Finals week of the Continental Tyres Schools Cup ended in sensational fashion as Harrow won a U18 Cup final for the ages in the final play of the game against Kirkham Grammar School.
It capped an epic week of action which began on Tuesday in a rain soaked StoneX Stadium, the Saracens home ground hosting all four U15 finals on Tuesday before welcoming the U18 Plate and Bowl finalists on Wednesday.
There was also a real female there to the U18 finals action at Twickenham on Thursday, with the U18 Girls Colleges final and a Continental Tyres Girls Showcase, as well as the ever-present U18 Cup and Vase finals.
There were huge moments among it all, but in the end this incredible U18 Cup final showcased all that is great about the school game.
U18 Boys
U18 Cup
In these very pages the promise had been made that this would be a Continental Tyres U18 Schools Cup final to remember, never in recent memory had the two best sides in the country gone head to head on the Twickenham turf. Between Harrow School and Kirkham Grammar School they hold ever major trophy in the country, Harrow with back to back Daily Mail Trophy titles, an unbeaten season, and Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s U18 and U16 titles, Kirkham Grammar meanwhile held the St Joseph’s Festival title, back to back Sedbergh 10s titles, and an unbeaten season as well. Here at NextGenXV we rated them as 1 and 2 in the country in the NextGenXV League.
All that was left on the line was the Continental Tyres Schools Cup and boy did these two leave everything on the line in pursuit of it. They traded blow after blow and just when it looked as though Kirkham Grammar School had completed the perfect season, Harrow somehow, some way, summoned the will and the power to cross the line with the clock in the red to claim the Cup. If you thought that Marcus Smith slotting a drop goal against Ireland on Saturday was a dramatic finish, enter Reggie Hammick. London & South Central skipper, moved from 7 to 8 in the absence of Harrow talisman Kepu Tuipulotu, and in turn delivering a talismanic performance of his own capped by that dramatic match clinching score.
He was far from alone, Kirkham Grammar School were also without a talisman in flyhalf Ollie Davies, but skipper Seb Kelly, who started at openside and spent much of the game at 8, put in a performance for the ages opposite Hammick, showing exactly why he is in the England U18 squad and scoring a try of his own to boot.
The pattern of the game was set early, a Kirkham try after just three minutes from Jack Austin off the back of their brilliant maul was met quickly by a wonderful flowing Harrow score from Zachery Uduehi. Ten minutes in and we already had two scores.
Ten minutes later we had two more, Kirkham’s maul again doing damage as Alex Smith scored from the next phase, before another flowing Harrow try in response as Hammick fed England’s Charlie Griffin, who in turn fed St john Smith for a lovely score to level the game up with Filip Edstrom’s conversion at 12-12.
That tightness would stay throughout, Kirkham’s 7-0 lead on three minutes was the most any side would lead by. That tightness was in evidence when after 22 minutes Kirkham opted against their fearsome maul and instead took the points through Rhys Hulse to go back in front.
This epic contest meant that there would quickly be another swing though as Griffin went charging over for Harrow on a shirt line after patient build up play, only for Kirkham to strike again, this time through Kelly after close forward play, to head in at half time 22-19 in front.
It was breathless, it was tight, and it was utterly glorious. Kirkham’s set piece work was brutal and effective, while Harrow looked so dangerous out wide. It was a toss of a coin sort of a game and fine margins were all it was going to be decided by. The second half followed exactly that, and again it was right from the off, Harrow scoring four minutes in through Cameron Knight after some lovely intricate handling to get the ball to his left wing.
Harrow then had a try chalked off for a forward pass and as the time ticked by it felt like it could be a crucial intervention, particularly when, with ten minutes left, Kirkham’s maul again caused huge damage. They didn’t quite bulldoze over, but they created the space on the short side from fly half Sam Lewtas to scamper over for a 27-24 lead.
As the seconds ticked away it looked like the game was Kirkham’s, twice they repelled big Harrow attacks, but Harrow kept on coming. With the clock red they had a lineout on the left hand side, they worked their way from one side of the field to the other, and all fifteen charged to that far right corner. In the stands the cries were to spread out, it was fifteen players all in side the fifteen metre channel, but Harrow had other ideas – they were going to batter their way over.
It was bold, Kirkham knew what was coming, but Reggie Hammick was not going to be denied, he had run into brick walls all day and when his team needed him he was there again to blast over for the most dramatic of Continental Tyres Schools Cup finishes of all time. Over 30 years of history in this tournament, but this felt like the high water mark.
Kirkham will be gutted, they are so good and came so close, they put in one of the great finals performances and are a schools rugby great – no question. They just came up against another great today, a side that now holds an unbeaten record, the Daily Mail Trophy, the Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s, and the Continental Tyres U18 Schools Cup.
Are they the greatest school side ever? If they aren’t, then they are close. Without a shadow of a doubt they are in the conversation, and as the great and the good of schools rugby head to South West London again next week for the Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s, you can be certain that it will be the big question on the lips of every single attendee.
