Rugby School and Bromsgrove School go head to head in a 2.15pm Kick Off this Saturday afternoon, the latest of the 200 years of Rugby Football celebrations at the birthplace of the game.
The game will be broadcast LIVE here on NextGenXV through the NextGenXV YouTube Channel and through the embedded link below.
Bromsgrove are arguably one of the best teams in the country at the moment, currently sitting 11th in our NextGenXV Schools Rugby table having won a remarkable seven games from seven this season, a run that has seen them defeat two sides that have already won on The Close, Oakham and Stowe, as well as a successful Continental Tyres Schools Cup run which will see them meet Stamford next week at the Regional Finals stage.
Stamford were in action at Rugby in midweek and secured a 21-14 victory. It has been a challenging season for Rugby at times, not least through a horrible injury list and the fact that with these games being so meaningful, they are the biggest games of the season for many visitors.
Nevertheless, running Stamford close like that should fill the home side with confidence because Stamford, like Bromsgrove, are undefeated and one of the best around. If they can run them close, they will feel they can take the game to Bromsgrove as well.
History could be with Rugby as well, this fixture tends to go with the home side, Bromsgrove winning by a point last year at home, Rugby winning comfortably at home in 2021, Bromsgrove with a home win in 2019, and Rugby likewise in 2018. There seems to be a pattern and, if last year is anything to go by, the promise of a tight game.
Bromsgrove, on the other hand, might be taking a look at the younger age-groups in those years. More specifically the ones that now make up the current 1st XV. The U6th won 34-14 as U16s in 2021 (and of course had that 13-12 victory at 1st XV level last year), while the L6th won 31-7 on The Close as U16s last year, and 45-0 at home as U15s in 2021.
So there is reason for both sides to be optimistic, and indeed reasons for both to feel pressure. Rugby welcome one of the best sides in the country, a huge challenge, Bromsgrove in their first outing of this second half of term have the pressure to keep that momentum going.
It should be a fascinating game of rugby!
Rugby School v Bromsgrove – Saturday, 2.15pm KO – LIVE on NextGenXV
