LIVE STREAM: NORTH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS 7s | SCHOOL 7s
The draw for the North of England Schools 7s has been confirmed, one of the most prestigious tournaments in all of school rugby and the key tournament in the North of England in the build-up to the Rosslyn Park National School 7s.
The tournament takes place on Sunday 3rd March, with forty teams competing, split into eight groups of five across three different venues. Groups A and B will be based at Birkenhead Park FC, Groups C, D, and E at Birkenhead School, and Groups F, G, and H at St Anselm’s College. Group games will be six minutes each way, with teams separated for the knockout stages by points, then points difference, thn head to head, most tries in the head to head, and finally a coin toss.
The top team from each group heads to the Bowring Trophy Quarter Finals, second to the Boodle and Dunthorne Salver quarter finals, and third to the Bowl quarter finals. All knockout games will take place at the Birkenhead Park FC Venue, with every Trophy knockout game LIVE on NextGenXV, plus the Salver Quarter Finals and Final. Knockout games are 7 minutes each way, and draws are decided on golden point.
Sedbergh are the reigning champions, having beaten Denstone College in back to back finals in 2022 and 2023 and will surely be among the favourites again, not least after a terrific performance at the RGS Newcastle 7s earlier this month. The Cumbrian side has won the North of England School 7s an extraordinary 11 times since its inception in 1989, a staggering number, not least when you consider that Kirkham Grammar are their closest challengers with 4 titles, most recently in 2017.
Only two other sides have ever won multiple titles, Cowley, once a giant of the school game, won the first two editions of the tournament, while Stonyhurst won in 1995, 1996, and 1999. It is a fiercely difficult competition to win, let alone on multiple occasions.
Another aspect to look out for is the Graeme Marrs Memorial Trophy, awarded to the Player of the Tournament and named after one of the great administrators in the school game. Sedbergh’s Ben Redshaw claimed the award in 2022 and 2023 (sharing it with Barnard Castle’s Harry Williams in 2022) and has since shown just how good that potential he showed was, starring for Newcastle Falcons in his first year out of school.
That is the sort of standard of this tournament and the platform that it provides, it is a tournament at which teams and individuals can make a mark that stands the test of time. Undoubtedly one of the most prestigious tournaments of all, it is also one of the hardest to win. Sedbergh have found a way more so than anyone, but even they lose out here more often that they lift the Trophy. It takes a great side to come out on top.
That is the challenge, and that is the opportunity for all.
North of England Schools 7s Draw
Birkenhead Park FC Venue Groups:
Group A: Fettes, Pocklington, Llandrillo, Sedbergh, Repton
Group B: Trent, Manchester GS, Ellesmere, Newcastle SfB, Gosforth
Birkenhead School Venue Groups:
Group C: Malvern, Bishop Vesey's, St Peter's, St Andrew's, Llandovery
Group D: Barnard Castle, Shrewsbury, Bradford GS, Dame Allan's, Dean Close
Group E: Old Swinford, Birkenhead, Hymers, AKS Lytham, Kirkham
St Anselm’s College Venue Groups:
Group F: RGS Newcastle, Loretto, King Edward's, Scarborough, Mount St Mary's
Group G: Hill House, Ampleforth, The Grange, Woodhouse Grove, King's Hospital
Group H: St Anselm's, King's Worcester, Wirral GS, Hereford Cathedral, Denstone
Live Schedule (Pitch 1, Birkenhead Park FC)
10.00 Fettes College v Pocklington (A)
10.18 Trent College v Manchester GS (B)
10.36 Sedbergh v Pocklington (A)
10.54 Gosforth Academy v Manchester GS (B)
11.12 Sedbergh v Fettes College (A)
11.30 Manchester GS v Newcastle School for Boys (B)
11.48 Sedbergh v Coleg Llandrillo (A)
12.06 Gosforth Academy v Ellesmere College (B)
12.24 Sedbergh v Repton (A)
12.42 Manchester GS v Ellesmere College (B)
13.40 Salver QF 1
14.00 Salver QF 2
14.20 Salver QF 3
14.40 Salver QF 4
15.00 Trophy QF 1
15.20 Trophy QF 2
15.40 Trophy QF 3
16.00 Trophy QF 4
16.20 Trophy SF 1
16.40 Trophy SF 2
17.10 Salver Final
17.30 Trophy Final
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