This week sees the 2023 ACE Finals take place, with reigning champions Hartpury College taking on Truro College in the main final, while the other twelve sides meet in play offs for the remaining placings.
The eight sides that competed in the recent Division 1 Pools will meet on Wednesday in the play off finals for places 1 to 8, while on Tuesday those that were in Division 2 will meet in play off finals for places 9 to 13.
The 2023 ACE League has been a triumph for the Southern Conference, with both the Final and the 3rd place play off being between sides from the Southern Conference of the league, and finalists Hartpury College and Truro College underlined that with dominant victories over Northern Conference opponents in the final round of action ahead of the play offs.
2023 ACE Finals Fixtures
Wednesday 6th December
Hartpury College v Truro College – ACE Final, 4.30pm
Gosforth Academy v City of Oxford College – 5th Place, 2.30pm
Brooksby Melton College v Stourport High School – 7th Place, 12.30pm
Beechen Cliff v Gordon’s – 3rd Place, 10.30am
Hartpury are looking to back up last year’s triumph, and indeed just about every year’s, only twice since the ACE League began have Hartpury College not been the side lifting the trophy at the end of it. Up against them are Truro College, who have had a stunning turnaround from last year, where they finished ninth. Now the Exeter Chiefs affiliates have a huge opportunity to land an historic first title. Beating Hartpury will take some doing though, the Gloucestershire side might have had a surprise defeat to Gordon’s in Stage 1 of this years league, but since then they have been unstoppable.
Speaking of Gordon’s, their 3rd place play off against Beechen Cliff will actually start the day’s proceedings off at 10.30am, the final is at 4.30pm. Whatever happens this will be Gordon’s best ever finish in the ACE League, a real sign of their progress, but they will want to finish on a high and achieve third. Beechen Cliff won’t make it easy though, they reached last year’s final and have really hit their stride in this second phase of the league since half term.
The 5th place play off will take place at 2.30pm as Gosforth Academy and City of Oxford College go head to head. Both sides lost their play off games last year and would love to turn their fortunes around on that front this year and finish on a real high, particularly Gosforth who were stunned in the final game of the season a little by Hartpury.
The lowest ranking final to take place on Wednesday will be the 7th place play off at 12.30pm as Brooksby Melton College and Stourport High School go head to head. Neither picked up a victory in these second phase groups, though Brooksby Melton did collect bonus points in every game, and will be itching to finish off in style.
Tuesday 5th December
Bishop Burton College v SGS Filton College – 9th Place, 3.30pm
Myerscough College v Bishop Wand – 13th Place, 1.30pm
Oaklands College v Exeter College, 11th Place, 11.30am
Tuesday sees the lower ranking play offs take place, starting with 11th place at 11.30am as Oaklands College and Exeter College go head to head. Victory for Oaklands over Myerscough College put them into this one, while in Exeter’s Division 2 South, every side won one and lost one, leaving the whole thing down to bonus points, leaving them just behind Filton and just ahead of Bishop Wand.
Following that game is the 1.30pm 13th place play off as Myerscough College and Bishop Wand compete to stay off the foot of the rankings, something that will be particularly important to Bishop Wand in particular after a third place finish last year and such a competitive Division 2 pool this.
The highest placed ranking final on Tuesday is the 3.30pm kick off, the 9th place play off. There Bishop Burton College will take on SGS Filton College for the de facto Division 2 title. Both have played some lovely rugby, and Filton’s ability to earn bonus points has been a huge factor in achieving a place in this one, while Bishop Burton’s two wins from two has earned them their spot.
