The 2024 Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s kicks off on Monday with the Boys U18 Vase competition and the Girls U16 Cup kicking the competition off.
It begins five epic days of school 7s, with eleven different competitions taking place, four Boys, four Girls, and three 13 or below competitions. On Monday alone a staggering 272 teams will be taking place in what is set to be an epic opening to the tournament.
All of the action from the main RE1 and RE2 pitches will be streamed LIVE here on NextGenXV, through the NextGenXV YouTube Channel, and Monday’s action can also be seen through the embedded links below.
The Live Streaming schedules for those two pitches can be seen later in this article.
Boys U18 Vase
224 teams compete in the Boys U18 Vase this year, only the Boys U16 competition competes with it in terms of scale. Those 224 teams are divided into 56 groups of four teams each.
Those groups are played out over the course of Monday and the 56 group winners then each face another group winner in an elimination round to finish off the Monday action. Only the winners of that elimination round will progress to play on Tuesday.
Tuesday will then see the 28 remaining teams divided into seven groups of four teams each, with the winners of those groups, and the best runner up, progressing to the Vase Quarter Finals. The remaining six runners up are split into two Bowl semi final pools of three, with the pool winners meeting in the Bowl final, meanwhile the Vase follows a straight knockout format all the way to the final.
Last year saw Rugby School triumph against King’s Macclesfield in the final, however neither will return this year as both have been promoted to the Boys U18 Cup competition later in the week. A welcome change that has also seen a number of other top sides move across to the premier competition, as will this year’s champions, a welcome carrot, and also a true opportunity this year and in future for emerging rugby schools to really challenge for this prestigious prize.
A number of international sides will be competing, Belgium’s Boitsfort 7s Academy in Group A and Waterloo Schools in Group VV, Dubai’s Jumeirah English Speaking School in Group B, and Hong Kong Dragons in Group F.
The full list of groups and teams can be seen in the images below.
As ever, it promises to be an outstanding tournament. Indeed it might just prove to be one of the most competitive ever, there are so many groups where even predicting a winner is a challenge, exactly as one would want the competition to be.
The likes of Monmouth, Cheltenham College, Stamford, Dean Close, Northampton School for Boys, Harrogate Grammar, Mount St Mary’s College, Hereford 6th form College, Strathallan, Kingswood, RGS Newcastle, Merchiston Castle, Mill Hill, St Albans, George Watson’s, Collegiate, St Edward’s Oxford, Durham, Marlborough College, and St Peter’s York all look like potential challengers, but the reality is that they are just the tip of the iceberg.
There are also sides that have been competing in the Continental Tyres Schools Cup finals that would love to make a big challenge, Felsted won the Vase on Thursday at Twickenham, could a Vase double be on the cards? Likewise Newman College, who won the Plate, or Uppingham, who just missed out to them in the final.
There are also a few 2nd VIIs of sides that have their 1st VIIs in the Cup competition, could one of them mount a challenge? In years gone by they have not quite managed, but perhaps one might this year, especially in the wake of Millfield’s 2nd VII triumphing in last week’s West of England U18 Schools 7s.
Whatever the outcome, it promised to be an epic two days of 7s to kick off the 2024 Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s.
Girls U16 Cup
The Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s’ admirable aim to continue growing its Girls 7s offering is demonstrated perfectly in the Girls U16 Cup competition, which grows from 32 teams last year to 48 teams this year.
Those 48 teams are straight into knockout rugby, playing a Cup/Plate qualifier as their first fixture. Winners progress to Cup Pools, while the losers progress to Plate pools. The two competitions then mirror one another, with Group winners and the best runners up progressing to the Quarter Finals, at which point both the Cup and the Plate are straight knockout rounds. You can see the timings for those finals on the Live Stream through the live stream schedule at the foot of the article.
Last year Kingsbridge Community College claimed the title, beating Ivybridge Community College in a tight final. Kingsbridge unfortunately are not in attendance this year, but Ivybridge are and they have a tough opening game to get through if they want to push for the Cup again, facing Welsh side Cwmbran High School.
