Wednesday sees a triple-header of live games at Grasshoppers RFC as The Oratory and London Oratory go head to head in the shadows of the Sky Sports studios.
The namesake sides take each other on in a block fixture at the ground, with NextGenXV providing live coverage of the 1st XV, 2nd XV, and U16 A fixtures, all of which will be available on our YouTube channel, TikTok, and embedded below.
Last year the live cameras were there to pick up the 1st XV and 2nd XV, with The Oratory going two from two, now the U16s are added too and London Oratory will be looking to reverse their fortunes from 2021s live action.
The schedule sees the U16 As kicking off at 4.30pm, with the 2nd XV at 6pm, and the 1st XV kicking off at 7.30pm.
The U16 game sees two sides that should be full of confidence, London Oratory arrive with back to back victories over St George’s Weybridge and Tiffin, neither of whom scored a point against them, while The Oratory have won four of their five games so far this year and will doubtless remember last year’s 26-7 victory as U15s in this fixture.
The 2nd XV game at 6pm is tricky to read, The Oratory have only played twice so far, with defeates to Pangbourne College and Shiplake, but will have some confidence to fall back on after last year’s performances. London Oratory meanwhile have had a tricky time of it at 2nd XV level too, wining one of their five games, a 10-0 victory over Reed’s. They will see this as a huge opportunity to take another victory though, and against their great rivals, it could be an absolute classic of a 2nd XV game.
Onto the 1st XV at 7.30pm, and what an event that will be. All of the other games will have finished, meaning that every single player in both schools will be packing out the stands around the superb Grasshoppers RFC main pitch.
Last year The Oratory won 37-5, following a strong recent pattern for them in this fixture. However London Oratory are going to be so determined to reverse that on Wednesday night.
London Oratory have won just wone of their five games this year, but they picked a great time to do it, beating Tiffin 27-22 in their most recent game to arrive here full of confidence.
However The Oratory are bouncing with confidence too. In their 8 games so far, they have won 7 and they are fluing. Only a very strong Reading Blue Coat side has beaten them, and that in the Vase, by a tight 19-13 margin. Their defeated opponents include the likes of Bishop Wordsworth’s, Pangbourne College, and two games against Shiplake College. They are bang in form.
So expect plenty of noise, plenty of passion, and most of all an evening to remember for each and every player involved.
