It’s a slightly quieter weekend of schools rugby with a number of schools having a break this weekend, though slightly is the operative word, it is still absolutely packed with top quality exciting rugby.
It is a particularly stacked Friday fixture list, with a number of big games including two cross-border fixtures and a massive derby at Oxford University’s Iffley Road as St Edward’s Oxford and Magdalen College meet LIVE here on NextGenXV – that game can be watched on the NextGenXV YouTube Channel and through the embedded link below.
Saturday then brings some fantastic games as well, including a number of those sides that have started the season in flying form facing stiff tests, and plenty who are looking to regain momentum facing big games in which to do so.
It has all the hallmarks of a weekend of schools rugby from which some fantastic stories will emerge, and superb games of rugby will break out.
Ten to Watch
We begin, as ever, with on Ten to Watch, always a hard process to narrow down ten games to highlight but these ten certainly offer plenty of variety and some absolutely fantastic competition.
Denstone College v Ipswich – at Leicester Forest RFC (Friday)
A spicy fixture this one, Ipswich staged a stunning late comeback last year to win it (see below) and they arrive at Leicester Forest this year with their confidence sky high after an absolutely spectacular performance against Northampton School for Boys at Bury St Edmunds last week (see below King’s Macc v NSB preview). That performance will have put Denstone College on notice, but Denstone arrive battle hardened. They may have lost their opener, but it was to the ever-brilliant Sedbergh, and they gave them a strong challenge. Heading into Friday night’s encounter they will feel that they have a strong chance to turn around last year’s heartbreak. One thing is for certain, these are two top quality sides and it should be a brilliant game of rugby.
Felsted v Seaford College
This should be another interesting one, both sides arrive having played two, won one, lost one, and Saturday’s encounter will probably give both a real sense of where they are. Felsted began with an impressive 22-18 victory at Haileybury before losing last week at StoneX against Mill Hill who, by the way, are a side to look out for this year – they have stepped up hugely. Seaford College meanwhile had a fantastic opening weekend against Hampton and then lost a thriller to Epsom College last week. Both sides then are looking for bounce-back performances and both know that if they can string some early results together then a special season could be in the offing. A new fixture this year, and if we get the sort of game that is possible when these two are on song, it could well be here to stay.
Harrow v Wellington College
Schools rugby games do not come much bigger than this, Harrow are making an early case for being the number one side in the country, while Wellington College are one of the most storied names in schools rugby, and both sides are off to absolutely magnificent starts this season. Harrow opened with one of the great games as they beat Clifton College 41-31 before a strong defeat of Dulwich College away from home last week, while Wellington College also have back to back victories, a good performance at NSB followed by last week’s fantastic 43-26 victory over Whitgift, which you can see below. A 20-19 victory in 2016 was the last time Wellington College won at Harrow, and Harrow are going to be in no mood to allow that run to stop. We could be in for an equally brilliant game of rugby though, and one from which we will learn plenty about the season to come.
John Fisher v Wimbledon College
One of the great state school games, these two have produced some wonderful players down the years, including Harlequins pair Alex Dombrandt (John Fisher) and Cassius Cleaves (Wimbledon College), to name just two. John Fisher will be desperately hoping that finally they can get a home game underway, hard pitches meant their opener was moved to Eton College, who had a good win, and last week’s game against Skinners’ was cancelled. With a deluge on Wednesday night though, there must be confidence that they can finally get moving at home. Wimbledon College have also suffered cancellation, their opener v Langley Park went by the wayside, but they got underway last week in a tough encounter at home to RGS Guildford. Both will be incredibly eager to get some momentum going on Saturday.
