U18 Schools Cup: Regional Semi Finals Preview

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The U18 Schools Cup returns this week with the third round, otherwise known as the regional semi final stage.

 

The tournament at this stage is divided into eight regions, teams play in a straight knockout with in those regions and the eight eventual winners are then put in a hat a drawn for the national quarter final stage.

 

There are massive games across the regions, with plenty of former winners in action and some huge head to heads between legends of the tournament. Some huge names have already been knocked out, Stonyhurst College, Durham, Oundle, St Joseph’s College, Campion, and Colston’s, to name just a handful.

 

The bulk of the games will take place on Wednesday, though there are some on Thursday and others taking place next week. Below we look ahead to the regional semis, region by region.

 

U18 Schools Cup Fixtures & Results (predictions in bold):

 

North A

 

Round 1

Stonyhurst College 55-15 Stockport GS

Lancaster RGS 50-0 Ermysted’s GS

Giggleswick 0-32 QEGS Wakefield

Cheadle Hulme 42-7 Bradford GS

Silcoates 3-52 Manchester GS

Wilmslow HS 26-16 Merchant Taylors’, Crosby

King’s Macclesfield 36-21 Calday Grange GS

Wirral GS 50-0 St Mary’s College

 

Round 2

Stonyhurst College 0-32 Lancaster RGS

QEGS Wakefield 13-0 Cheadle Hulme

Manchester GS 17-15 Wilmslow HS

King’s Macclesfield 16-22 Wirral GS

 

Round 3

Lancaster RGS v QEGS Wakefield (Wednesday)

Manchester GS v Wirral GS (Wednesday)

 

Both of the North A games take place on Wednesday, and former champions QEGS Wakefield are surely on of the big draws here. They face a really tough task away at Lancaster RGS though, they have been excellent and at home are utterly formidable. Manchester Grammar v Wirral Grammar should also be a cracking game, both have been in excellent form to date this season and must be feeling confident ahead of Wednesday’s fixture.

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North B

 

Round 1

RGS Newcastle 64-13 Dame Allan’s

Durham v BYE

East Durham College 35-12 Hartlepool 6th form College

Barnard Castle w/o Carmel College

St Peter’s, York 24-22 Grammar School at Leeds

BYE v BYE

Woodhouse Grove 50-0 Prince Henry’s GS

Hymers College 12-40 Pocklington

 

Round 2

RGS Newcastle 43-10 Durham

East Durham 7-61 Barnard Castle

St Peter’s, York v BYE

Woodhouse Grove 34-21 Pocklington

 

Round 3

RGS Newcastle v Barnard Castle (Wednesday)

St Peter’s, York v Woodhouse Grove (Wednesday)

 

Two absolutely top class fixtures in North B, four sides that could all give a strong account of themselves in the knockouts. At the top we see RGS Newcastle v Barnard Castle, two legends of the tournament and two sides in absolutely fantastic form. Only Sedbergh and Wellington College have beaten RGS, two of the absolute best sides in the country, while Barnard Castle are unbeaten. This could well be the tie of the tournament so far. The other game in North B could be just as good though, St Peter’s York v Woodhouse Grove. The two have actually met already this year, St Peter’s winning that 33-26, so they will fancy their chances but these are two excellent sides and the game will be very finely balanced.

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Midlands A

 

Round 1

Lymm HS v BYE

Sir John Dean’s 17-37 Ellesmere College

Wrekin College 0-40 Old Swinford Hospital

Bromsgrove 38-7 King’s Worcester

Mount St Mary’s College 42-17 Worksop College

Trent College 12-38 Loughborough GS

Bishop Vesey’s GS 17-23 Solihull

Warwick 24-5 Bloxham

 

Round 2

Lymm HS 51-5 Ellesmere College

Old Swinford 17-26 Bromsgrove

Mount St Mary’s 17-3 Loughborough GS

Solihull 9-19 Warwick

 

Round 3

Lymm HS v Bromsgrove (Thursday)

Mount St Mary’s v Warwick (Wednesday)

 

Two recent former champions reside in the Midlands A section. On Wednesday the 2017 and 2018 champions, and last year’s finalists, Warwick, will travel to Mount St Mary’s College. Warwick’s pedigree in this tournament is clear, their run over the last three years puts them among the greats of the tournament and they have enjoyed strong wins so far, but Mount St Mary’s are a very good side and their progress has been smooth so far too. Thursday sees a second recent champion side in action as 2015 and 2016 champions Bromsgrove travel to Lymm High School, a side that have had a number of excellent runs over the years. All in all, this Midlands A section certainly has the feel of being a hotbed of heavyweights.

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Midlands B

 

Round 1

Northampton SfB 45-12 Stowe

Oundle v BYE

Bedford Modern 0-50 Samuel Whitbread Academy

BYE v BYE

Bishop’s Stortford HS 0-34 Felsted

BYE v BYE

Royal Hospital School 10-14 St Joseph’s College

Norwich v BYE

 

Round 2

Northampton SfB 51-3 Oundle

Samuel Whitbread v Bye

Felsted v Bye

St Joseph’s College w/d Norwich

 

Round3

Northampton SfB v Samuel Whitbread (Wednesday)

Felsted v Norwich (Thursday)

 

Like the A section, Midlands B sees a game on Wednesday and a game on Thursday. On Wednesday former finalists Northampton School for Boys host the promoted Vase holders, Samuel Whitbread. Both sides will have players that know each other well, such are their connections to Northampton Saints, and both have been playing some excellent rugby so far, not least NSB who have beaten Stowe and Oundle in this run. On Thursday there is a big East Anglian derby as Felsted host Norwich. The two actually met back in September, with Felsted winning 24-8, but that should not count for too much in a big knockout encounter.

