This week is Continental Tyres Schools Cup semi finals week, with both the U18 and U15 competitions in action across the week.
The U18 Cup and Vase semi finals will be taking place at Aylesbury RFC on Saturday, while on Sunday the same venue will be in action for the U15 Cup and Vase semi finals. Meanwhile the Plate and Bowl semi finals for both age groups will be taking place at host schools across Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Continental Tyres U18 Schools Cup
QEGS Wakefield v Warwick – Saturday
RGS High Wycombe v Harrow – Saturday
The U18 Cup semi finals look utterly fantastic, stacked with Cup legends. In amongst it all are Harrow, who are looking to make it back to back titles, a feat that elevates any school into the pantheon of Cup greats. It would be an outstanding achievement even to reach back to back finals, but RGS High Wycombe are going to make that a tough challenge. In the last year and a half they have reached back to back St Joseph’s Festival finals and a Seaford 10s final, they had one of their best fifteen-a-side seasons in recent memory. They are itching for a first final since back to back efforts in the mid-nineties but, even more so, to earn silverware that their efforts over this recent period deserve. Harrow are packed with quality though, some wonderful survivors from last year’s side remain – a side that, remember, also reached the Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s final despite almost no 7s practice.
No side has gone back to back since Warwick in 2017 and 2018, and Warwick look to return to Twickenham for a remarkable 7th time at U18 level. They face a side in QEGS Wakefield whom they seem to be inextricably linked in this competition. Time and time again these two have met in semi finals and finals at both U18 and U15 level. QEGS might be the most unlucky side in Cup history, having reached four finals but never lifted the trophy, indeed it was them that Warwick beat back in 2018. This QEGS group ought to arrive with confidence though, they have had a wonderful season, and they also have fantastic knockout experience, having reached the final as U15s. Warwick are a mighty side too though, this has the potential to be a Continental Tyres U18 Schools Cup classic.
Continental Tyres U18 Schools Plate
St Anselm’s College v Ipswich – Wednesday
Dauntsey’s v Skinners’ – Wednesday
The Plate semi finals take place on Wednesday and they look hugely competitive too. St Anselm’s College have had an outstanding season, playing some wonderful rugby both in the Cup and out. They host an Ipswich side that in recent years has been right up with the very best in the country. Even this year, Ipswich have quietly been excellent, making Wednesday’s fixture a massive tie that really could swing either way.
The other game sees another side that has enjoyed one of their greatest seasons, Dauntsey’s. They have been absolutely outstanding and will host Skinners’ with huge confidence, but Skinners’ are one of the trickiest opponents in all of schools rugby. A tough side to beat, and they will be relishing an opportunity to get all the way to a final. It should be another cracker.
Continental Tyres U18 Schools Vase
St George’s Weybridge v King’s Gloucester – Saturday
KES Birmingham v Ampleforth College – Saturday
Like the Cup, the Vase semi finals will be at Aylesbury RFC and there are two fantastic Vase semi finals to look forward to. St George’s Weybridge and King’s Gloucester go head to head in a massive game, St George’s are used to good progress in these competitions, they won the Bowl in 2018 and reached the Vase final in 2011 but the rise of King’s Gloucester since the pandemic has been remarkable. These are two strong sides that will challenge each other hugely.
The other semi final sees the return of a traditional schools rugby giant to the main stage, Ampleforth College. They might not have reached the final of one of these competitions before, though they were due to in 2020, but they are one of the greats of the school game. This season has seen them start to punch their weight again and they will be determined to have a game at Twickenham to show for it. However KES Birmingham are not going to roll over easily, they have been outstanding this season and for a few years, and they are as determined as anyone to take to the Allianz Stadium turf. They are also well practiced, having had some good game time before half term – expect a fast start in this one.
Continental Tyres U18 Schools Bowl
Torquay Boys Grammar v Hayes – Wednesday
King’s Ely v KES Stratford – Wednesday
Both Bowl semi finals take place on Wednesday, and they should be good games too. Hayes have put themselves on the rugby map in the last few years and a place in the final would be a fitting reward. To do so though, they have to get past a Torquay Boys Grammar side that has really history of deep runs in these knockout competitions, how they would love a maiden final as reward for their efforts.
On the others side of the draw are the first ever U18 Cup winners, KES Stratford, who edged out Bishop Wordsworth’s 4-3 back in 1991 (when a try was worth just 4 points). This might be the Bowl rather than the Cup, but that legacy lives on powerfully. They face stern opposition, King’s Ely have had a wonderful season, one of their best in recent memory, and are going to be hosting with real determination on Wednesday evening in what should be an outstanding encounter.