King’s Macclesfield v Northampton School for Boys
This is a really exciting game, both sides had fantastic seasons last year and really seem to have stepped up. Indeed so good were King’s Macclesfield that only Sedbergh and Finborough (in the Cup Quarter Finals) managed to get the better of them, and they have started this season in similar fashion, with back to back victories. NSB’s season hasn’t had quite the same start, a competitive defeat to Wellington College before a tough defeat to an inspired Ipswich on last Friday’s live stream (see below). However they are absolutely loaded with top quality rugby players and will feel that those experiences against two of the best around will have them well prepared. Expect a close game, though perhaps a more free-flowing one than their last one ten years ago in the Cup quarter finals, where NSB won 3-0. This will have tries, and ought to be a fantastic game of rugby between two schools punching well above their weight.
Kirkham GS v Lancaster RGS
A big encounter in the North West of England and one from which we will learn plenty about both. Kirkham Grammar School have consistently been one of the best in the country for a number of years now and therefore will start as favourites, particularly after a three from three start to the season that included two fifty point victories in their opening two games. Lancaster RGS are looking good too though, a quite brilliant 36-0 defeat of RGS Newcastle last time of preceded by a very narrow loss to a King’s Macclesfield side that, as explained above, are a serious outfit. They will also be heartened by how close St Ambrose College ran Kirkham Grammar last time out. It’s going to be a fascinating game of rugby, and one that if you are in the area it would be well worth making the effort to get to.
Monmouth v Malvern College – Border Shield, at Ledbury RFC (Friday)
Speaking of making the effort to get to, Friday night at Ledbury RFC is definitely in that category as Monmouth and Malvern College meet in the annual Border Shield. Moved from its usual mid-October slot to mid-September, this game is such a key part of the season for both of these sides. Monmouth from Wales taking on Malvern College from England. Monmouth hold the Shield currently after victories in 2021 and 2022 and are not going to let that grip slide easily. Their season only really got going last week as their opener at Old Swinford Hospital had to be abandoned, so a trip to Cheltenham on Saturday was their first action of the season and they ran the hosts close in a 17-14 defeat. Malvern College have had more game time, a win over Wycliffe College a fortnight ago sandwiched between defeats to RGS Worcester (pre-season) and Collegiate last week. In truth though, form goes out of the window for this, pride and history are the order of the day and it should be a spectacular encounter.
RGS High Wycombe v Hampton
A fixture that really harks back to some epic Cup encounters in the mid 2010s this one, and it’s going to be a key one this year. RGS High Wycombe have started the season like a train, with incredibly impressive performances over both Berkhamsted and St John’s Leatherhead, they are flying going into this. Hampton, in contrast, arrive after tricky back to back defeats to Seaford College and Brighton College, however on Wednesday they corrected course with a good 28-10 victory at Campion – never an easy place to go. Not since 2017 have RGS won this one, but such has been their start to the season that they will fancy their chances of stopping that run, but this Hampton side has real quality, and having got themselves up and running on Wednesday they are going to be in no mood to hand RGS any bragging rights. It should be a cracker of a game.
St Edward’s Oxford v Magdalen College – Live on NextGenXV, at Iffley Road (Friday)
This weekend’s live stream takes the NextGenXV team to Iffley Road, scene of Sir Roger Bannister’s four minute mile, for an Oxford Derby as Teddies and MCS go head to head. It’s their first meeting at the home of Oxford University since 2015 and both are determined to make it a special night. You can join in with that by watching on the NextGenXV YouTube Channel or the embedded video below, and you can check out our in depth preview of the game here: Teddies v MCS Preview.
St Peter’s, York v QEGS Wakefield
Our final game in our Ten to Watch is a massive Yorkshire derby as in form St Peter’s York host schools rugby giants QEGS Wakefield. St Peter’s are off to a brilliant start to the season, a victory at RGS Newcastle in their opening game followed by a stunning 57-7 performance in their first home game of the season against Hymers College last week. Now they welcome QEGS Wakefield, who won the reverse fixture last year 18-7. QEGS have also started the season well, giving a strong King’s Macclesfield side a good game in their opener last week before defeating Grammar School at Leeds in the Continental Tyres Schools Cup in midweek. Both sides will need to be at their best for this one on Saturday, which makes it an absolutely fascinating encounter.
