After the announcement of the U18 England development camp this week, which was full of ACE players from across the division, the importance of this competition has never been more fully in focus. Equally, while the top-performing sides in this division had the largest contingent of international representatives, there were players from across the league who have now been given a shot in junior rugby’s most professional setting.
Round 5 – Wednesday 5th November
Bishop Burton 12-32 City of Oxford
The City of Oxford’s season is on the up tick. A few wins in a row have really upped their confidence, and with 9 of their team entering the recent England camp, including 6 of the pack, they are a team that is only going to improve as we reach the run-in towards finals day. This was a good performance from Bishop Burton in the circumstances, against a top team, but in the end, the Activate Academy had enough to take home the win.
Exeter College 45-7 SGS College
Exeter, with their strong spine of recent England Camp attendees, notched up another important win to maintain top spot in the competition. We still await the moment that the defending champions will blink, with Loughborough and Hartpury having both now slipped up in this brutal format, where only the top two can go straight through to the grand final.
Hartpury v Oaklands (12th November)
This fixture isn’t actually scheduled until next week, during the break for the rest of the league. Hartpury wi, of course, be the favourites, but will need to bounce back after their first defeat of the season, against a very decent Oaklands side.
Newman College 50-3 Henley College
Newman took a well-deserved bonus point away from round 5. These teams might not end up in the grand final come the end of the year, if the opening few weeks of the season are anything to go by, but it is still great to see Newman put in such a strong performance. Exactly what they needed ahead of a big rou, nd 6 where they take on Oxford.
Worthing College 15-14 Loughborough
Another twist at the top of the table, as Loughborough failed to capitalise on their huge result against Hartpury last week. Instead, Worthing College, who are yet to take on the Acorns, now sit in joint first place in the league as one of two undefeated sides. Only 2 of the 4 best squads in the ACE competition can make the grand final, and it is still unclear which of the two will make it, as they continue to trade blows.
You can catch all the previous rounds’ results and find out the final scores here on the Nextgen Website, or via our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @NextGenRugby.
