As 2023 draws to a close, it is time once again to look at those sides that have impressed this year as we name our Global Top 20 Schools for 2023.
Eight of last year’s Top 20 remain in this years Top 20, with three of them rising into the Top 10. Meanwhile there are twelve sides that move from outside the Top 20 in 2022 to join the 2023 cohort, including three of the Top 5 school sides in the world.
Six different nations are represented in the Top 20, Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Wales, with four of those five in the Top 5 overall.
Have a read of the Global Top 20 below, and let us know who you would have in yours!
1) Grey College (South Africa)
Yet another unbeaten season for the boys from Bloem, and the first time since 2019 they sit atop our global schools rankings having being declared the best in the world in 2018 as well.
This group lost last year in a tough encounter against Hamilton Boys with Director of Rugby Bobby Joubert and head coach Jannie Geldenhuys revising their strategy for the upcoming season and boy did it pay off. They never looked in danger of losing their 100% record and join the countless other Grey College teams of the past in being unbeaten.
2) Harrow (England)
Harrow have been truly outstanding this season, unbeaten, atop the Daily Mail Trophy for the second successive year, and winners of the NextGenXV table. Add to that Rosslyn Park National School 7s titles at U18 and U16 level in March, and you have one of the most extraordinary calendar years of rugby ever seen in England.
There is no sign of things slowing up either, with a Continental Tyres Schools Cup semi final coming up in March and another tilt at the National 7s. Look out for a number of their players featuring heavily for London & South Central Academy, Saracens, and England in the coming months too.
3) Sacred Heart (New Zealand)
If you were a betting man at the start of the season all of your money would have been on Sacred Heart easily winning the national title. But there is a difference between league rugby and knockout rugby and they were extremely unlucky to lose the Blues regional title to a tough and uncompromising Westlake Boys side.
Many recognize the Auckland 1A Competition as one of the toughest in the world, winning that over an entire season and looking at their pre-season record speaks volumes on the talent in this squad. We do not rank over championships, we rank over a season and Sacred Heart had one of their finest in many a year.
4) Kings Parramatta (Australia)
It should be noted that the Kings side touring the UK right now is far removed from the squad that cantered to a AAGPS title this year.
They managed to finish the season unbeaten in what many call the toughest schools league in Australia with their only “blemish” being a draw with a Scots College team they had dispatched 31-19 in the pre-season.
5) Garsfontein (South Africa)
Garsies stock continues to rise with them winning the Noord Vaal trophy as well as dispatching arch rivals Affies to signal a power shift in the Pretoria school rugby scene.
Their only loss this year was to a rampant Grey College team who they challenged despite what the scorelines suggests. The future bodes well for Garsfontein with lower age group teams improving year on year.
6) Westlake Boys (New Zealand)
Having personally met the coaching team and some of the players let us assure you that this school represents all that is great about the game of rugby.
Westlake have always been seen as the little brother to the larger Auckland schools, but little brothers begin to grow and eventually set goals on proving themselves against their bigger brothers and over the last two years they secured wins over Kelston and Sacred Heart, both unexpected by many yet not by the coaching team and the pupils themselves. Keep a close eye on centre James Cameron, you would be hard pressed to find a more talented young centre out there.
It is clear the Westlake have outgrown the North Harbour 1A competition, their dominance this year was something you are unlikely to find in any other schools league. Since its inception in 1985 the school has won 19 titles with their closest challengers being Rosmini with 8. They have won the last 4 titles in a row, 2 Blues titles in a row and perhaps the most staggering statistic is their league record:
Played 13, Won 13, 843 points scored, 71 points against with a total of 64 points, 17 ahead of Massey their nearest rivals.
We think it’s time the Auckland 1A opened the door and let Westlake in, what are they afraid of?
7) St Michael’s College (Ireland)
St Michael’s are the dominant force in Ireland this year, and they will surely have their eyes set on the 2024 Leinster Schools Senior Cup. Blackrock College and Gonzaga have had a monopoly over it since Covid, but victory over Blackrock this year suggests St Michael’s are well placed.
