Last week, Tiffin wound down the Spring term by taking part in Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s, the world’s biggest school rugby tournament, with 800 teams travelling far and wide for 7 days of quality 7s rugby. We took four teams just up the A3 to the tournament, the 1st VII, the Girls 1st VII, as well as our U16s and U14s and we encountered some excellent success with one of our best performances at the tournament in our history.
The week started off with the senior competition, with the boys attempting to make it out of their group in order to progress to the second day. The last time Tiffin’s 1st VII had managed to progress to Day Two was back in the 2016/17 season, and with a strong sevens squad hopes were high to do the same. The day started out with a comprehensive 52-0 win on the show pitch RE1, streamed live on YouTube, against Leighton Park School. With spirits high, the boys had their toughest game of the group to come against Worth School – winning was likely to be necessary for progression. Tiffin were in control of the match with a slender 21-19 lead heading into the final minute. Unfortunately, heartbreak struck for Tiffin as Worth managed to score right under the posts, having us fall 21-26. The final match was a chance for some of the Year 13’s to play their final game together in Tiffin colours, and a win would at least give us a chance if Worth were to slip up. The final match was against a Welsh school, Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr, and Tiffin put on a brilliant performance to win 27-17. The boys were proud of their day and to end their Tiffin careers on a win perfectly rounded off a brilliant year of senior rugby.
The following day was the beginning of the U14s journey at Rosslyn Park. We already had high hopes for this group, but they massively surpassed these hopes and outperformed our wildest expectations for them. They were absolutely unassailable in their group stage, scoring at least thirty points in each of their group games. They beat the likes of UCS (36-14), Campion School (31-14) and Rougemont School (36-0) which automatically qualified them for the second day. The only detail to be ironed out was whether they would enter the Cup or Vase competition. Having been drawn against the prestigious Ipswich School, it looked to be an uphill task – what ensued was remarkable. With stanuch defence and blistering pace in attack, the boys showed no fear against a top quality side and ran out 22-21 winners, which meant they would compete in the Cup competition!
The second day of competition for the U14s was on Wednesday and with them already surpassing our expectations, the message was to play our game and be aggressive in defence. As one of only two state schools left in the competition, we were drawn against two very good sides, St. Paul’s School and Rugby School in our cup pool. The very first game of the morning on RE1, live on YouTube, was against St. Paul’s. The boys started the game with most of the ball and were creating chances, encapsulated by a brilliant try from Faran just before half-time after a meandering run followed by a stiff hand-off to then run the length of the pitch and score. Unfortunately, St. Paul’s then turned the screw and resorted to rare tactics in sevens of a bygone era, the up and under, where our boys couldn’t deal with it, and eventually fell to a 17-7 loss. A chance may have gone amiss, but it’s important to remember that however they did on the second day, it was a massive achievement. St. Paul’s also made it all the way to the final, and Tiffin lost to them by the smallest losing margin of the day, so maybe it’s a case of what could’ve been! Their final match against Rugby was a solid 19-0 characterised by rugged defence and particularly big hits from Faran and Tife! A great way to finish off their tournament – I don’t think they quite understood their monumental achievement. Well done to all the U14s squad!
The U14s in team talk after their victory against Rugby School, debriefing their excellent tournament.
The U16s supporting the U14s during their match against St. Paul’s on the big screen!
The U16s also competed on the Wednesday with a somewhat depleted squad but they had been training hard and well for the tournament, encapsulated by a dominant 42-14 victory in their first game against Portsmouth Grammar School. Up next was to be a difficult game against Uppingham School and the boys took the game right to them, playing proficiently in their structure showcasing their handling and sevens ability. Unfortunately, Uppingham’s size ended up being too much for us and we narrowly lost 19-14, a heartbreaker. They closed out the day with a scrappy 28-12 defeat against Welsh school Tonyrefail but they should be proud of their achievements as a group this year and there’s much more to come from them in senior rugby.
The U16s before their 42-14 victory against Portsmouth Grammar School.
The Thursday at Rosslyn Park was the day of the senior Girls competition and they were drawn into a tough pool with at least 4 games during the day. However, they started off with a solid 25-0 victory against Collegiate, with the next game against Cardiff and Vale College bound to be a much closer matchup. A tight game ensued, with both teams scoring back and forward. Unfortunately the girls were on the wrong side of the result, a tight loss 12-17. As the pools in the Girls competitions were slightly larger, it was all to play for in order to progress to Day Two. The girls bounced back with a brilliant victory 29-5 against Hurstpierpoint College. With qualification very much in our hands, an uphill task beckoned however, playing against the currently unbeaten Kingsbridge Community College, which sadly remained after the Tiffin match, falling 34-5. The girls had enjoyed a brilliant day of rugby though at the infamous Rosslyn Park, and two wins is nothing to be ashamed of at all!
Well done to all of our teams that competed in the tournament, especially to the U14s for their monumental achievement. We are already looking forward to competing next year!