This Friday at 7pm St Edward’s Oxford and Merchant Taylors’ go head to head at Oxford University’s Iffley Road Stadium, LIVE here on NextGenXV.
It is the first fifteen-a-side meeting between the two sides and it should be a spectacular event at one of the most prestigious and famous grounds in all of world rugby. You can follow the whole game LIVE through the NextGenXV YouTube Channel and through the embedded video link below.
It will be a huge occasion for both sides and each will arrive full of confidence after hard earned opening day victories. Teddies (St Edward’s) began their 2024/25 campaign on Saturday at home to Reading Blue Coat. It was a brilliant game of rugby, one that doubled up as a Continental Tyres Schools Cup encounter after they were drawn against each other in the opening round in the South West B section. Fifty-seven points were split, 33-24 in Teddies’ favour to send them into a huge second round tie away at Cup legends RGS High Wycombe.
Merchant Taylors’ were also in action in a game that served as part of a wider competition. They are part of the new West Anglia Schools League, featuring themselves, Bedford Modern, Bishop’s Stortford High School, St Albans, St George’s Harpenden, and The Perse. On Saturday they travelled to St George’s and, like Teddies, over fifty points were split, 36-22 in Merchant Taylors’ favour.
So both arrive full of confidence, and though they may not have met previously neither is a stranger to the pressures of a big game in front of a big audience pitchside and through the broadcast. This time last year St Edward’s hosted local rivals Magdalen College School (see below) at the same venue, a thrilling game that finished 38-24 in Teddies’ favour amidst one of the greatest schools rugby atmospheres in recent memory.
Merchant Taylors’ meanwhile have had their annual Friday night game at the end of their brilliant Rugby Week for a few years now, last year winning a fantastic game of rugby 25-17 against Reading Blue Coat (see below).
Neither then will be fazed by the big occasion, both have started superbly, and both should carry over real confidence from previous years. Last season St Edward’s were excellent, winning nine of their sixteen games and the current Upper Sixth grew and grew through the years, they are ready for the mantle of being this team’s leaders.
Merchant Taylors’ had a trickier year yet a good one, with an even balance on the win/loss ratio on a competitive circuit that also included an outstanding run at the Eltham College Festival. Crucially, this year’s Upper 6th were unbeaten as U16s, and they have an increasingly competitive fixture list this year that reflects that. They also had a fantastic tour over the summer, playing five games in Canada across Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, with 64 players involved.
With big games to come after this, St Edward’s take on local rivals Radley College while Merchant Taylors’ face a Mill Hill with a litany of Saracens Academy players in their ranks, both will be eager to continue the momentum from that opening fixture of the season. Both may yet appear on our screens again this season, Merchant Taylors’ Friday night game against Reading Blue Coat will again be live here on NextGenXV (Friday 4th October), while there are hopes that Teddies’ fixture against Magdalen College (21st September) might also be live.
Before any of that though comes Friday 13th, unlucky for some but for those of us that will be at Iffley Road it is most definitely a lucky privilege. A huge game of rugby, two sides that will work unbelievably hard, and when that effort on the pitch is seen and felt the atmosphere always reflects it. We are in for a very special evening of schools rugby.
St Edward’s, Oxford v Merchant Taylors’: Friday 13th October, 7pm KO | LIVE on NextGenXV