Indeed they have swept all before them bar Terenure, and even there they had an experimental side out as a result of their hectic schedule. Perhaps we might even get a chance to see them is some cross-border fixtures as we have with their rivals Blackrock, who took on Sedbergh and Clifton College. Blackrock were sensational in those games, which only serves as further evidence of St Michael’s superb quality.
8) Paarl Gim (South Africa)
Gimmies have an outstanding program, especially for a co-educational school which means player numbers are far lower than the more established schools.
This year many had them ranked 2nd in South Africa with the only blemishes on their record being a draw with Outeniqua and a loss to Grey College. But all that matters to many in Paarl is the derby match and this year Gim were able to come away with bragging rights capping off a memorable season.
Judging by the lower age groups, there is some serious talent coming through so watch this space.
9) Kirkham Grammar (England)
When Kirkham Grammar School won the Sedbergh 10s for the second year on the bounce back in March with a very young side, the sense was that they had a group that could push on this season and create something incredibly special.
So it has proved, with an unbeaten season that included a maiden St Joseph’s Festival title – won at the death by a dramatic Ollie Davies drop goal (look out for him in the years to come, by the way). They finished second in the NextGenXV Table, with only Harrow ranked higher, and there could yet be a showdown between the two – they are both in the Continental Tyres Schools Cup semi finals.
10) Nudgee College (Australia)
Yet another GPS title for the Queensland outfit, in a competition they have dominated for many a year.
Only one loss in the league portion of the competition, they managed to overcome a Barker outfit in a grudge match from last years competition.
The amount of talent in the squad is evident and it must be ranked as one of the most consistent rugby programs in the world of schools rugby.
11) Hamilton Boys (New Zealand)
Considered by many to be the best in the world in 2022, much was expected of Hotham’s squad this year and the early signs were there that another dominant season was to occur.
Last years national champions, the boys travelled to Japan to take part in the SANIX festival which many consider the graveyard for schools teams who face grueling back to back fixtures, play weaker opposition and then head home to face battle hardened opponents. Such was the case with the 2019 Paul Roos team who despite having an amazing team on paper failed to deliver, and this too was the case for Hamilton Boys.
If Hamilton Boys are outside your top 10 something went wrong. Although claiming the SANIX title is a prestigious achievement it adds significant game time to the season and although winning the Super 8 yet again showed the class in this team, fatigue set in and they lost in a massive upset to Tauranga failing to make the Top 4 which is a shock to the system.
This is still to be considered one of the top programs on the planet and we are certain they will come back stronger in 2024.
12) Gonzaga (Ireland)
2023 will surely go down as the greatest season in Gonzaga’s history, not just because of some of the wonderful rugby that they played but also because it was the year that they won their maiden Leinster Schools Senior Cup title.
They had come within inches in 2022, losing to Blackrock College in the final, but in 2023 the two met again. Blackrock were chasing a 71st title, but Gonzaga weren’t to be denied a second time around, winning one of the great Senior Cup finals 35-31. It was richly deserved, this group has raised the level at Gonzaga, making them a globally recognised side.
13) St Kentigern (New Zealand)
St Kents began the season in devastating form, going 11 for 11 in the Auckland 1A. To dominate a league such as this in such a manner including a 26-15 victory over our 3rd ranked team Sacred Heart shows the class that exists in this team.
They then met De La Salle in the semi-finals and to the shock of many drew the fixture despite winning the first encounter far easier than the 17-10 scorelines suggests. They went through on account of having a higher position on the overall ladder and then came unstuck against a well drilled Sacred Heart outfit who exacted revenge for their only league loss of the season by coming away as 1A Champions.
14) Outeniqua (South Africa)
The kwaggas had a fantastic season, but dare we say it a disappointing one in a sense? To be ranked among the top schools in the country is no mean feat but this years group were almost unstoppable in their junior years before the pandemic and many expected on paper that they would be far more dominant than they were.
