It’s that time of the week again in schoolboy rugby where some of the finest young talent in the country gear up for another round of the ACE league.
This week sees two heavyweights of the competition go head-to-head in the West country as Beechen Cliff and Hartpury clash, whilst in the Northern conference Bishop Burton welcome unbeaten Brooksby Melton in a mouth-watering fixture.
Round 4 Fixtures
South
Beechen Cliff School v Hartpury College
Exeter College v Bishop Wand
SGS College v Gordon’s School
Truro and Penwith College U18-BYE
North
Bishop Burton College v Brooksby Melton College
Gosforth Academy v Myerscough College
Oaklands College v The Stourport High
City of Oxford College-BYE
Southern Conference
Where else can we start in the South but with Hartpury’s visit to Beechen Cliff? Both teams remain unbeaten in the competition to this point, leading to many perhaps pencilling in these two as early frontrunners for the championship final in December. Results have been dominant so far for both outfits, however Exeter College gave champions Hartpury a good run for their money last week, and the question must be posed as to whether Beechen Cliff can breach their Gloucester-linked adversaries’ supremacy in the competition.
Bishop Wand travel west coming off their bye last week to face Exeter College. As mentioned above Exeter pushed Hartpury as close as any have this year, however Round 2 also saw Bishop Wand give a good account of themselves up against the champions. Fresh legs from a rest last week could give the side from West London a much-needed boost, being without a win since week 1, but don’t count out an impressive Exeter outfit with home advantage behind them.
The final tie in the South this week sees SGS host Gordons. The Harlequins associates’ struggles continued last week against an impressive Beechen Cliff outfit leaving them winless so far in the competition. Comparatively, SGS managed to edge out Truro in an enthralling encounter away from home to get their season on track with a first victory. Can they carry this confidence on into week 4? Or will Gordons finally see out a massively important win away from home?
Northern Conference
The game of the round in the North looks to be unbeaten Brooksby Melton’s visit to Bishop Burton. Last year’s finalists City of Oxford College brought Bishop Burton’s bright start to the season to a screeching halt last week, as they held the Yorkshire based outfit scoreless in Oxford. Elsewhere in the Midlands, Brooksby Melton just pipped Gosforth by four points, and they hold all the momentum going into this one. Expect a backlash from Bishop Burton, that will test Brooksby’s abilities and unbeaten record as far as it can go.
In a battle of the two teams furthest north, Gosforth Academy host Myerscough. You really do feel for Gosforth this year. They went down by four to Brooksby Melton last week, and seven in Round 1 against Bishop Burton, two one score thrillers against arguably the most talented outfits in the conference. They’ll be desperate to build off their week two win over City of Oxford, but will face stiff opposition in the form of Myerscough. The Sale Sharks affiliates brushed aside Oaklands last week to give them a huge first win in what was looking to be a tough start to the season. A momentum swing could see them upset Gosforth this week, but the team will need to be at the top of their game.
Our last fixture this week sees Stourport host Oaklands. As NextGen touched on last week, Stourport’s start to the season has been incredibly positive given the turmoil behind the scenes at the Premiership club they are linked to, Worcester Warriors. The club has now gone into administration, leaving young academy prospects, many of whom play at Stourport, at a bit of a crossroads in their career. It could be that schools’ rugby gives these boys an opportunity to impress other academies, rather than potentially distracting them from all that is going on behind the scenes at the Warriors. A depleted looking Oaklands side make the trip to Worcester this week, desperately looking to get their season up and going after three losses on the bounce.
If you have any photos, videos, clips, stories, or reports from the weekend please do send them in.
For enquiries about live streaming of future games, please contact richard@nextgenxv.com
Round 3 Results, Wednesday 28th September:
North
Brooksby Melton College 26-22 Gosforth Academy
City of Oxford College 28-0 Bishop Burton College
Myerscough College 59-10 Oaklands College
Stourport High – Bye
South
Gordon’s 22-45 Beechen Cliff
Hartpury College 31-19 Exeter College
Truro College 31-36 SGS Filton College
Bishop Wand – Bye
Round 2 Results, Wednesday 21st September:
North
Gosforth Academy 48-7 City of Oxford College
Oaklands College 0-43 Brooksby Melton College
Stourport High 40-7 Myerscough College
Bishop Burton College v Bye
South
Beechen Cliff 38-14 Truro College
Bishop Wand 19-33 Hartpury College
Exeter College 40-26 Gordon’s
SGS Filton College – Bye
Round 1 Results, Wednesday 14th September:
North
Bishop Burton College 26-19 Gosforth Academy
Brooksby Melton College 21-19 Stourport High
City of Oxford College 52-0 Oaklands College
Myerscough College – Bye
South
Gordon’s 17-38 Bishop Wand
SGS Filton College 26-56 Beechen Cliff
Truro College 21-28 Exeter College
Hartpury College – Bye
Further Fixtures
Round 4 Fixtures, Wednesday 5th October:
North
Bishop Burton College v Brooksby Melton College
Gosforth Academy v Myerscough College
Oaklands College v Stourport High
City of Oxford College – Bye
South
Beechen Cliff v Hartpury College
Exeter College v Bishop Wand
SGS Filton College v Gordon’s
Truro – Bye
Round 5 Fixtures, Wednesday 12th October:
North
Brooksby Melton College v City of Oxford College
Myerscough College v Bishop Burton College
Stourport High v Gosforth Academy
Oaklands College – Bye
South
Bishop Wand v Beechen Cliff
Gordon’s v Truro College
Hartpury College v SGS Filton College
Exeter College – Bye
Round 6 Fixtures, Wednesday 19th October:
North
Bishop Burton College v Stourport High
City of Oxford College v Myerscough College
Gosforth Academy v Oaklands College
Brooksby Melton College – Bye
South
Beechen Cliff v Exeter College
SGS Filton College v Bishop Wand
Truro College v Hartpury College
Gordon’s – Bye
Round 7 Fixtures, Wednesday 2nd November:
North
Myerscough College v Brooksby Melton College
Oaklands College v Bishop Burton College
Stourport High v City of Oxford College
Gosforth Academy – Bye
South
Bishop Wand v Truro College
Exeter College v SGS Filton College
Hartpury College v Gordon’s
Beechen Cliff – Bye
