An intense weekend of school rugby produced some spectacular rugby across the country.
Leading into a huge day of knockout and finals rugby on Wednesday, it would be easy to forget the outstanding performances of the weekend. However with our usual Top 5 School Teams of the Weekend we hope to do a bit of justice to some of those superb results from around the country.
Top 5 School Teams of the Weekend
Bishop Wordsworth’s
Bishop Wordsworth’s enjoyed a brilliant midweek win against Dean Close in the Schools Cup, so an away fixture at a very strong Canford School just a couple of days later seemed like a tall order. It certainly was hard work but Bishop Wordsworth’s showed outstanding spirit and resilience, and now littler skill, to secure a 26-19 victory that they suggests that they are right at the very peak of their powers just as they head towards the Schools Cup quarter finals.
Christ’s Hospital
There were a few contenders for this spot, with the likes of Wisbech Grammar, Woodhouse Grove, and Felsted all also earning big wins deserving of mention. However Christ’s Hospital’s 61-0 defeat of Churcher’s College caught our eye above all. Christ’s have not featured in our Top 5 before and turned in an outstanding performance in a game that was expected to be closer than it was It made it back to back wins for them as they look to end what has at times been a tricky season on a real high.
Cranleigh
Cranleigh put in a truly dominant and outstanding performance to defeat Whitgift, one of the top teams around, by a stunning 42-12 margin on Saturday. The win leaves the back to back HSBC Rosslyn Park National School 7s champions just one victory away from an unbeaten season, which would be yet another huge landmark for this exceptional group of playing and coaching talent. Saturday was up there with their very best wins of the season, a truly remarkable margin of victory against such a good side.
Denstone College
Denstone College would have expected to beat Trent College on Saturday, undoubtedly. Over the course of the season they have been the stronger side, but they almost certainly would not have expected to have won in quite such sensational style. They produced a magnificent performance, and with it a supreme 64-5 margin of victory over last year’s U18 Schools Vase Champions.
Harrow
It should come as a surprise to nobody now that Harrow are very very good. It takes a side of real quality to travel to Bedford as the favourites. It takes a truly exceptional side to do what Harrow did on Saturday, backing up a victory over Wellington College with a stunning 43-0 destruction of Bedford, a remarkable victory as a stand alone game, even more so for backing up last week’s result. Most of all though, this victory will resonate in and out of Harrow because it completes a truly superb unbeaten season from the North West London school. Outstanding.
