This week saw the U18 Schools Cup Regional Semi Finals take place, with 32 sides all beginning to cast their eyes towards those eight national quarter final places.
The winner from each of the eight regions is then drawn nationally into the quarter final stage, which is the last stage to be played at host schools, the semi finals are at Allianz Park in early March with the final at Twickenham Stadium in late March.
We take a look at the week’s regional semi finals below and look ahead to the Regional Finals, region by region.
U18 Schools Cup Fixtures & Results:
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 17-20 QEGS Wakefield (Wednesday)
Manchester GS 23-26 Wirral GS (Wednesday)
Round 4
QEGS Wakefield v Wirral GS
Both of the North A semi finals took place on Wednesday and they were both just about as close as can be. At Lancaster RGS perennial national stage competitiors QEGS Wakefield sealed their place in the Regional Final with a 20-17 victory. They will be hosting Wirral Grammar School, whose brilliant season continued with a really gritty 26-23 away victory at Manchester Grammar School.
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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 19-17 Barnard Castle (Wednesday)
St Peter’s, York 26-27 Woodhouse Grove (Wednesday)
Round 4
RGS Newcastle v Woodhouse Grove
North B has always felt like one of the most challenging sections in the competition and on Wednesday it proved to be. Cup legends RGS Newcastle and Barnard Castle went head to head, Barnard Castle unbeaten, RGS having only lost to Sedbergh, and as expected it went down to the wire. Barnard Castle outscored the hosts in tough conditions two tries to one, but Toby Peach’s RGS try and some nerveless kicking was enough to send the hosts through to the regional final, 19-17. They will be hosting Woodhouse Grove, whom they have already narrowly beaten in the regular season. Woodhouse Grove showed that they can turn that around though as that was exactly what they did to St Peter’s York on Wednesday, having lost to them in September, Woodhouse Grove got their own back with the tightest of victories, 27-26, to send themselves to RGS Newcastle for the regional final.
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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 0-13 Bromsgrove (Thursday)
Mount St Mary’s 10-13 Warwick (Wednesday)
Round 4
Bromsgrove v Warwick
From early on in Midlands A there was a sense that this could all come down to a big showdown between two recent sets of back to back champions, and this week that feeling became a certainty. On Wednesday in a really tough set of conditions the 2017 and 2018 champions, and 2019 finalists, Warwick, came through a really tight game against Mount St Mary’s with a 13-10 away victory. On Thursday they found out that their hosts in the regional final would be none other than local rivals and 2015 and 2016 champions Bromsgrove, who overcame even more treacherous conditions for a 13-0 victory over a strong Lymm High School side.
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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 36-7 Samuel Whitbread (Wednesday)
Felsted 30-26 Norwich (Thursday)
Round 4
Northampton School for Boys v Felsted
Midlands B had some famous names in it, but on Wednesday it was a clash between two sides that have been making huge names for themselves in recent years as former finalists Northampton School for Boys hosted reigning Vase champions, Samuel Whitbread. Samuel Whitbread have been impressive, but it was this outstanding Northampton School for Boys group that sealed the victory, performing brilliantly for a 36-7 victory. On Thursday they discovered who they would be hosting in the regional final, the ever excellent Feslted, who came through a really brilliant contest with Norwich, a game that swung this way and that, 30-26.
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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 17-22 John Fisher (Wednesday)
Round 4
Mill Hill/KCS Wimbledon v John Fisher
John Fisher and Wimbledon College had already had one contest this year decided by almost nothing, Fisher winning 20-19 back in September. On Wednesday it happened again as John Fisher once more took an incredibly tight victory in a cracking game, 22-17, to send them through to the Regional Final. They will be travelling to either Mill Hill or Wimbledon College’s great local rivals, KCS Wimbledon. Those two meet on Wednesday.
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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 7-30 Whitgift (Wednesday)
Ravens Wood 18-26 Simon Langton (Thursday)
Round 4
Whitgift v Simon Langton
The reigning champions, Whitgift, are looking pretty unstoppable at the moment in London & South West B. They followed dominant victories in Round 1 and 2 with another on Wednesday as they beat Seevic College 30-7 to head into the Regional Final. On Thursday they discovered that it would be Simon Langton that they would be hosting in that game, after they secured an impressive 26-18 victory away at Ravens Wood.
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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)
Round 4
Sir Thomas Rich’s/Sherborne v Taunton/Ivybridge
South West A has little to report from the Regional Semi Final stage at this point, Sir Thomas Rich’s v Sherborne looks as though it could be one of the ties of the round but it does not take place until Wednesday. The winner of that will be hosting either Taunton School or Ivybridge Community College, however the result of that game is yet to be declared by either school.
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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 24-23 RGS High Wycombe (Wednesday)
Seaford College v Canford (Saturday 16th November)
Round 4
Abingdon v Seaford College/Canford
Abingdon secured their place in the South West B regional final after a thrilling game against RGS High Wycombe. The home side were 15-0 up early on but two scores from RGS brought the game back to within five points at the break. Some reliable kicking then took them 21-10 ahead, only for RGS to bring it within a point thanks to a converted try, the away side went ahead with minutes to spare thanks to a penalty, however with the last play of the game Abingdon banged over one of their own for a dramatic 24-23 victory to send them into the Regional Final, where they will face either Seaford College or Canford, who meet next Saturday.
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