Somehow the second weekend of the schools rugby season managed to top the first, with some fantastic games and brilliant performances. It made selecting this week’s Top 5 School Teams of the Weekend a near impossible task.
The criteria for making the Top 5 has always been necessarily loose, though one thing has always been true, it is not supposed to be the best five teams of the weekend. It is in essence a balance, it is the five teams that have stood out the most to us – be that through performance, through doing better than expected, through a significant result, or a positive result in a difficult game after a tough run, in essence it is five teams where news of their weekend makes you sit up and take notice.
A subjective list then is what emerges, and with subjectivity comes the opportunity for you the reader to share your thoughts – which sides impressed you, who makes you Top 5 School Teams of the Weekend? Share your thoughts on our social channels, @nextgenxv across them all.
Top 5 School Teams of the Weekend (Week Two)
Clifton College
One of two sides to make the list two weeks in a row. A week on from defeating last year’s best side in England, Clifton College added last year’s best side in Wales to their impressive start to the season on Saturday, beating Llandovery College 38-29 in Aberavon. It has been a brilliant start to the campaign for the side in white and blue hoops, but the challenges keep on coming for them – this Thursday they take on Sedbergh, and, as you will see shortly, they are absolutely flying as well. A mouth-watering prospect.
Cranleigh
Ordinarily we try to steer clearly of including some of the biggest scorelines in our Top 5, however the early season form of Cranleigh simply cannot be skipped over. They have been exceptional and were so again on Saturday. Trinity might not be the side that was competing in Continental Tyres Schools Cup finals now, but they are still a school with a big reputation and one that does not roll over easily, one that had enjoyed a strong midweek victory. Yet Cranleigh hosted them and won by a staggering 63-7 margin. Allied to last week’s performances against Eton and John Fisher, and a strong pre-season, and Cranleigh are looking like one of the form sides in the entire country. Outstanding.
Sedbergh
Sedbergh got off to a strong start against Whitgift last week, and on Saturday they travelled to another superb side in the form of Denstone College. Denstone had an excellent pre-season and a fantastic opening day victory at Uppingham. Sedbergh knew they would have to be at their best and that was exactly what they were as they secured an outstanding 45-12 victory. The boys in brown are in superb early season for, and it’s crucial early season form for, as mention, they face a rampant Clifton College side on Thursday. What a game that will be.
Stamford
Quietly, it has been an impressive start to the season from Stamford. A narrow victory over Stowe came first, then a strong performance in the Cup to progress to the second round. On Saturday the noise around Stamford got a little louder when they faced a Haileybury side that had been dominant the week before against Felsted. Stamford were excellent, earning a superb 36-5 victory that really does deserve to be taken real notice of. It was also a weekend in which their previous performances suddenly looked even better that they did originally, in the wake of a superb Stowe victory on Saturday, Stamford’s tight victory over them looked all the better. Keep an eye on Stamford.
St Paul’s
What a turnaround. Last week St Paul’s faced an Epsom College side that has started the season like a train and experienced a tough defeat. A week on and they had put that disappointment behind them, putting on a quite magnificent display away to one of their great rivals, Eton College. Eton have had a couple of fantastic years, but on Saturday it was St Paul’s that were in top form, winning 47-12. An exceptional response to a tough first week, and an outstanding performance.