A sensational game, two sensational sets of coaches as well, Jonny Roddam at Kirkham Grammar, and James Melville of Harrow who must now also be considered in the pantheon of great schools rugby coaches.
He would be the first to direct the attention to his players though, and what a group they are champions of, well, everything. Outstanding.
The greatest Schools Cup final there has been, the two best in the country, barely separable. Schools rugby at its absolute finest.
U18 Plate
The U18 Plate took some time to have the competing sides finalised, Uppingham were waiting to find out their opponent after the semi final between Campion and Newman College was not played due to a dispute, and that dispute rumbled towards the final, which was not confirmed to actually be taking place until the morning of the game when Newman were confirmed as finalists.
Uppingham had brought supporters by the coach load for what was their biggest game in twenty years, but within ten minutes they were behind, Newman College, perhaps fuelled by the fire of the controversy of the previous week, had come out firing and got across the line fast.
Newman held onto that lead until half time, but both sides were showing some good spells of play, and it felt like a game with more to come. Uppingham came bounding out and scored a well worked try, which with the conversion gave them the lead in the game.
As the game hit the hour mark though, Newman produced some magic through their wizard of a full back, who skated around the outside to score a beautiful individual counterattacking try. That made it 10-7 and just a few moments later he was at it again, this time on the near wing, skirting around the right for another lovely score and a 15-7 lead. That was the game, two individual pieces of magic within four minutes of each other, handing Newman College the Plate, a victory that meant everything to them For Uppingham it was heartbreak, but they should take real pride in the strides that they have made, one suspects this isn’t the last that well will hear of either school.
U18 Vase
A change in format to finals week made the U18 Vase the first boys final of the day at Twickenham Stadium on Thursday, and it was the side that has appeared in this final that came out on top in a sensational performance, Felsted. Andrew Le Chevalier’s young men in red put in the performance of a lifetime for a 42-19 victory against an Ivybridge Community College that has played so well to get to this point but were met with a Felsted side that hit the perfect crescendo to their season.
It took over a quarter of an hour for Felsted to break through the Ivybridge defence, eventually coming while the Devon side were down to 14. Once in front through, the Essex side found confidence in spades, scoring three further first half tries, including one epic long range interception, for a 26-0 half time lead. Their maul was looking brutal, while the backs were fizzing, it was everything that they could have hoped for.
An early second half penalty extended things but credit to Ivybridge, this side has had such great runs at U15 level and now that they had a shot at U18 level they were not about to slip quietly into the night, scoring ten minutes into the second half to show what they were about. Harrow weren’t in much mood to indulge a comeback though, landing two penalties to stretch out to a thirty point lead. Again though, Ivybridge showed their mettle, scoring with five to play and then again straight from the kick off.
Felsted were not about to leave the party without the last laugh though, scoring with just seconds left on the clock to seal the game up at 42-19. It was a sensational finals performance, built on a first half that simply took the breath away. After heartbreak against The Leys over a decade ago, Felsted have their U18 Vase triumph, and they have it with one of the great finals performances in Vase history.
U18 Bowl
Over in the Bowl, two brilliant success stories of the last few years went head to head in one of the best game of the week, Hertfordshire’s Richard Hale and Somerset’s Richard Huish College. It was a fantastic game of rugby, Richard Hale took an early lead but Huish came back to level it with only a quarter of an hour gone.
That stalemate would hold until the hour mark, when Richard Hale crashed over from short range for a 14-7 lead with the conversion. It was a lead they would extend just on the stoke of half time, after a deft chip following an attacking scrum and some neat handling to follow, sending them into the break with a commanding 19-7 lead. 19-7 would become 24-7 after ten minutes of second half play, and it looked like such was the confidence that Richard Hale were playing with that they could go on to an even greater lead. Richard Huish did score again though, and were pressing for more but unfortunately for them they could not break through until the final minute to leave the final score at 26-17 to Richard Hale. It is an epic achievement for Richard Hale, who have never before hit heights like these, not even in the heady days of Smart, Sillitto, et al, in the mid 2000s. A truly outstanding achievement.
U18 Vase: Felsted 42-19 Ivybridge Community College
U18 Girls
The U18 Girls Colleges finals saw the legendary Hartpury College take on the side that has pushed them as hard as any other in these last five years or so, Exeter College. Unfortunately for Exeter College though, pushing Hartpury is one thing, stopping the juggernaut quite another. The Gloucestershire side were simply outstanding, as always, scoring early and then simply building towards an epic 39-5 victory.
It was nothing less that they deserved, these girls have been an absolute phenomenon, and in the final they were once again. Exeter College gave it everything, and their score was no less than they deserved, but in the Hartpury were, well, Hartpury. Truly a glorious rugby team, playing some sensational rugby in the Twickenham sun.