Around the Grounds
Friday 22nd September
The big games just keep flying through on Friday and one of the biggest is an exciting Anglo-Scots clash between Sedbergh and Dollar Academy, among the strongest in each of their respective nations. Sedbergh have started this season brilliantly, with a superb opening weekend victory at Whitgift before returning to Buskhome last week and putting in an excellent performance for a win over Denstone College. Now Dollar Academy head to the famous Cumbrian outfit and arrive having faced what feels like the best side in Scotland last time out, George Watson’s. It didn’t go how they will have wanted, but it will have prepared them well, and Friday’s game should be brilliant occasion.
So too should another game in the North of England on Friday as Darlington Mowden Park plays host to Barnard Castle v Dame Allan’s. Both sides have had their ups and downs already in the early stages of this season, and both are going to be excited and determined heading into what should be a great occasion on Friday evening. Staying in the North of England, there’s a great game on the West side of the country as Wilmslow High School and Lymm High School go head to head, that should be a top contest.
Another great occasion on Friday should be the meeting between St Joseph’s College of Suffolk and Woodhouse Grove of Yorkshire. A fixture that you do not often see on the calendar, but a fixture that pits to famous names against one another. Both are off to flying starts, Woodhouse Grove beating Barnard Castle, while St Jo’s have racked up a staggering 130 points in two games, conceding just 17. Friday will be a bigger test for them though, both sides know they are going to be in a big game.
In the South, Reading Blue Coat and Bishop Wordsworth’s go head to head in what should be a great game of rugby, Blue Coat have a fair few games under their belt, while BWS have played just the one. In London, meanwhile, Trinity look to bounce back from a tough opener against Cranleigh when they travel to Langley Park, who would love an upset but will need to be bang on the money to stop what is an excellent Trinity side.
Friday Fixtures
Barnard Castle v Dame Allan’s – at Darlington Mowden Park
Langley Park v Trinity
Reading Blue Coat v Bishop Wordsworth’s
Sedbergh v Dollar Academy
St Joseph’s College v Woodhouse Grove
Wilmslow HS v Lymm HS
Saturday 23rd September
Saturday’s fixtures are no less exciting than Friday’s, with big game after big game on what is going to be an absolutely fascinating day. Among the big fixtures to keep an eye on is Brighton College v Dulwich College. It’s a fixture that has had some brilliant games through the years. This year Dulwich arrive off the back of a tough opener against Harrow, while Brighton College have had two excellent victories over Tonbridge and Hampton. They will be favourites, but Dulwich will rightly feel they can test them, having experienced one of the best in the country last time out.
Tonbridge, as mentioned, had that early defeat to Brighton College but bounced back with a meaningful victory over The Judd last time out. This week they are in action away at St Paul’s, who are looking for a quick return to form after defeat to Eton College last week. It should be a strong game of rugby and definitely one to keep an eye on.
Speaking of The Judd, they are hosting a brilliant triangular as Ravens Wood head to Tonbridge to join them alongside Chilean tourists The Grange, from Santiago. It should just be an absolutely brilliant occasion, one to celebrate all that is good about schools rugby. The Judd’s season began with a good victory at RGS Guildford but RGS bounced back last week with a great victory at Wimbledon College. They are back in Wimbledon again this weekend, heading to KCS Wimbledon for what should be a really fantastic game of schools rugby.
The Judd are not the only side holding a Triangular, Mount Kelly are hosting Truro School and Wellington School for what should be an excellent trio of fixtures this Saturday. Staying in the South West there is a massive Anglo-Welsh clash as Millfield, who tonight (Thursday) take on Clifton College – see below – host Christ College. One of the very best in England against one of the very best in Wales, it’s not a game to be missed and should be a real classic. There is another Anglo-Welsh game on Saturday as well as a strong Bristol Grammar side head to Cathedral School, Llandaff.
