Merchiston Castle won their annual Merchiston Festival for the first time this weekend in what was an incredibly competitive tournament from start to finish.

In winning their Festival they also became the first Scottish side to do so after Seaford College from England had won in 2021 and Ipswich, also from England, in 2022.

In total sixteen teams were in attendance, two Scottish Schools, three Scottish Clubs, and two Scottish Districs, plus nine English Schools. The sides were split into four groups for the opening day’s fixtures, with the top two from those Groups qualifying for Sunday’s Trophy quarter finals and the bottom two for the Bowl quarter finals.

Every team was guaranteed three fixtures on Day 2 as losing quarter finalists went to Plate and Shield competitions respectively, and losing semi finalists to 3^rd place play offs in each of the 4 tiers of competition.

That meant that by the end of the weekend each side had a ranking from 1-16. It was a terrific weekend of schools rugby, this Festival has quickly grown in reputation and quality both on and off the field, but it was also a terrific weekend for Scottish youth rugby as despite being outnumbered in terms of teams 7 to England’s 9, five Scottish sides reached the Trophy competition to England’s 3.

Day 1

Merchiston Castle booked their place by topping Group 1 ahead of Durham, both sides had done very well against Ayr RFC and St Benedict’s, and then in the final game Merchiston beat the high-flying English side 7-0.

Group 2 was topped by Mount St Mary’s College, whose tight 15-12 victory over Dollar Academy saw them pip the Scottish side to the top ahead of Peebles in fourth and a very competitive Barnard Castle in third.

Over in Group 3 Scottish District Glasgow Caledonians flexed muscles that would eventually take them to the final, beating Dame Allan’s, Collegiate, and second place Seaford College, who also qualified.

Meanwhile in Group 4 the other District, Edinburgh Reivers, sailed through to the Trophy, accompanied by club side Boroughmuir, ahead of Norwich and Wycliffe College.

Day 2

Come the knockouts on Sunday things got tight, not least for the hosts as they just edged out Dollar Academy 10-8 to set up a semi final with Durham, who had come through a tight one too against Mount St Mary’s, 14-3. Glasgow Caledonians scored the most of anyone in their quarter final, beating Boroughmuir 21-12, they would meet Seaford College, who knocked out previously undefeated Edinburgh Reivers 9-0.

Things were just as close in the semis, and again it was Merchiston in the tightest one of all, just edging out Durham 15-12, higher scoring but even tighter that the group. Meanwhile Glasgow Caledonians booked their place in the final with a 10-0 defeat of Seaford College, a very similar game to their group meeting. That meant Durham and Seaford College would meet for third, a tight and tense game that ended 7-5 in Durham’s favour.

In the final, Glasgow had huge room for optimism after an outstanding series of performances but in the highest pressure game of al Merchiston Castle stepped up, scoring twice to Glasgow’s one for a 14-5 victory that gave them top spot and the title, for the first time in this most wonderful of festivals.

In the Plate Dollar had a tight win over Mount St Mary’s, revenge for defeat in the groups, and Edinburgh defeated Boroughmuir for the second time of the weekend. Edinburgh were equally strong in the final, beating Dollar 17-7 for the Plate and 5^th place, while in the Plate 3^rd place and tournament 7^th place game, Mount St Mary’s beat Boroughmuir 21-14.

The Bowl was a sea of competition too, St Benedict’s, Collegiate, and Dame Allan’s especially coming through tight games while Barnard Castle hit beat form. Barnet were on song again in the semis, beating St Benedict’s 14-3, while Collegiate came through the tightest of games against Dame Allan’s, 3-0.

It was tight in the final too, Barnard Castle winning it to finish 9^th 10-7 over Collegiate, while St Benedict’s sealed 11^th with a 10-3 victory over Dame Allan’s. The Shield meanwhile saw Norwich claim the silverware, defeating Wycliffe College in the semis and then Peebles 21-0 in the final to seal 13^th, Wycliffe then beat Ayr 26-7 to ensure they did not finish at the bottom of the list.

Overall it was, once again, a sensational weekend of school rugby, showing the very best of what the game can offer on and off the field. Off it, Merchiston can feel proud once again of bringing these 16 teams together, on it they can feel very proud of having scaled the mountain and become champions.

Merchiston Festival Winners

Champions: Merchiston Castle

Plate Edinburgh Reivers

Bowl Winners: Barnard Castle

Shield: Norwich School

Final Standings:

1 Merchiston Castle

2 Glasgow Caledonians

3 Durham

4 Seaford College

5 Edinburgh Reivers

6 Dollar Academy

7 Mount St Mary’s

8 Boroughmuir

9 Barnard Castle

10 Collegiate

11 St Benedict’s

12 Dame Allan’s

13 Norwich

14 Peebles

15 Wycliffe College

16 Ayr

Full Knockout Results and Group Standings:

Trophy Final

Merchiston Castle 14-5 Glasgow Caledonians

3^rd Place

Durham 7-5 Seaford College

Semi Finals

Merchiston Castle 15-12 Durham, Glasgow Caledonians 10-0 Seaford College

Quarter Finals

Merchiston Castle 10-8 Dollar Academy, Mount St Mary’s 3-14 Durham, Glasgow Caledonians 21-12 Boroughmuir, Edinburgh Reivers 0-9 Seaford College

Plate Final

Edinburgh Reivers 17-7 Dollar Academy

3^rd Place

Mount St Mary’s 21-14 Boroughmuir

Semi Finals

Dollar Academy 22-17 Mount St Mary’s, Boroughmuir 7-26 Edinburgh Reivers

Bowl Final

Barnard Castle 10-7 Collegiate

3^rd Place

St Benedict’s 10-3 Dame Allan’s

Semi Finals

St Benedict’s 3-14 Barnard Castle, Collegaite 3-0 Dame Allan’s

Quarter Finals

St Benedict’s 12-5 Peebles, Barnard Castle 21-0 Ayr, Collegiate 10-8 Wycliffe College, Norwich 5-7 Dame Allan’s

Shield Final

Norwich 21-0 Peebles

3^rd Place

Wycliffe College 26-7 Ayr

Semi Finals

Peebles 40-12 Ayr, Wycliffe College 0-19 Norwich

Final Group Standings