Stage 2 Pools & Results
Division 1
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Hartpury College | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Beechen Cliff | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 3 | Gosforth Academy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Brooksby Melton College | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Truro College | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Gordon’s | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | City of Oxford College | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Stourport High | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Division 2
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Bishop Burton College | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | Oaklands College | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Myerscough College | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | SGS Filton College | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | Exeter College | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Bishop Wand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Round 3 Results (Wednesday 22nd November)
Division 1
Pool A
Brooksby Melton College 28-31 Beechen Cliff
Gosforth Academy 0-74 Hartpury College
Pool B
Gordon’s 28-20 City of Oxford College
Truro College 59-0 Stourport High
Division 2
North
Bishop Burton College 26-6 Oaklands College
South
SGS Filton College 25-14 Bishop Wand
Round 2 Results (Wednesday 15th November)
Division 1
Pool A
Gosforth Academy 19-17 Brooksby Melton College
Hartpury College 53-26 Beechen Cliff
Pool B
City of Oxford College 31-0 Stourport High
Gordon’s 21-31 Truro College
Division 2
North
Myerscough College 5-57 Bishop Burton College
South
Exeter College 38-31 SGS Filton College
Round 1 Results (Wednesday 8th November)
Division 1
Pool A
Beechen Cliff 36-14 Gosforth Academy
Hartpury College 52-3 Brooksby Melton College
Pool B
City of Oxford College 12-47 Truro College
Stourport High 24-55 Gordon’s
Division 2
North
Oaklands College 37-15 Myerscough College (29th November)
South
Bishop Wand 24-20 Exeter College
Round 3 Fixtures (Wednesday 22nd November)
Division 1
Pool A
Brooksby Melton College v Beechen Cliff
Gosforth Academy v Hartpury College
Pool B
Gordon’s v City of Oxford College
Truro College v Stourport High
Division 2
North
Bishop Burton College v Oaklands College
South
SGS Filton College v Bishop Wand
Stage 1 Final Tables
North
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Gosforth Academy | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 30 |
| 2 | City of Oxford College | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 26 |
| 3 | Brooksby Melton | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 22 |
| 4 | Stourport High | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 5 | Bishop Burton College | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 6 | Oaklands College | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Myerscough College | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
South
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Gordon’s | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 27 |
| 2 | Hartpury College | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 26 |
| 3 | Truro College | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 21 |
| 4 | Beechen Cliff | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| 5 | SGS Filton College | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 6 | Bishop Wand | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | Exeter College | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
Past Results
Round 7 Results (Wednesday 1st November, unless stated otherwise)
North
Gosforth Academy 45-26 Stourport High (25th October)
Myerscough College 8-22 Brooksby Melton College
Oaklands College 5-43 City of Oxford College
Bishop Burton – Bye
South
Beechen Cliff 26-0 SGS Filton College
Bishop Wand 24-33 Gordon’s
Exeter College 15-17 Truro College
Hartpury College – Bye
Round 6 Results (Wednesday 18th October)
North
Bishop Burton College 12-31 Gosforth Academy
City of Oxford College 78-0 Myerscough College
Stourport High School 31-3 Oaklands College
Brooksby Melton College – Bye
South
Hartpury College 26-21 Beechen Cliff
SGS Filton College 13-10 Exeter College
Truro College 36-10 Bishop Wand
Gordon’s – Bye
Round 5 Results (Wednesday 11th October)
North
Brooksby Melton College 27-34 City of Oxford College
Myerscough College 15-20 Stourport High School
Oaklands College 24-61 Bishop Burton College
Gosforth Academy – Bye
South
Bishop Wand 24-31 SGS Filton College
Exeter College 21-76 Hartpury College
Gordon’s 43-43 Truro College
Beechen Cliff – Bye
Round 4 Results (Wednesday 4th October)
North
Bishop Burton College 38-3 Myerscough College
Gosforth Academy 41-7 Oaklands College
Stourport High School 36-41 Brooksby Melton College
City of Oxford College – Bye
South
Beechen Cliff 38-12 Exeter College
Hartpury College 38-27 Bishop Wand
SGS Filton College 14-42 Gordon’s
Truro College – Bye
Round 3 Results (Wednesday 27th September)
North
Brooksby Melton College 32-12 Bishop Burton College
City of Oxford College 31-7 Stourport High School
Myerscough College 12-52 Gosforth Academy
Oaklands College – Bye
South
Bishop Wand 28-33 Beechen Cliff
Gordon’s 26-19 Hartpury College
Truro College 18-8 SGS Filton College
Exeter College – Bye
Round 2 Results (Wednesday 20th September)
North
Bishop Burton College 5-26 City of Oxford College
Gosforth Academy 24-7 Brooksby Melton College
Oaklands College 34-5 Myerscough College
Stourport HS – Bye
South
Beechen Cliff 20-22 Gordon’s
Exeter College 21-20 Bishop Wand
Hartpury College 29-0 Truro College
SGS Filton College – Bye
Round 1 (Wednesday 13th September)
North
Brooksby Melton College 54-24 Oaklands College
City of Oxford College 20-24 Gosforth Academy
Stourport High School 19-17 Bishop Burton College
Myerscough College – Bye
South
Gordon’s 33-14 Exeter College
SGS Filton College 19-54 Hartpury College
Truro College 38-24 Beechen Cliff
Bishop Wand – Bye