On Wednesday we saw Stamford make it two from two with victory over Haileybury at StoneX, which you can relive below, following their opening day victory over Stowe. They have a tricky visitor on Saturday as they look to make it three from three, Bedford Modern, who have won their last two, scoring 128 point in the process and conceding just 8. They may have had a tricky day at St Albans first time out, but with every game St Albans play it feels as though that says more about the quality of St Albans than anything else. This is going to be a really interesting one.
Speaking of St Albans they will look to continue their remarkable start to the season on Saturday when they welcome St Benedict’s. St Albans have been stunning so far, 176 points in three games, and it is going to be a stiff test for St Benedict’s, but the Ealing outfit are very well coached and will not make it easy for St Albans to get into the sort of try scoring form that they have been in. Nevertheless, it looks like it is going to take something very special this year to stop the Hertfordshire side.
It might take something especial to stop Durham this year too, they have absolutely flown out of the traps with some magnificent performances. They host a Newcastle School for Boys side on Saturday that are just getting up and running, and will be keen to make an impression against a Durham side that has already made a big one. RGS Newcastle are also going to be keen to make an impression, they have had a tricky start to the season and will want to get some momentum going as quickly as possible, starting with a trip to Yorkshire and Grammar School at Leeds on Saturday, who will be looking to quickly bounce back from a narrow Cup defeat to QEGS Wakefield in midweek.
Mount St Mary’s College have been a real side to keep an eye on in recent years and have started this season off sensationally with two big performances. They have a long away trip to Bloxham on Saturday, who had a gutsy away win at King’s Worcester last time out.
Also off to a strong start this year are Bromsgrove, who sit two from two heading to 2021 Daily Mail Trophy champions Berkhamsted. The hosts bounced back from an opening defeat to RGS High Wycombe to beat Warwick last time out, whom Bromsgrove have also defeated this season, it sets up for a strong game on Saturday.
One that is going to be interesting in Whitgift v Hurstpierpoint College, Whitgift arrive without a victory yet but have faced two of the best in the country in Sedbergh and Wellington College. They host a Hurstpierpoint College side that might not quite be at that level, but that are clearly a good side after back to back victories with which to open the season.
There are three games in the Continental Tyres Schools Vase this weekend, in the North West Bolton host Manchester Grammar, while in London & South East Emanuel welcome Wallington County Grammar, and Harrodian head to Royal Alexandra & Albert.
Staying in that area, Tiffin and Haillford, who have looked superb, go head to head, while Campion welcome Sir Joseph Williamson’s and Dartford Grammar host Chislehurst & Sidcup.
Kent sees King’s Canterbury, who are looking good, hosting Caterham, while Eltham College make the trip out to Maidstone Grammar, and Skinners’ after cancellation last week are at home to Gravesend Grammar.
North London and Hertfordshire meanwhile sees the outstanding Mill Hill, well worth paying attention to, hosting St George’s Harpdenden, while QES Barnet welcome UCS and Watford Grammar head to Haberdashers’ Elstree. Over in Essex RGS Colchester welcome last year’s big news story Finborough,while Richard Hale head to Coopers’ Coborn, while in Suffolk Culford welcome Norfolk’s Langley, and in Norfolk Cambridge’s The Perse are at Norwich, while King’s Ely welcome Bishop’s Stortford College.
Surrey, meanwhile, has a couple of cracking games as St John’s Leatherhead host Reigate Grammar and St George’s Weybridge welcome Lord Wandsworth College. On the South Coast it’s a trip to Portsmouth Grammar for Churcher’s College.
Back further north towards Reading, Pangbourne College and Aylesbury Grammar go head to head, while Windsor Boys’ head to Henley to take on Shiplake College.
Towards Coventry Bablake host Princethorpe College, while further West RGS Worcester are at Haberdashers’ Adams and KES Stratford host King Henry VIII. Bishop Vesey’s meanwhile host Loughborough Grammar, with Solihull heading in the other direction to take on Leicester Grammar.
Further North, Ellesmere College welcome Calday Grange Grammar, and the north West is one of the busier areas of the country. One of the biggest games is going to be Stockport Grammar v St Ambrose, Stockport are a strong side this year, and so too appear to be St Ambrose after their excellent performance against Kirkham last time out.
