Tuesday at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National School 7s is always where things start ramping up, and so they did again this year with the first silverware of the tournament and a rip-roaring start to the U18 Vase tournament.

It was the inaugural event in the U15 Girls competitions, three years on from when it was first intended to be introduced, and the competition was fierce, meanwhile the U18 Boys Vase was as strong as ever, with some outstanding games on our live stream.

U15 Girls

It was the first ever U15 Girls competition, and Ivybridge Community College were the absolute stars of the show as they topped Group A before beating Group B winners Glantaf in the semi final.

A tournament rejig had led to our commentator getting a little confused about whether he was calling a Plate final of a Cup semi final as Kings of Wessex and Bablake & King Henry VIII took to the field, it turned out to be a semi final, and what a semi final performance it was from Kings of Wessex to progress to the final with a 31-7 victory.

In the final though it was all about Ivybridge Community College, who once again pieced together a stunning performance to seal a 24-5 victory and the first ever U15 Girls title – congratulations!

U15 Girls Cup Champions – Ivybridge Community College

Final

Ivybridge 24-5 Kings of Wessex

Semi Finals

Ivybridge Community College 19-5 Glantaf, Kings of Wessex 31-7 Bablake & King Henry VIII

U15 Girls Final Group Standings

U18 Boys Vase

The Vase competition reached the halfway point at the end of day 2 and in some style after an absolutely epic day of rugby.

It all began with the group stage, where much of the chatter was focused on St Peter’s York in Group TT and RGS Newcastle in Group B, neither of whom conceded even a single point in the group stages, and extraordinary achievement.

That naturally saw them top their groups, and along with the other 46 group winners they would proceed to the Elimination round, which saw the 48 group winners pitted against another group winner. All would progress of Day 2, but only the winners would remain in the Vase, those on the wrong end of the result would head to Bowl on Day 2.

It produced an epic series of games that showcased much of what had been building through the day. RGS Newcastle continued their group form to beat Bromsgrove 29-19, knocking the holders in to the Bowl and themselves heading to the Vase day 2 pools, where they will face Seaford College and Marlborough College after they each had stunning elimination round games after topping their pools in fine fashion too. Seaford College look like one of the best in the tournament and showed that in beating Reed’s 45-14, while Marlborough College squeaked past Christ College in the groups before beating Eastbourne College by a brilliant 50-7 margin in the elimination round.

Solihull featured heavily on the live stream on RE2 as they topped Group H, that gave them a much anticipated elimination game against St Albans, for whom the form of the Bracken brothers was the talk of the touchlines. Solihull sealed a brilliant 41-19 victory, sending them into a Vase Group B on Day 2 with Grammar School at Leeds and Stowe for company. GSAL had beaten Bristol Grammar 19-14 in a thriller of an elimination game, while Stowe were looking like on of the very best teams in the entire competition, topping Group K in real style before an utterly clinical performance against Dollar Academy in the elimination game, winning 47-10 with a stunning display in both attack and defence that put the entire rest of the tournament on notice.

Qualifying for Group C on Day 2 were Royal Hospital School, Magdalen College, and Simon Langton Grammar. Royal Hospital School were outstanding in topping group Q before beating Oundle 35-7 in the eliminator, while Magdalen College won a really tight game against St Olave’s Grammar, who had been a strong outfit all morning, 24-17. Simon Langton meanwhile knocked out ACE side Gordon’s in their eliminator in the tightest game of all in that elimination round, 10-7.

Monmouth have been excellent all year and looked strong again today as they topped Group U before an impressive 38-12 elimination round defeat of Dean Close, which now groups them with Abingdon and George Watson’s College, who beat Malvern College and Gravesend Grammar respectively after some tremendous outings through the day.

One of the key elimination games was Trinity v Berkhamsted, the Schools Cup champions against the Daily Mail Trophy champions. The two met in the Schools Cup quarter finals before Christmas, Trinity winning that one, and now they met again after Trinity had raced to the top of Group AA and Berkhamsted had topped Group BB in style. The eliminator was a classic, and just like in the fifteen-a-side game, it was Trinity that came out on top, 14-7, to reach the Vase second phase groups. Alongside them will be Epsom College, another of the big favourites that had topped their Group Y and beat Felsted 35-5 in the eliminator, they are joined by Ravens Wood, who beat Hymers College in a thrilling eliminator 22-19.

Group F on Wednesday will contain an interesting story as it includes a 2^nd VII after Millfield’s 2^nd VII topped Group GG before beating Seevic College 35-7 in their eliminator. Alongside them are Norwich, who ousted Wallington County Grammar out 24-12 in the eliminator, joining those two are King’s College Taunton who topped Group II ahead of a brilliant 42-12 defeat of St Edward’s Oxford in their eliminator.

There will be a massive derby in Group G on Wednesday as Uppingham and Oakham will meet following their successful opening days in Groups OO and VV before Uppingham then edged their eliminator against Bishop Wordsworth’s 19-12, while Oakham beat King’s Worcester 36-12. Cardinal Newman will be joining them, the Ealing Trailfinders affiliates beat Queen Mary’s College 35-5 after topping Group LL impressively. 

The final Vase Group on Wednesday will see Merchiston Castle, Tonbridge, and Queen Ethelburga’s all together. Merchiston were outstanding on Tuesday, topping Group UU before beating St Peter’s York, who hadn’t even conceded a point in the groups, by a strong 19-5 margin. Alongside them Tonbridge were utterly brilliant, topping Group PP in style before a staggeringly impressive 52-17 defeat of Glenalmond College in the elimination round. Queen Ethelburga’s meanwhile beat Stonyhurst 38-10 in their eliminator having topped Group SS ahead of Schools Vase winners Mount St Mary’s College.

It all bodes for an awesome day of rugby on Wednesday, and you can watch all the action from pitches RE1 and RE2 via the links below!

U18 Boys Vase Day 2 Pools

U18 Boys Bowl Day 2 Pools

Elimination Round

Bromsgrove 19-29 RGS Newcastle

Seaford College 45-14 Reed’s

Marlborough College 50-7 Eastbourne College

St Albans 19-41 Solihull

Grammar School at Leeds 19-14 Bristol Grammar

Stowe 47-10 Dollar Academy

Magdalen College 24-17 St Olave’s Grammar

Gordon’s 7-10 Simon Langton Grammar

Royal Hospital School 35-7 Oundle

Malvern College 12-27 Abingdon

Monmouth 38-12 Dean Close

Gravesend Grammar 0-38 George Watson’s College

Tonbridge 52-17 Glenalmond College

Epsom College 35-5 Felsted

Norwich 24-12 Wallington CGS

Stonyhurst 10-38 Queen Ethelburga’s

Bishop Wordsworth’s 12-19 Uppingham

Cardinal Newman 35-5 Queen Mary’s College

Ravens Wood 22-19 Hymers College

St Peter’s York 5-19 Merchiston Castle

Trinity 14-7 Berkhamsted

King’s College, Taunton 42-12 St Edward’s, Oxford

Millfield 2^nd VII 35-7 Seevic College

King’s Worcester 12-36 Oakham

U18 Boys Vase Final Group Standings