The Merchiston Festival returns this year for the third time and has once again has had an expansion, with sixteen teams competing at Merchiston Castle School this weekend.
Back in 2019 the Festival started with an 8 team format that saw the second day washed out, with 2020 lost to Covid, it was a tough start for the Festival but last year it laid down a marker that instantly made it a key staging post in the schools rugby season in both Scotland and England, not just for quality rugby by for a quality experience on and off the field, with friendships made across teams and nations.
Expanding to 12 teams and with a format that would give every team a placing, it was an enormous success, with a tense and exciting final that saw Seaford College become the inaugural champions, beating Bedford in the final – two teams that we part of that original 2019 tournament.
This year the Festival expands again, up to sixteen teams now and sixteen top quality sides too. They are split into four groups of four, with the top 2 from each group qualifying for the Trophy quarter finals on day 2, the bottom two meanwhile will head to the Bowl quarters. Losing semi finalists will head to the Plate and Shield semis respectively, and all losing semi finalists will face a 3rd/4th play off, meaning every side will have a final placing and, more importantly, every side will play six games over the weekend.
As part of the expansion this year, seven sides join the Festival for the first time, with three of last year’s sides dropping out, Stirling County, Stewart’s Melville, and Merchiston Castle’s 2nd XV.
Joining are some real heavyweights, chief among them one of the strongest sides in England last year, Ipswich, who will surely have their sights set on a title challenge at the first time of asking. Alongside them will be the reigning U18 Schools Vase champions, Mount St Mary’s College, as well as the side that finished third in last year’s Daily Mail Trophy, St Benedict’s, the former U18 Schools Cup winners.
Schools Cup legends and one of the most famous rugby schools in the world, Barnard Castle are another new entrant, the school that produced the likes of Rob Andrew, Rory and Tony Underwood, Matthew Tait, and Callum Clark to name but a few. Also joining are Norwich School, whom many will know as the school that one of England’s newest stars, Freddie Steward, attended.
Completing the list of new attendees are English School Canford, who can claim 7s legend Ben Gollings among the alumni, and Scottish club side Peebles RFC, one of the best know club sides in Scotland.
Groups & Format
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 |
| Merchiston Castle School | Ayr RFC | Canford | Boroughmuir RFC |
| Norwich | Barnard Castle School | Ipswich | Collegiate |
| Peebles RFC | Bedford | St Benedict’s | George Watson’s College |
| Wycliffe College | Mount St Mary’s College | Uppingham | Seaford College |
1st and 2nd in the Groups go to the Quarter Finals, 3rd and 4th in the groups go to the Bowl Quarter Finals. Losing quarter finalists go to Plate/Shield semis, losing semi finalists to 3rd/4th play offs.
As hosts, Merchiston Castle, who finished fourth last year, are in group 1 and they are joined by two of those new teams, Norwich and Peebles, as well as Wycliife College, who finished up in 11th last year.
NGXV Prediction: Merchiston Castle & Norwich to Trophy QFs
Group 2 contains last year’s finalists, Bedford, who will be among the favourites again this year. As will the two new sides in their group, Barnard Castle School and Mount St Mary’s College, with Ayr RFC completing the group after their 8th place finish last year.
NGXV Prediction: Barnard Castle & Bedford to Trophy QFs
Group 3 also contains three new sides, and in Ipswich one of them must surely be among the favourites. Alongside them are fellow new boys Canford and St Benedict’s, with last year’s 9th place finishers, Uppingham, completing the group.
NGXV Prediction: Canford & Ipswich to Trophy QFs
Finally to Group 4, which contains last year’s champions Seaford College, who will be among the contenders to repeat the trick this year. They are in a tough old group though, containing Scottish school legends George Watson’s College, who finished 5th last year, Scottish club legends Boroughmuir, who pipped Merchiston to 3rd last year, and English Schools legends Collegiate, who finished 7th in 2021.
NGXV Prediction: George Watson’s College & Seaford College to Trophy QFs
Past Winners
2022: Seaford College (beat Bedford 14-7 in the Final)
Day 1 Fixtures (Day 2 TBC)
| Time | Pitch 1 | Pitch 2 | Pitch 3 | Pitch 4 |
| 10am | Merchiston Castle v Wycliffe College | Ayr RFC v Barnard Castle | Canford v Uppingham | Boroughmuir RFC v Seaford College |
| 10.45am | Norwich v Peebles RFC | Bedford v Mount St Mary’s | Ipswich v St Benedict’s | Collegiate v George Watson’s |
| 11.30am | Merchiston Castle v Peebles RFC | Barnard Castle v Mount St Mary’s | St Benedict’s v Uppingham | Collegiate v Seaford College |
| Lunch | ||||
| 1.15pm | Norwich v Wycliffe College | Ayr RFC v Bedford | Canford v Ipswich | Boroughmuir RFC v George Watson’s |
| 2pm | Merchiston Castle v Norwich | Barnard Castle v Bedford | Ipswich v Uppingham | George Watson’s v Seaford College |
| 2.45pm | Peebles RFC v Wycliffe College | Ayr RFC v Mount St Mary’s | Canford v St Benedict’s | Boroughmuir RFC v Collegiate |
The Festival has clearly grown rapidly since it began and is now one of the most important dates on the calendar. With its growth has come a growth in competitiveness too and the standard seen at the Festival is likely to be the strongest yet.
Perhaps most of all though what the Festival does is give a chance for Scottish and English schools to compete alongside and against one another, presenting challenges completely different and fresh to those that they are used to, and a chance for life long memories and friendships.
The Merchiston Festival is here to stay, and it’s going be massive!
