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Will Wilson writing for www.UR7s.com the online home for Everything 7's
With the U18 circuit getting under way today, it may have been easy to forget the equally competitive colts tournaments at Millfield featuring some of the big school names from England and Wales.
The colts sevens stage is always an exceptional opportunity for under 16 players to showcase their talents for the U18 stage next year, as well as enhancing their fitness as the very best push for their first opportunity to wear the white of England. The 12 teams were split into two pools of six, a challenging first run out in terms of fitness and conditioning so early on in the season. Some of the strongest Welsh teams including Glantaf and Preseli) combined with equally prestigious English schools including Wellington, Eton, and the hosts, ensuring what promised to be a tight competition. With blue skies and firm surfaces (despite the potential for farmers to cut a bale of hay off the somewhat excessive grass covering), a fantastic day’s competition was in store.
Pool A was won by Wellington College, whose only slip up was a defeat to Eton in their second game where Eton’s scrum-half Don Smiley won several key turn-overs and speedster Charlie Crawford (UR7s National Academy member) scored a hat-trick. Second were Preseli who beat Eton easily but were thumped 27-0 by Wellington, with young UR7s National Academy members Oli Wilson, Dylan Moss and Louis Edmondes on the scoresheet – such is 7s!
Pool B, however, was a clearer cut affair. Millfield emulated the successes of their 1st VII in progressing through with a clean sweep of victories, despite a scare from Canford in their last game. It seems Canford, looking at their record NatWest Cup run for the U15s this term, are very much on the up in their rugby setup; however, Millfield were simply a class apart in their pool. The standard undoubtedly rose during the day, as teams slowly adapted to the sevens game, and it seemed only right that the teams with the two best individual performers met in the final. Millfield’s Kieron Griffiths, a 1st XV regular, fully demonstrated his ability to swerve and step his way through gaps which some might not recognise even existed, while Wellington’s Oli Wilson capped his return from double knee surgery with a spectacular try-scoring performance.
It was a shame, therefore, that Wilson only lasted a minute of the final as a result of injury, but it seems unlikely that it would have changed the result. Millfield fully appreciated the importance of consecutive scores in the game of rugby, and while Wellington were never able to back up a score, Millfield’s three in a row in the middle of the match pushed them too far ahead for Wellington to catch up. The 33-07 final scoreline perhaps did not reflect the similarities of the two sides, but it shows there’s a lot to work on for both sides after what will be the first of many epic clashes this year with ultimately the colts tournament at Rosslyn Park National Schools the ultimate target. The U18s tournaments may snatch all the headlines, but keep an eye on the colts – you’ll be hearing a lot of these names in the coming years.
In the Under 18 tournament, it was the home side that ran out winners once again. The Millfield School strength in 7s is well known and with Wellington winning at Shiplake, the meeting of the U18 giants is much awaited by fans of school rugby 7s across the country.
