The competition really reaches the business end on the last two days, with the best U16 teams battling to the final, and some real pedigree names from the elite end of schools rugby in the U18 Cup. Today has really been a day of two halves: strong wind and sunshine in the morning, and then driving rain and wind in the afternoon, which really brought the scores down and the handling errors up: those teams that could keep the ball in hands had a big advantage.
Today’s competitions
U16 Boys knockout rounds
U18 Boys Cup Round 1 (55 teams)
U18 Girls Open (55 teams)
ACE Girls’ Colleges (10 teams)
Prep Schools (refereed by school staff – 60 teams)
Matches refereed
Theo: (U16) Sedbergh v Ellsmere, (U18) Dulwich v Oaklands-Saracens Academy (livestreamed here at 2h00m), Seaford v St John Fisher, Valencia (Spain) v Dulwich (livestreamed here at 4h45m), Harrogate Grammar vs Gosforth, and U16 Cup Final (as AR) Bromsgrove v Harrow
Julian: (U16) Churchers v Uppingham, (U18) Wellington v Mount Kelly, Finborough v Harrogate Grammar, Whitgift v Bedford, Bishop Burton v Berkhamsted (livestreamed here at 6h06m)
Highlights
Watching the Midlands’ own Bromsgrove School reach the final of the U16 Cup, only to be outplayed by a very strong Harrow side, but not before we’d seen teams from Belgium, Sweden, Spain and Dubai play their part. And refereeing some of the best rugby sides in the country: Wellington, Sedbergh, Bedford, Whitgift, the big names just keep coming
What we learned today
It’s more about what we’ve learnt gradually this week: from positioning as a referee, (it’s very easy to find yourself ‘marooned’ in the defensive line!) to the speed of decision making that’s required (far quicker than the 15-a-side game), and even how the best teams stretch defences, retain the ball and find a way through. Oh, and a learning point for players: if you’re going to mouth off at a referee, don’t do it twice in one game: the first RC from either one of us today..!
High profile players/referees spotted
Topsy Ojo, Johnny Leota, Sam Warburton (again)