Stonyhurst are always worth watching, they are in action at Scarisbrick Hall, while Wirral Grammar and St Anselm’s College go head to head in what should be a good game. Birkenhead welcome Merchant Taylors’, with Sandbach hosting Cheadle Hulme.
AKS Lytham meanwhile welcome Yorkshire opponents in the form of Giggleswick, while over in Yorkshire Bradford Grammar are on the road at Pocklington, and Ashville Harrogate welcome Woodhouse Grove’s 2nd XV. Further North into Scotland George Heriot’s welcome a Dundee High School side looking to bounce back, while Bell Baxter are at Morrison’s Academy.
Back down in England and into the South West, there are some top quality fixtures. One side to pay close attention to are Kingswood, whom we have a suspicion could be on for a good season. They host Prior Park College in what should be a great game. Staying in Bath, KES Bath welcome Canford, another that should be good, while elsewhere in Somerset Taunton School host QEH.
Gloucestershire has some brilliant fixtures, not least Sir Thomas Rich’s v King’s Worcester, two excellent sides going head to head. The Crypt welcome a Latymer Upper side that clearly aren’t afraid to travel, while a good Pate’s Grammar side hosts Hereford Cathedral School.
There’s a good Devon derby as Blundell’s, who were excellent in defeat at Millfield last time out, host Exeter School, while over in Dorset Clayesmore welcome Embley.
Saturday Fixtures
AKS Lytham v Giggleswick
Ashville Harrogate v Woodhouse Grove 2nd XV
Bablake v Princethorpe College
Berkhamsted v Bromsgrove
Birkenhead v Merchant Taylors’, Crosby
Bishop Vesey’s GS v Loughborough GS
Bloxham v Mount St Mary’s College
Blundell’s v Exeter School
Brighton College v Dulwich College
Bolton v Manchester GS
Campion v Sir Joseph Williamson’s
Cathedral School, Llandaff v Bristol GS
Clayesmore v Embley
Coopers’ Coborn v Richard Hale
Culford v Langley
Dartford GS v Chislehurst & Sidcup GS
Durham v Newcastle School for Boys
Ellesmere College v Calday Grange GS
Emanuel v Wallington CGS
George Heriot’s v Dundee HS
Grammar School at Leeds v RGS Newcastle
Haberdashers’ Adams v RGS Worcester
Haberdashers’ Elstree v Watford GS
KCS Wimbledon v RGS Guildford
KES Bath v Canford
KES Stratford v King Henry VIII
King’s Canterbury v Caterham
King’s Ely v Bishop’s Stortford College
Kingswood v Prior Park College
Leicester GS v Solihull
Maidstone GS v Eltham College
Mill Hill v St George’s, Harpenden
Millfield v Christ College
Morrison’s Academy v Bell Baxter
Mount Kelly Triangular: Mount Kelly, Truro School, Wellington School
Norwich v The Perse
Pangbourne College v Aylesbury GS
Pate’s GS v Hereford Cathedral School
Pocklington v Bradford GS
Portsmouth GS v Churcher’s College
QES Barnet v UCS
RGS Colchester v Finborough
Royal Alexandra & Albert v Harrodian
Sandbach v Cheadle Hulme
Scarisbrick Hall v Stonyhurst
Shiplake College v Windsor Boys’
Sir Thomas Rich’s v King’s Worcester
Skinners’ v Gravesend GS
St Albans v St Benedict’s
St George’s, Weybridge v Lord Wandsworth College
St John’s, Leatherhead v Reigate GS
St Paul’s v Tonbridge
Stamford v Bedford Modern
Stockport GS v St Ambrose College
Taunton v QEH
The Crypt v Latymer Upper
The Judd Triangular: Judd, Ravens Wood, The Grange (Santiago)
Tiffin v Halliford
Whitgift v Hurstpierpoint College
Wirral GS v St Anselm’s College