This is not to take anything away from an amazing year, an amazing program and many of these young talents will go on to achieve great things in the game. In their centenary year they certainly delivered and no doubt deserve a place among the best schools in the world of rugby this year.
15) Blackrock College (Ireland)
Blackrock College have shown their prowess internationally this year with victory over Clifton College and a sensational victory over Sedbergh before it. Only St Michael’s have got the better of them since the summer and most famous rugby school in Ireland will surely be targeting getting the better of their rivals in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup next term.
Defeat in the final of last year’s tournament to Gonzaga will have stung, but the famous blue and white hoops remain one of the greatest sides in the world. That they are the third Irish school on this list and have beaten two of the best in England as well only serves to show just how strong Irish schools rugby, and Leinster schools rugby is. They are setting an incredible standard.
16) Southland Boys (New Zealand)
How did they do it? It is very rare if ever that a South Island school wins a national championship with the last being the dominant Christchurch Boys teams of the mid 2000’s who last won a championship in 2006 (their 3rd in a row at that stage).
Early season indicators gave no indication they could do it with the team finishing 2nd in the Otago Championship Round 1 (Otago Boys winning this round) but the finishing in 1st place in round 2, this despite another defeat to Otago Boys.
The winner of the Otago competition then go on to face the winners of the Crusaders Championship this being the aforementioned Christchurch Boys. A one point 29-28 win that shook the South Island meant Southland Boys would represent the region at the national top 4 playoffs, this was far more expected than the beginning of the season yet the boys took it all in their stride.
First off was a semi-final over Palmerston North, the Hurricanes winners who were expected to run away with the game. The Southland team however came away with a 1 point win and against all odds would face a Westlake side who had beaten Sacred Heart for the Blues title and overcome a Tauranga team that had beaten Hamilton Boys, now surely this was a step too far?
Not for this years Southland team, they defied the odds yet again coming away with a 32-29 win and claim their first ever national championship, a season that will never be forgotten at the school.
17) Boland Landbou (South Africa)
As Westlake are seen as the little brother of the Auckland League, so Boland Landbou are seen as the little brother of probably the most talented region in the world in terms of size, the Winelands.
This years results were not expected by outsiders with wins over Paul Roos and Paarl Boys they only came unstuck against a well drilled and rampant Paarl Gim outfit. For a small agricultural school with only around 350 boys.
They are however planning to increase their capacity by another 100, if they are achieving what they are imagine with another 100 students? Be sure to keep an eye on one of the most underrated rugby programs in the country.
18) Waverley College (Australia)
Over the last 5 years the CAS competition has been a back and forth tussle between Waverley and rivals Barker with the latter claiming the championship last year and finishing 2nd on our global rankings.
This year however Waverley claimed back the CAS title finishing the league portion of the season unbeaten with their only defeat against St Ignatius at the start of the season.
It will certainly be interesting to see who wins the arm wrestle next year.
19) Ipswich School (England)
2023 was the year that Ipswich School went from rising force to a fixture at the top of English schools rugby, and with that a place in this year’s Global Top 20. A maiden victory over Sedbergh, Ipswich’s greatest ever result, was the first signpost of what was to come as they embarked on a season that saw them defeated only once.
That defeat came right at the end, to the second best side in the world this year, Harrow. It might have been a bit of a chastening afternoon for Ipswich but the very fact that the billing for the game was that it was a battle of the unbeaten teams, a showdown that was rated the biggest game of the season, showed just what incredible progress they have made. The Suffolk side are now one of the very best in the world.
20) Llandovery College (Wales)
What a season for Llandovery College. They were unbeaten en route to the Welsh Schools and College National Conference A, the top competition in Wales, before going on to win the Welsh Schools and Colleges Cup at the Principality Stadium, defeating a superb Glantaf side in the final.
Then, to cap it all off, they won their annual game against Sedbergh for the first time in a decade. It has been a year to remember for Llandovery College, the famous Welsh side are top of the pile again and could well be there to stay.
