Eton College claimed the U14 Boys Cup on Day 3 of the 2023 Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s after a wonderful day’s play across the U14 and U16 Boys competitions
It was the only day of the tournament without any Girls rugby, though that will change on Thursday in a major way with the U18 Girls ACE and the biggest ever U18 Girls Cup competitions taking place, they will be running alongside the U18 Boys Cup, the U3 Boys Prep School, and the conclusion of the U16 Boys Cup competition that began on Wednesday.
All of Thursday’s rugby on Pitch RE2 will once again be live streamed on the NextGenXV YouTube channel, and can also be seen embedded below, with the action all beginning once more at 10am.
U14 Boys Cup
Eton College’s U14s went one better than last year’s U16s, who finished runner up in that competition, going all the way to win the tournament after a sensational Tuesday was backed up with a brilliant Wednesday.
They topped their 8th Round Pool ahead of Prior Park College and Welsh side Rhydywaun to set up a quarter final against Tuesday’s U18 Boys Vase winners, Rugby School. Rugby gave it everything but Eton were in unstoppable mode, winning 28-17.
That sent them through to the semi finals where they would face Cheltenham College, who had beaten reigning champions Sedbergh 19-7 in their quarter final, while on the other side of the draw reigning U18 Boys Cup champions Wellington College had beaten Glantaf 10-5 to set up a semi final against Radley College, who had beaten last year’s runners up George Watson’s College 19-7.
In those semi finals Wellington College were in a real battle with Radley College, but came though 12-7, while once again Eton were simply unstoppable, winning 26-5 against Cheltenham.
The final was an absolute cracker, but in the end there was nothing that Wellington College could do to stop this outstanding Eton College group, who won a fantastic game of 7s 19-12 to claim the silverware and cap what has been a glorious year.
U14 Boys Plate
Over in the Plate Epsom College claimed the title, winning a tough 8th Round Pool ahead of St Joseph’s College and Denstone College before entering into an incredibly tight knockout stage.
Taunton School ran them close, but Epsom came through by a mere two points, 19-17, and it was similar in the semi final where they had to dig incredibly deep to get past Bedford 20-17.
In the final they faced a Dame Allan’s side that had narrowly beat KCS Wimbledon in the quarter finals and got past Bishop’s Stortford High School 24-10 in the semis. There was nothing that Dame Allan’s could do about Epsom in the final though, the South West London saved the best for last for an absolutely fantastic 42-10 victory and the U14 Boys Plate title.
View all the results from the Boys U14 Competition »
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U16 Boys Cup
The U16 Boys competition was electric on Wednesday, setting up for an absolutely rip roaring Thursday that will see the champions crowned.
From over 200 entrants, there are now just 28 teams left in the competition, and it is going to be glorious on Thursday. The 28 are split into seven groups of four teams each, with the winning and the best runner up qualifying for the quarter final knockouts, and the remining runners up heading to the Plate semi final pools.
Group A sees Caterham, St George’s Weybridge, King’s College Taunton, and the reigning champions Harrow all grouped together. Back to back titles are very much on the horizon for Harrow with a strong showing on Thursday.
Group B meanwhile sees old rivals Dulwich College and Tonbridge go head to head alongside The Oratory and former winners St Peter’s York, while in Group C QEGS Wakefield, RGS High Wycombe, Woodhouse Grove, and a formidable looking Brighton College are all grouped together.
Group D contains two of the most successful sides in Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s history lining up against each other, Sedbergh and Wellington College, alongside Ellesmere College and Torquay Boys Grammar. Over in Group E lurks real strength, Trinity, Bromsgrove, an impressive Haileybury side, and The Leys.
Cup Group F meanwhile has a real South Eastern feel to it, with Whitgift, Churcher’s College, RGS Guildford, and Mill Hill all together, while over in Group G things could get very interesting as KES Bath and Bedford infiltrate Wednesday’s two champions from U14 level, Eton College and Epsom College.
It’s going to be a very special day of knockout U16 rugby on Thursday!
Watch live coverage of DAY 4 and full DAY 3 coverage on our video page »