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London & South East A

 

Round 1

Watford GS 17-19 Mill Hill

UCS 29-15 St Benedict’s

KCS Wimbledon 26-19 St George’s College, Weybridge

St Clement Danes v BYE

Tiffin 5-43 Emanuel

Wimbledon College 40-0 ACS Cobham International

John Fisher 21-12 Reed’s

City of London Freemen’s 31-7 Christ’s Hospital

 

Round 2

Mill Hill 28-26 UCS

KCS Wimbledon w/o St Clement Danes

Emanuel 8-25 Wimbledon College

John Fisher 40-5 City of London Freemen’s

 

Round 3

Mill Hill v KCS Wimbledon (Wednesday 13th November)

Wimbledon College v John Fisher (Wednesday)

 

On Wednesday Wimbledon College and John Fisher meet for the second time this year, the first time John Fisher won a seriously tight game by just a point. This one ought to be just as tight and could be one of the ties of the round. The winner will have a wait on their hands to find out their opponent though; Mill Hill and KCS Wimbledon do not meet until Wednesday 13th November. Should Wimbledon College win, they seem eager for another crack at local rivals KCS having lost a tight one to them back in early October.

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London & South East B

 

Round 1

Campion 27-7 Eltham College

Seevic College 61-0 Colfe’s

Whitgift 78-0 St Olave’s GS

Trinity 15-10 Langley Park

Ravens Wood 50-0 Richard Challoner

Judd v BYE

Cardinal Newman 5-50 Simon Langton GS

Sevenoaks v BYE

 

Round 2

Campion 14-19 Seevic College

Whitgift 65-8 Trinity

Ravens Wood 55-12 Judd

Simon Langton 40-0 Sevenoaks

 

Round 3

Seevic College v Whitgift (Wednesday)

Ravens Wood v Simon Langton (Thursday)

 

The reigning champions are in action in London & South East B on Wednesday. Whitgift’s defence continues with a trip to Seevic College. The champions have been in stunning form in this competition so far, scoring 143 points and conceding just 8 over the two games. Seevic beat former champions Campion in the last round though and would love to repeat the trick. On Thursday Ravens Wood host Simon Langton, two sides that have put in some really dominant displays against good teams in these opening two rounds.

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South West A

 

Round 1

Dean Close 7-20 Sir Thomas Rich’s

BYE v BYE

Sherborne 45-3 Downside

QEH v BYE

Bridgwater & Taunton College 0-56 Taunton

King’s College, Taunton 28-12 Richard Huish

Ivybridge Community College v BYE

Colston’s v BYE

 

Round 2

Sir Thomas Rich’s v Bye

Sherborne 34-14 QEH

Taunton 50-0 King’s College, Taunton

Ivybridge Community College 25-14 Colston’s

 

Round 3

Sir Thomas Rich’s v Sherborne (Wednesday 13th November)

Taunton v Ivybridge Community College (Wednesday)

 

On Wednesday in South West A the impressive Taunton School will host an Ivybridge Community College that year on year seems more and more of a threat in this competition. Taunton have scored over a hundred points in their two games, while Ivybridge had a bye before beating a good Colston’s side. The winner will have to wait a week to find out who their opponents will be, Sir Thomas Rich’s and Sherborne meet in a game that should be one of the top games on the round on Wednesday 13th November, both sides have looked excellent all season.

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South West B

 

Round 1

Dauntsey’s 35-21 Marlborough College

Abingdon 45-5 Reading Blue Coat

Pangbourne College 10-47 RGS High Wycombe

Dr Challoner’s GS 7-12 The Crypt

Lord Wandsworth College 18-17 Portsmouth GS

Seaford College w/o East Sussex College

Canford 32-5 Bishop Wordsworth’s

BYE v BYE

 

Round 2

Dauntsey’s 13-15 Abingdon

RGS High Wycombe w/o The Crypt

Lord Wandsworth College 7-60 Seaford College

Canford v Bye

 

Round 3

Abindgon v RGS High Wycombe (Wednesday)

Seaford College v Canford (Saturday 16th November)

 

South West B has four incredibly strong sides remaining. Wednesday sees Abingdon host one of the really legends of the Schools Cup, RGS High Wycombe. It should be a fantastic game too, both are having strong seasons, with RGS in particular picking up some huge scalps including Millfield and Brighton College. It is a bit of a wait to get this regional semi final round tied up in South West B though as Seaford College and Canford do not meet until Saturday 16th November. These two are playing some exceptional stuff this year, only Hampton have got the better of Seaford, while Canford are unbeaten in regular season games, only Millfield beat them in a warm up. It should be one of the top ties of the entire round.

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