The 2023 School Sport Magazine U14 Cup Final takes place at Rugby School this Wednesday as Ysgol Gyfun Glantaf cross the border to take on their hosts, the founders of the game, in a 1pm kick off.
It will be a poignant game, coming in the year that Rugby School celebrate 200 years since their pupil William Webb Ellis took the ball in his arms and ran with it to begin the game of Rugby Football.
Poignant too for Glantaf though, who are looking build on a strong 2022 when they reached the semi finals but just fell to an outstanding Epsom College side, who went on to lift the Cup. This year the Welsh side are in that final, and have been generous in doing so in allowing the game to be moved from its original venue to the birthplace of the game, where the bicentenary celebrations have been ongoing.
In doing so, NextGenXV will be able to live stream the final, and the broadcast will be available on the NextGenXV YouTube Channel and embedded below in this preview.
Both sides have been fantastic in their runs so far in this competition, which began way back in October for them. Rugby have emerged through the Midlands section and Glantaf through the South West section, with both defeating some mighty sides along the way.
Rugby began with a stunning win against Bablake, followed by further strong victories over Warwick and KES Birmingham. They then hosted Stamford in February in Round 5, a side that had defeated them in Stamford back in November, Rugby’s only defeat of the season. Rugby avenged that one, winning 19-10 to send them into the quarter finals against Hitchin Boys, where they won an absolute thriller 22-27. That then sent them into the national stages of the competition, where QEGS Wakefield were their opponents, a side that knows Cup rugby like no other. Rugby were brilliant though, winning 38-5 to reach this final.
Glantaf’s Cup campaign began with two fellow Welsh opponents, Dyffryn Aman and Whitchurch High. They came through those, those Dyffryn Aman gave them a cracking game, to set up a tie at King’s Worcester, where they put in a stunning performance to win 28-0. Then came a tight fifth Round tie against Stowe, where they dug in to win 13-7. They were on fire in the quarter finals, winning 24-7 at Sherborne, to set up an epic semi final in March against Harrow. The two could barley be separated, but Glantaf came through, 12-5.
Both have been in good form on the 7s field as well as in this fifteen-a-side competition, each reaching the quarter finals at the Rosslyn Park National School 7s and each losing to the eventual finalists, Eton College and Wellington College, so their quality is clear in both formats of the game.
Wednesday afternoon will be a special one though, two great teams meeting on The Close, the birthplace of the game, and crossing that whitewash onto Old Bigside, one of the most historic walks in all of sport, to play in a final in this most special of years. Whatever the outcome, whatever the weather, whatever the style, this Wednesday afternoon will be a memory that will live with these young players forever.