Last year’s semi finalists, Kings of Wessex Academy, begin against Hayfield Girls School, while the other semi finalists, Samuel Whitbread Academy, begin with a bye – those that space may be filled by a late entrant. You can see the full draw below.
It promises to be an intense competition, with so much exciting action, and both the Cup and Plate finals LIVE on RE1 at 5pm and 4.40pm respectively.
Monday’s Live Stream Schedule
RE1
10.00 Boitsford 7s Academy v Haileybury (Boys U18 Vase Group A)
10.20 Harrodian v Victoria College (Boys U18 Vase Group D)
10.40 Elizabeth College v St Paul’s (Boys U18 Vase Group G)
11.00 Coleg Sir Gar v Gresham’s (Boys U18 Vase Group K)
11.20 Kitondo, Kenya v Tiffin (Boys U18 Vase Group O)
11.40 King’s Ely v Latymer Upper (Boys U18 Vase Group R)
12.00 Newcastle-Under-Lyme v QEGS Wakefield (Boys U18 Vase Group V)
12.20 Dame Allan’s v Hong Kong Sports Institute (Boys U18 Vase Group F)
12.40 Ipswich 2nd VII v Sandbach (Boys U18 Vase Group I)
13.00 Christ College v Durham (Boys U18 Vase Group M)
13.20 Stephen Perse Foundation v Warminster (Boys U18 Vase Group P)
13.40 Bloxham v Coventry College (Boys U18 Vase Group T)
14.00 King’s College Taunton v Llanishen High (Boys U18 Vase Group U)
14.20 Emanuel v Milton Abbey (Boys U18 Vase Group C)
14.40 Campion v Thomas Tallis (Boys U18 Vase Group H)
15.00 Claires Court v Dartford Grammar (Boys U18 Vase Group L)
15.20 Sidcot v Portsmouth Grammar (Boys U18 Vase Group N)
15.40 Barton Peveril v Gordon’s 2nd VII (Boys U18 Vase Group S)
16.00 Newcastle-Under-Lyme v Sevenoaks (Boys U18 Vase Group V)
16.20 U18 Vase Elimination Round (Winner Group A v Winner Group B)
16.40 Girls U16 Plate Final
17.00 Girls U16 Cup Final
RE2
10.00 Bedford Modern v Preseli (Boys U18 Vase Group A)
10.20 Bryanston v St Peter’s, York (Boys U18 Vase Group D)
10.40 Kirkham GS 2nd VII v Langley (Boys U18 Vase Group G)
11.00 Bishop Wordsworth’s v Caterham (Boys U18 Vase Group K)
11.20 Worth v Gwyr (Boys U18 Vase Group O)
11.40 Hill House v Grammar School at Leeds (Boys U18 Vase Group R)
12.00 Saint Cecilia’s v Sevenoaks (Boys U18 Vase Group V)
12.20 Churcher’s College v Pembrokeshire College (Boys U18 Vase Group F)
12.40 Shiplake College v King’s Grantham (Boys U18 Vase Group I)
13.00 Pangbourne College v Rydal Penrhos (Boys U18 Vase Group M)
13.20 King’s Bruton v St Edward’s, Oxford (Boys U18 Vase Group P)
13.40 Callywith College v Hayes (Boys U18 Vase Group T)
14.00 King’s Rochester v Morrison’s Academy (Boys U18 Vase Group U)
14.20 Torquay Boys GS v Dyffryn Taf (Boys U18 Vase Group C)
14.40 Fulham Boys’ v London Oratory (Boys U18 Vase Group H)
15.00 Ampleforth College v Coleg y Cymoedd 2nd VII (Boys U18 Vase Group L)
15.20 Cathedral School, Llandaff v The Cedars (Boys U18 Vase Group N)
15.40 Colfe’s v Dauntsey’s (Boys U18 Vase Group S)
16.00 QEGS Wakefield v Saint Cecilia’s (Boys U18 Vase Group V)
16.20 U18 Boys Vase Elimination Round (Winner C v Winner D)
16.40 U18 Boys Vase Elimination Round (Winners M v Winner N)
17.00 U18 Boys Vase Elimination Round (Winner S v Winner T)
