Bedford secured their third Oakham 7s title in a row on Sunday, their fourth in five years, despite some strong opposition.

It looks as thought the NatWest Champions Trophy finalists are one of the key sides to watch this 7s season, with this victory backing up their title winning exploits at the Seaford 7s before half term.

The men in red beat Stowe 21-17 in the final, in what was a huge contest, not least because Stowe had actually beaten Bedford in the group stages, relegating the reigning champions to second place in Group D and sending them along a theoretically much tougher knock-out phase.

Bedford’s quarter final opponents were surprise Group C winners Royal Hospital School, who topped a pool including Oundle, Ipswich, St Edward’s Oxford, and Uppingham.

Bedford saw them off with a 29-10 win, while Stowe beat Group A runners up St Joseph’s College 41-7. Rugby, winner of Group B, meanwhile beat Oundle 26-24, while Oakham, who topped Group A, beat Langley 19-14.

That set up two massive semi finals between four big names in schools rugby. For Bedford it was a really tough battle against Oakham, which they eventually won 21-19, while for Stowe it turned out to be a classy 31-0 victory over Rugby.

Meanwhile in the Plate, The Oratory were impressing as they beat St Edward’s Oxford and Denstone College, before beating Ipswich 31-12 to secure the other piece of silverware in the competition, a fine achievement in what was one of the most impressive line-ups of all the 7s tournaments on show this weekend.

Back in the Cup, Bedford ad Stowe faced off in the final, with Bedford getting their revenge on the men from Buckinghamshire with a 21-17 victory and a quite superb third title on the bounce. Bedford will doubtless be a side to watch at Rosslyn Park, while Stowe must surely be among the Vase favourites.

That was far from the only 7s action over the weekend, elsewhere Wellington College showed their 7s class with victory at the Canford 7s, Kirkham Grammar School brought their fifteen-a-side form to the 7s field at the Christ College Brecon 7s, winning the title there for the first time in a decade, while Seaford College secured the Reed’s 7s title, and Whitgift won the Haileybury 7s on Saturday. You can see summaries of those competitions here: Canford 7s – Christ College 7s – Reed’s 7s – Haileybury 7s. Brighton College’s 2^nd VII meanwhile won the Brentwood 7s, though full results are currently unavailable.

Oakham 7s Results:

Cup

Final

Bedford 21-17 Stowe

Semi Finals

Bedford 21-19 Oakham

Stowe 31-0 Rugby

Quarter Finals

Bedford 29-10 Royal Hospital School

Oakham 19-14 Langley

Stowe 41-7 St Joseph’s College

Rugby 26-24 Oundle

Plate

Final

The Oratory 31-12 Ipswich

Semi Finals

Denstone College 19-26 The Oratory

Ipswich 33-12 Bromsgrove

Quarter Finals

Ipswich 21-10 Leicester Grammar

Bromsgrove 12-10 Loughborough

Denstone College 29-24 Stamford

The Oratory 35-14 St Edward’s Oxford