The second round of the Champions Trophy was finished off in style on Thursday afternoon as Uppingham took a dramatic late win over Hurstpierpoint College to reach the quarter finals.
Their 20-19 victory, thanks to a penalty with three minutes to play, rounded off a fantastic week of Champions Trophy action following a first round that saw only four games take place as only twenty teams had entered, meaning that 12 sides were playing their first games of the competition in this second round stage.
Tuesday had got the second round off to a brilliant start, with three excellent games sending champions Wellington College into the quarter finals along with the side they beat in last year’s final, Epsom College. Joining those to were Oakham, who held of a strong fightback from one of the pre tournament favourites to secure their place.
Wednesday saw four further games take place, with former champions Dulwich College hosting the side they defeated in the semi finals en route to that title, St John’s Leatherhead. Meanwhile Blundell’s once again were making a long trip to South West London, this time to St Paul’s. Hampton, who were one of the few to play in the opening round, knocking out former champions Tonbridge, were away at Berkhamsted, while RGS Guildford, who also had to play in the first round were at Rugby School, who had beaten Bedford 66-7 in the opening round.
Champions Trophy Round 2 Roundup
Tuesday 8th October
Epsom College 31-12 Bristol Grammar
Epsom College went all the way to last year’s final before falling to Wellington College, their second appearance at the showpiece appearance at Allianz Park. They kicked off this year as one of the pre-tournament favourites and will have been determined to secure a return to Allianz Park on Wednesday 4th December and a chance to go one better. They had a tough first round draw though, hosting a Bristol Grammar School side that packs plenty of punch and. On their immaculate surface though, despite all of the rain in recent days and weeks, they were highly impressive as they secured a 31-12 victory, in what was a highly physical encounter, to send them into Friday’s quarter final draw.
Kingswood 26-56 Wellington College
The start of Wellington College’s title defence could hardly have gone much better as they ran in the tries at Kingswood on their away to a thrilling 56-26 victory. Kingswood gave as good as they got though, their 26 points a testament to that, but ultimately Wellington just had too much. Ahead of the tournament they were one of the favourites and they have every chance of becoming the first side ever to retain the title, but in this competition you have to be on your game every single time, the opposition is too good for anything less. The champions certainly started off the right way, but there will be yet more challenges to come.
Oakham 25-19 Clifton College
Without a shadow a doubt the result of the day on Tuesday, and possibly the round though we wait to see what unfolds over the next two days, was Oakham’s 25-19 victory over Clifton College on their famous Doncaster Close ground. In the build up to the game the former Schools Cup champions seemed from the outside to be up against it, with Clifton’s form so far this season marking them out as on of the big contenders for the title. However Oakham stepped up to the plate superbly, putting a huge first half display for a 22-7 lead at the break. Clifton came back into it, as of course they would, but Oakham held on superbly adding three points of their own in the face of the Clifton fightback to claim a 25-19 victory that will surely send them into Friday’s quarter final draw absolutely bursting with belief.
Wednesday 9th October
Berkhamsted 0-38 Hampton
Hampton were in sensational format Berkhamsted, backing up their dogged victory over Tonbridge in the opening round for a clinical victory in this second round. It should act as a real signal to the rest of the competition as this is by no means a middling Berkhamsted side, they were looking excellent on Saturday as they defeated Dulwich College, who have been playing some sensational rugby. After a cracking run in the tournament last year, Hampton will surely be hoping for even more this year and with two early victories now over Tonbridge and Berkhamsted confidence must be high no matter who they face next.
Dulwich College 24-13 St John’s Leatherhead (See Report Here)
The 2017 champions got this year’s campaign off to a good start but they were well tested by a strong St John’s Leatherhead side. The visitors went ahead early on but this ambitions Dulwich College side worked their way back to a 12-8 half time lead. They then built the pressure through the second half and eventually broke the dam for a couple of scores to stretch out to 24-8, only for St John’s to cause a few home nerves by scoring late on and piling on the late pressure. Dulwich stuck it out though and they are undoubtedly the sort of side that few will fancy facing in the quarter final stage.
Rugby 45-0 RGS Guildford
Rugby’s form so far this season has been such that in their debut Champions Trophy season they are already considered one of the favourites, not least after winning 66-7 at former champions Bedford in Round 1. On Wednesday in Round 2 they displayed that form once again as they stormed to another spectacular victory, 45-0 over an RGS Guildford side that had played well for a 17-3 victory over Bryanston in Round 1. This game had more to it than immediately meets the eye though. The hosts were true to form in the first half blasting through for a 38-0 lead. However when they changed things up in the second half, RGS ran them closer than most have managed so far this year, conceding just a further 7 to leave the final score at 45-0. On form so far it is going to take something spectacular to stop this Rugby School side, what the other seven sides in the competition should take heart from though is that the Champions Trophy has a real habit of throwing up the spectacular.
St Paul’s 6-15 Blundell’s (See Report Here)
Blundell’s must be getting used to these trips to the South West of London in the Champions Trophy having frequently been drawn against the likes of Epsom College and St John’s Leatherhead in the past. In St Paul’s they faced a side that this year have been impressing, as have Blundell’s, and the two were fairly evenly matched. Defences dominated in a dogged game that naturally saw the penalty count climb. It was Blundell’s the were the more clinical though, crossing the whitewash twice while restricting their hosts solely to penalties for a 15-6 victory. It sends Blundell’s into the quarter finals once more, territory that they know far better than most in this competition. They will be hoping this time to see someone making the trip out to Devon soon, where they are an even more formidable force.
Thursday 10th October
Hurstpierpoint College 19-20 Uppingham (See Report Here)
Uppingham won their first ever game in the Champions Trophy at their fourth attempt in dramatic fashion at Hurstpierpoint College. Last year’s semi finalists led 19-17 with three minutes to spare but Uppingham hooker Sam Westmacott stepped up with a brilliant penalty into a stiff wind to give his side a 20-19 victory. It was a brilliant game of rugby, typical of the Champions Trophy for its drama but also full of exciting running rugby. Not least through one length of the field try from Uppingham that even had the home support breaking into applause. You can watch the game in full below (or skip to the end for the trylights!).
The draw for the Quarter Final stage of the competition will take place at midday on Friday after the conclusion of the eight second round games and the confirmation of their results. We will bring you a full breakdown of the quarter final draw plus roundups from the second round.
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Full Champions Trophy Round 2 Draw (predictions in bold):
Berkhamsted 0-38 Hampton
Dulwich College 24-13 St John’s, Leatherhead (See Report Here)
Epsom College 31-12 Bristol Grammar
Hurstpierpoint College v Uppingham (See Report Here)
Kingswood 26-56 Wellington College
Oakham 25-19 Clifton College
Rugby 45-0 RGS Guildford
St Paul’s 6-15 Blundell’s (See Report Here)
Champions Trophy Round 1:
Bedford 7-66 Rugby
Clifton College 24-18 Monmouth
Hampton 24-15 Tonbridge
RGS Guildford 17-3 Bryanston
St Paul’s v BYE
Oakham v BYE
Berkhamsted v BYE
Hurstpierpoint College v BYE
Bristol GS v BYE
Kingswood v BYE
Blundell’s v BYE
St John’s, Leatherhead v BYE
Epsom College v BYE
Dulwich College v BYE
Uppingham v BYE
Wellington College v BYE
