News
Taking place for the U18s and U16s on Sunday, 24 February 2013 at Oakham School some of the stongest rugby sides in the country shake off the 7s rust and start to build towards the Nationals.
Uppingham, Bedford School, Leicester Grammar, Millfield, Warwick, Perse, St Joseph's College, Ipswich, Princethorpe College, Denstone and the hosts Oakham School all take part. It should be a great day and the action starts at 11.00am when the hosts play rivals Uppingham. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Group A
Denstone College have had a mixed year with losses to Kirkham Grammar, Ellesmere College and Kings Macclesfield but they are one of the few sides to get the better of Northampton School for Boys. It will be interesting to see how their XV-a-Side form translates into 7s form. With the North 7s and Mount st Marys’ 7s to come before the Nationals this will be our first indicator. They may have a psychological advantage over group members Leicester Grammar whom they beat 43-19 earlier in the year. Leicester will be hoping to find the form that saw them beat John Cleveland College in late 2012. St Joseph’s College, Ipswich will be eager to get the 7s season under way after the Portsmouth 7s was cancelled due to bad weather earlier in the month. They are in a very winnable group at the Nationals and will want to build momentum for that. The Perse School have a stong squad this year and went toe to toe with the Excellent Stamford School in the Daily Mail cup before going down 17-7. A good win over Bishops Stortford College shows their pedigree.
Predicted Group Winners: Denstone College
Group B
Group B sees the hosts Oakham School take on rivals Uppingham in the first match. It should be a cracker and a 9-8 win in the longer version of the game shows the two can hardly be separated. Fellow group members Uppingham School have good wins over Stowe and Oundle and could be well suited to 7s. Bedford School have victories over both sides earlier in the year so could be the group favourites here. They have had a tough year but play one of the hardest fixture lists in the country and will fancy their chances. Princethorpe College play a good brand of rugby and this will be our first look at their sevens squad. Good wins over Bablake and King Edward VI, Stratford demonstrate their pedigree.
Predicted Group Winners: Bedford School
