Benedict’s
RGS Newcastle v QEGS Wakefield – Cancelled
Other Key Games
AKS Arnold 14-10 Hutton GS
Bedford Modern 17-8 Bishop’s Stortford HS (NatWest Cup)
Berkhamsted 61-5 London Oratory
Bishops Vesey’s GS 29-7 Princethorpe College
Bloxham 7-7 The Oratory
Bristol GS 12-15 Pate’s GS
Bromsgrove 50-0 KES Birmingham
Bryanston 10-10 Canford
Campion 0-29 RGS High Wycombe
Caterham 16-21 Reigate GS
Cheltenham College 20-7 Uppingham
Colfe’s 39-7 Sutton Valence
Dame Allan’s v Newcastle School for Boys – Cancelled
Denstone College 31-28 King’s Macclesfield
Eastbourne College 20-14 St John’s Leatherhead
Felsted 45-5 Norwich
Glyn 3-41 Judd
Grammar School at Leeds 0-11 Nottingham HS
Haileybury 24-13 Merchant Taylors
Hurstpierpoint College 10-7 Cranbrook
Hymers College 0-52 Woodhouse Grove
Ipswich 0-33 St Joseph’s College
KCS Wimbledon 19-14 RGS Guildford
King Edward’s Southampton 12-5 Portsmouth’s GS
King’s Worcester 52-8 Old Swinford Hospital
Kirkham GS v Sir Thomas Rich’s – Cancelled
Magdalen College 29-10 Pangbourne College
Malvern College 39-5 Colston’s
Millfield 17-7 Monmouth
Oakham 14-7 Trent College
Oundle 24-3 Rugby
Plymouth College 10-22 Blundell’s
Pocklington 26-10 Ampleforth College
Prior Park College 10-27 Dean Close
Ratcliffe College 5-45 Leicester GS
Reading Blue Coat 22-22 Dauntsey’s
Reed’s 60-20 Christ’s Hospital
Royal Hospital School 18-17 Framlingham College
Seaford College 41-0 Shiplake College
Sedbergh v Llandovery College – Cancelled
Sherborne 67-0 King’s College Taunton
Skinners’ 30-27 Trinity
Solihull 50-0 Adam’s GS
Stamford 29-5 Loughborough GS
St Olave’s GS 19-19 Dartford GS
Tiffin 25-12 Langley Park
Wallington CGS 36-7 Ravens Wood
Wimbledon College 36-7 Eltham College
Worth 3-19 City of London Freemen’s
Still to come:
Ashville College v Yarm
Aylesbury GS v St Albans
Clifton College v Bristol Academy
Coopers Coborn v Chislehurst & Sidcup GS
Crossley Heath v Stockport GS
Harrogate GS v Mount St Mary’s
King’s Canterbury v Sevenoaks
Kingswood v QEH
Lord Wandsworth College v St George’s College, Weybridge
Merchant Taylor’s v St Ambrose College
New Hall v Harrow
Northampton School for Boys v Warwick
RGS Worcester v St Peter’s Gloucester
St Anselm’s College v Rydal Penrhos
St Columba’s College v Langley Park
UCS v Haberdashers
Wirral GS v Sandbach
