Hampton School Old Boys won the Cronk-Cunis National U21 XVs Rugby Festival on Monday for the second time in three years.
They beat RGS High Wycombe 12-7 in the final, their third in a row having won in 2014, and narrowly lost last year’s to Dulwich College. The side was skippered by the 2014/15 Hampton School 1st XV captain, Akira Takenaka, and featured a number of recent Hampton 1st XV stars.
Hampton also won back in 2004, backing it three wins for them in the Festival’s twenty year history. Their route to the final saw them beat The Perse 20-14 in the semi final and Monmouth 15-0 in the quarters, with early round wins over Christ’s Hospital and Portsmouth Grammar School beforehand. RGS meanwhile beat Pangbourne College 26-0 in their semi final after previous wins against Tonbridge, Worth, and Trinity.
Pangbourne’s route to the semis was somewhat unusual as they did not actually win a game, losing 12-5 in the opening round, then 29-19 to Judd in the second round. They progressed from that though because the game was reduced to 10-a-side as Judd did not have enough players, giving Pangbourne a walkover. They then beat the reigning champions, Dulwich College, in a drop-goal shoot out in the quarter finals.
There were three other men’s tournaments, the Bowl, Plate, and Shield. Millfield won the Bowl, beating Trinity 13-7 in the final. The got there having beaten Royal Hospital School 17-0 in the Cup first round, only to lost to The Perse in the second round. Wins over Oundle and Christ’s Hospital took them to the Bowl final though.
Wimbledon College took the Plate with a 33-7 win over Royal Hospital School. The Plate favoured a group stage over a knockout stage, with the winners of each progressing to the final.
The Shield went straight to the semis following the Cup first round, with Wrekin College and Berkhamsted reaching the final, Berkhamsted took home the silverware with a 19-7 win.
There was better news for Wrekin College’s ladies though, as they won the inaugural women’s tournament, a seven-a-side tournament in its first year. They beat Welbeck College 12-10.
Final word must go to Hampton though, whose old boys are clearly consistently keeping themselves in shape through the summer and University, such is their excellent record in this competition over the last few years.
2016 Cronk-Cunis National U21 XVs Rugby Festival Champions – Hampton
Photo Credit: Brian O’Connor (Middlesex Rugby)