There was also a Girls Showcase in the afternoon, 30 schools participated in the Girls’ U12 Love Rugby Showcase Festival, these schools have been recognised and invited due to the development of their Girls’ Rugby Offering.
Starting at Richmond RFC the teams are playing in contact and non-contact rugby fixtures, the action concluded with 400 girls running out at Twickenham, with many having never played before this year.
U15 Finals
U15 Cup
Tuesday’s action was always going to see history made one way or the other, Radley College were going for a first ever national title, while Northampton School for Boys were bidding to become just the third side ever to win the U15 Cup back to back.
That NSB dream looked like it was about to burst into glorious reality with a try inside of the opening minutes, but Radley quickly struck back to make it 5-5 inside the first ten minutes. That would soon become a 12-5 lead only for NSB to peg them back to 12-12 in a topsy turvy period of the game that eventually saw Radley score again for a 19-12 half time lead.
One could have been forgiven for thinking that the tone had been set, a free-scoring and open game of rugby, however when the game moved into the second half we were treated to a tension ridden epic. Neither side could quite break through as they slung everything that they had at one another, it was becoming one of those finals that sticks in the memory.
Radley always had that seven point cushion though, and as time ticked by the idea of another score moved away from being a tidy a buffer and towards a game-winning intervention. So it would prove, when with five minutes left on the clock the Oxfordshire side crossed for their fourth try of the game for a brilliant victory.
Bizarrely, that late score made this arguably their most comfortable looking score line of the campaign, at every stage of this competition they have had to scrap and claw their way through the most tight of contests. This was similar though, that second half felt on edge even in the stands, let alone on the pitch, but that late score allowed the victors to enjoy the closing stages and celebrate a maiden national title.
It was an outstanding finale to a brilliant contest, in which the 2023 champions played a brilliant part as well. An U15 final for the ages.
U15 Plate
Prior to that, Cranleigh had secured the Plate in outstanding fashion. They faced Hymers College, two sides that had not met at this level before. Both had been excellent through the rounds but Cranleigh came absolutely flying out of the traps, scoring an early try and then adding another not long after for a 12-0 lead.
Hymers landed a penalty to close things, but Cranleigh were finding real joy in that first half, scoring twice more to take a commanding 26-3 lead into the break. Hats off to Hymers College though, who refused to collapse and came out firing in the second half, scoring early to reduce things to 26-10 and showing real spirit from there.
It was welcomed in the stands, this was a top class Hymers College side that deserved their moment. Cranleigh were in no mood to allow that moment to last though, scoring again not long before the end to seal a 31-10 lead that would remain to the end. A tremendous performance from the school that has had so much 7s success but that now lifts it’s maiden U15 national title. One of the great finals performances.
U18 Vase
Over in the Vase Beechen Cliff were absolutely sensational. If Cranleigh’s was one of the great finals performances, Beechen Cliff’s might need another adjective altogether, legendary perhaps, as they stormed to a truly epic 45-7 victory over Durham.
It was the end of a road that has been superb from Durham, across both age-groups. Heading into the semi finals they were dreaming of an U18 and U15 double, however the U18s hit the end of the road at Aylesbury. At StoneX it proved one game too far for the U15s as well.
There was little that they could do about it though, Beechen Cliff were, quite simply, absolutely on it. The Bath side, whose U18s are the Bath ACE side, were superb and have marked themselves out as a side to watch as U16s next year. A truly epic finals performance.
U18 Bowl
In some ways the game of the day was the very first game of the week, the U15 Bowl final between two sides that have made the most incredible strides in the last five years or so, Reading Blue Coat and Gordon’s. Reading Blue Coat took the victory, 22-12, but they had to hold off a stiff Gordon’s fightback. Heading into half time the Berkshire side had built a 17-0 advantage but a try in the final play of the half gave Gordon’s just a sniff with that score now at 17-5.
Hope became genuine possibility when, within five minutes of the restart, Gordon’s closed it to 17-12 and suddenly we had a proper final on our hands, full of all of the tension and drama that you would expect in a rain-soaked final. Neither side could break the tension as the half wore on and on and the rain just seemed to get heavier and heavier, if that were possible. With time in the red though, Reading Blue Coat clinched another score, a crucial score, releasing all of that tension to cue the celebrations with the 22-12 scoreline confirmed.
Continental Tyres Schools Cup Finals Results:
U18 Cup:
U18 Plate: Newman College 15-7 Uppingham
U18 Vase: Felsted 42-19 Ivybridge Community College
U18 Bowl: Richard Hale 26-17 Richard Huish
U18 Girls Colleges: Hartpury College 41-5 Exeter College
U15 Cup: Radley College 24-12 Northampton School for Boys
U15 Plate: Cranleigh 31-10 Hymers College
U15 Vase: Beechen Cliff 45-7 Durham
U15 Bowl: Reading Blue Coat 22-12 Gordon’s
