Harrow School claimed the U16 Boys Rosslyn Park National School 7s title for the second year in a row on a sensational day of rugby in the sun, rain, and wind of South West London.
It was an extraordinary display throughout the day from Harrow, a day that also saw their U18s in formidable form on Day 1 of the U18 Boys Cup.
Tonbridge meanwhile picked up the U14 Boys Plate, while in the U18 Girls ACE Hartpury College claimed the silverware yet again, they are an utterly formidable force. Over in the Prep Schools tournament 8 teams went through the day unbeaten.
It was also the opening day of the U18 Boys Cup and the U18 Girls Cup, both of which will conclude on Friday, the final day of the 2023 Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s, which will also include the Juniors and U11 tournaments. Once again, all of the action on Pitch RE2 will be available LIVE on the NextGenXV YouTube Channel, and embedded below.
U16 Boys Colts
It was an extraordinary day in the U16 Boys Cup as Harrow School made history in claiming the title for the second year on the bounce. They were magnificent en route to it as well, topping their Day 1 pool before starting Day 2 with a bang, beating King’s College Taunton, Caterham, and St George’s Weybridge to storm to the quarter finals.
There they would meet Dulwich College, who had inflicted a first 7s defeat of the season on Tonbridge in their group, and claimed an incredibly impressive 33-19 victory to reach the semi finals.
Elsewhere, Sedbergh were looking good, topping their pool and then putting in a stunning performance against Brighton College in the quarter finals, 24-5, to set up a semi final against Harrow.
On the other side of the draw the story of the day was The Leys, who topped their pool ahead of Bromsgrove and then beat perennial high-achiever Whitgift 17-10 in their quarter final. Excitingly, that set up a semi final against their group opponents Bromsgrove, who had qualified as a best runner up and then beat a strong Eton College side, who reached last year’s final and won this year’s U14s, to reach the semis.
Bromsgrove had clearly learned their lesson from the group though and in an epic semi final they just nicked it 10-7 to end The Leys’ dream and reach the final. Harrow meanwhile were just sensational, taking on a Sedbergh side that had impressed all onlookers and winning 28-14.
To the final then, and Harrow were again magnificent, exciting in attack and steadfast in defence to claim a brilliant 10-0 victory and back to back titles that now marks them out as one of the greats of the Rosslyn Park National School 7s. Dominance is hard enough over a 6th form yeargroup, let alone back to back titles with completely different teams at Colts level.
Harrow School are doing some very, very, special things.
U16 Boys Plate
Tonbridge claimed the Plate in brilliant style. Their Cup run may have just been pipped by Dulwich College but in the Plate they were superb. Heading RGS Guildford and Woodhouse Grove in the Semi Final pool to set up a final against Epsom College, who had beaten Wellington College and King’s College Taunton.
A final of epic proportions played out on RE2, both sides giving absolutely everything and playing some glorious rugby in what were, by then, utterly atrocious conditions. Either side might have won it, with Epsom looking to back up Wednesday’s U14 Plate title, but it was Tonbridge that edged it, and over the day deservedly so after impressing with each and every time they took to the field, a wonderful achievement.
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U18 Girls ACE
Over in the U18 Girls ACE competition Hartpury College once again claimed the U18 Girls ACE, a title that they simply refuse to relinquish they are as dominant here as their make side are in the ACE League – quite some feat.
They were utterly brilliant once again on Thursday, storming through a tough group that included Henley College, City of Oxford College, Worthing College, and SGS Filton College to reach the final.
Exeter College would be their opponents following victories over Oaklands College, Loughborough College, Bishop Burton College, and Brooksby Melton College to head Pool B.
In the final though Hartpury once again just had too much in both attack and defence as they showed the very best of themselves, despite the other-worldly conditions, to claim a 26-5 victory and yet another U18 Girls ACE title.
The Prep Schools tournament was a roaring success on Thursday through a variety of different weather conditions, from blazing sunshine in the morning to torrential rain pour in the afternoon.
U13 Prep
The teams were split into ten different groups, and those groups would be the extent of their action, but what action it was as the teams played some wonderful rugby.
There may have been no winners overall, but each group had a topper and a number of those went through the day without defeat.
Group A saw Dubai College finish the day unbeaten, similarly Millfield Prep in Group B and Thomas’s Clapham in Group C. Winchester House were superb in Group D to go through the day unbeaten, while in Group G Orwell Park were also unbeaten, likewise Terra Nova in Group I and King’s House in Group F.
Group H meanwhile was an interesting one, and 8 team group in which each side played five games. Unusual group or not, it was a great group for Amesbury, who went through it unbeaten.
There were successful days for Sedbergh Prep in Group E and Worth in Group J too, in a pair of unbelievably competitive groups.
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