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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