Wow. What an exhilarating first day at the picturesque setting of 2022’s St Joseph’s festival. Sixteen teams descended upon Suffolk in a quest for the De La Salle trophy, with Saturday signalling that first step towards glory. The sunshine came and went throughout the day, but the standard of rugby remained as always at St Josephs the highest you could possibly find at a schoolboy level. NextGen is here to round up your day one action right down to the last two tense matchups to decide Group 4.

You will be able to watch all of the action on Day 2 on our YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/nextgenxv), on our TikTok page, and you can also find the broadcasts for Day 2 embedded below. All of the footage from Saturday is still available on our YouTube channel.

Group One was always going to be fascinating with heavyweights and dark horses roaming, and it lived up to the billing in the fullest, with Denstone being unsurpassable throughout Saturday. Equipped with a steadfast defence and powerful forward pack they pulled out our performance of day one, beating pre-tournament favourites Wellington 22-0 to finish top. Never count out a day two comeback from the boys from Berkshire, such is their talent and history in the tournament. Watch out for Hurstpierpoint in the shield too, as they grew into the competition as the day went on.

Group Two was non-stop entertainment all day, whether it was the entertainers in light blue Trinity carving teams open, or Marlborough pulling off upsets left right and centre. That Trinity backline exudes class, the skill of Josh Bellamy and Conor Byrne and defensive prowess of the likes of Sam Medcraft are going to make them very hard to stop en route to a debut De La Salle trophy. Marlborough however stole the show in this group with the boot of Charlie Brook orchestrating a draw against Kirkham and huge upset win against Trinity in the last plays of both those games. A potential favourite for the bowl come day two.

In Group 3, Millfield strutted their usual stuff staying unbeaten so far in the competition. Could an incredible 8^th St Joseph’s victory come the way of the Red Stripe tomorrow? Big hand too to Strathallan on their first day ever at the festival, a passionate opening game seeing them beat QEGS. The Yorkshire side themselves did well to keep fighting throughout the day, leading Millfield for a half in our final game before eventually succumbing to the relentless attacking prowess of the Somerset outfit. RGS Newcastle will also be incredibly difficult to beat in the trophy on day two, another one of those teams that really grew well throughout the day in the face of tough opposition.

Finally Group 4 was incredibly tense up until the last two games. RGS High Wycombe once again showed how dangerous they are on their day, seeing out an nerve wracking 3-0 contest against the ever-strong Brighton College which puts them into the trophy mix tomorrow, with Hampton, who also managed to just beat the unlucky Brighton to secure their place. As ever this group was made all the more special by the fantastic St Joseph’s support for their home team; tunnels, drums and chanting galore saw the red and white onto the field for each of their three games, a reminder of just how special this weekend is each year.

Group Stage Final Standings:

Sunday Knockout Fixtures

*Note, St Joseph’s College will play on Pitch 1 on Day 2 even if allocated Pitch 2, matches will be swapped with the game of a corresponding time.