Continental Tyres U15 Schools Cup
Northampton School for Boys v Hymers College – Sunday
Lord Wandsworth College v Wellington College – Sunday
Sunday sees the U15s take over at Aylesbury RFC with two fantastic Cup semi finals. Northampton School for Boys, who reached last year’s final and won the competition in 2023, will be chomping at the bit for a third trip to Twickenham on the spin. They have been exceptional this season, but so have their opponents, Hymers College, who are bidding for a first Allianz Stadium final after reaching last year’s Plate final at the StoneX. NSB have been excellent at both age groups, but their work in this U15 competition has been particularly outstanding, it will take something special from Hymers to stop them, but special is exactly what this competition always seems to produce and the lure of a final a level up on last year for Hymers makes this very interesting.
Special can be said of the other semi final too. Lord Wandsworth College have only been beaten by one side this season, the only trouble for them is that the side facing them, Wellington College, are that team. It’s a generational Lord Wandsworth side, and Jonny Wilkinson’s side are aiming for a maiden Allianz final appearance. For Wellington College this U15 competition has been a source of huge success, their six titles and five further finals appearances make them the competition’s most successful side. Most recently they won the competition in 2022, and they will be itching for more. Lord Wandsworth will be tough to stop though, and determined – that defeat to Wellington was in Berkshire, this is on neutral ground and that could play a big factor. A thrilling game awaits.
Continental Tyres U15 Schools Plate
Cheadle Hulme v Kirkham Grammar – Thursday
Ravens Wood v Radley College – Thursday
Things are thrilling in the U15 Plate as well, where both semi finals take place on Thursday. It’s an all North Western affair in one game as Cheadle Hulme host Kirkham Grammar, Kirkham have reached two U18 Cup finals in three years, but this would be a maiden U15 final for both sides – indeed in the Plate it will be the first time the North West has ever been represented in the final. When the two met in November, Kirkham won at Cheadle Hulme 43-26, but expect something far tighter on Thursday.
The other semi final sees the reigning Cup champions, Radley College, look to claim back to back pieces of national silverware at U15 level. The challenge is a big one though, taking on a Ravens Wood side that has seen their rugby explode in recent years, with a large number of representatives now in the Saracens academy. It’s a fantastic knockout fixture and with the state vs private element to the fixture too, it should be fantastic. Back in 2012 they reached the Vase final, a trip to the Plate final would be an even bigger achievement.
Continental Tyres U15 Schools Vase
Gresham’s v Bishop’s Stortford High School – Sunday
St Paul’s v Newman College – Sunday
As in the U18s, the Vase joins the Cup at Aylesbury RFC on Sunday with two fantastic fixtures. Gresham’s, once home to Ben and Tom Youngs (indeed Ben is doing some coaching there), take on Bishop’s Stortford High School is a massive one – neither side has reached a national final before, on Sunday that will change for one side. Both have plenty of superb rugby history though, and this will be a day that lives long in the memory for both.
The other semi final sees two sides of contrasting rugby backgrounds taking place. St Paul’s are one of the oldest rugby playing schools in the world, having been one of the very first in England to take up the game. Newman College have been playing for a while, but have really exploded in recent years after becoming a Harlequins affiliated ACE College at U18 level last year. Last year saw them win the U18 Plate competition, now they look for U15 Vase success, but St Paul’s won’t make it easy – they reached the inaugural Plate final in 2017 and have also appeared in two U15 Cup finals, 2005 and 2007, knockout rugby is in the schools DNA. It will be another fantastic semi final.
Continental Tyres U15 Schools Bowl
Dr Challoner’s Grammar v Wymondham College – Wednesday
St John’s Leatherhead v Plymouth College – Friday
The Bowl semi finals are split, Wednesday on Friday. Dr Challoner’s Grammar School and Wymondham College kick us off on Wednesday, with Dr Challoner’s looking to head to a fourth national U15 final in their history after back to back Vase finals in 2016 and 2017, defeating Sir Thomas Rich’s in 2016 and losing to Thomas Hardye, inspired by Bath’s Orlando Bailey, in 2017 and their 2018 Plate triumph over Brighton College. For Wymondh.am College, who have been excellent at times this year, it would be a first national final, a huge opportunity for them and a semi final that looks as though it should be fantastically competitive.
St John’s Leatherhead will then host Plymouth College on Friday, with the two sides knowing who they might face in the final by then. Neither side has reached a national final at either U18 or U15 level, but both have outstanding rugby pedigree, Henry Slade is a Plymouth College old boy, while George Kruis was a star for St John’s Leatherhead. Both sides will look to use some of that great history as inspiration on Friday night as they seek a place in what will be a fantastic U15 Bowl final.
