Rosslyn Park Diaries (Day 3), 22 March

Another day, another round of 7s! Today saw the conclusion of the U14s competition, and a very tight opening to the U16 competition, which finishes tomorrow, and once again there were some great rugby names on show. The pitches are just about holding up after some overnight rain and strong winds; the same can’t be said for some of the concession tents which blew away overnight, nor for the main walkways which are ankle deep in mud now.

Today’s competitions

U14 Boys round 2

U16 Boys group stages (240 teams)

Matches refereed

Theo: (U14) Trinity School v Rugby, Bishops Stortford v Hereford Cathedral, Cheltenham v Stowe, Bishops Stortford v Northampton Sch for Boys, (U16) Kings College School v Waterloo (Belgium)

Julian (U14) Prior Park v Ysgol Rhydywaun, Eton v Prior Park, Northampton Sch for Boys v Rodillian, (U16) St Olaves v Perse School, (U14) Prior Park v Eton, (U16) Harrow v Waterloo (Belgium)

Both: Eton v Wellington, U14 Final (as ARs)

Highlights

Undoubtedly ticking off an item on the bucket list, both of us getting to referee on the TV pitches. Watch the livestreams back here (pitch RE1, featuring Theo at 2h36m and Julian at 5h15m, as well as both as ARs in the final at 7h) and here (pitch RE2 featuring Julian at 2h20m)

A very close second though was the free-to-referees massage service from the physio tent, extremely welcome after three days!

What we learned today

U16s are even bigger than ever: some of the hits going in today only rivalled by the incredible footwork. And that’s even before the main U18 open Cup competition gets going tomorrow!

High profile players/referees spotted

Jason Robinson, Karl Dickson