Schools—Brian David (Chairman)

Phil Crowley – President 

Robert Davies (Secretary)

Graham Wood (Treasurer)

Hugo Corbett—ESRFU rep

To contact officials please use “Get in Touch” form

Links

Schools Rugby

England Rugby Schools (englandrugby-schools.com)

Cheshire Schools Rugby Report 2023-24

U18 Cup

15 schools entered. Schools played a maximum of 4 rounds. The final was delayed from the original proposed date (29^th November) due to The King’s School in Macclesfield progressing in the National U18 Cup.

The final was held at Wilmslow RFC under lights on January 24th, a close game between The King’s School, Macclesfield and St. Ambrose College watched by a large crowd. The King’s School, Macclesfield clinching a nail-biting game 22-20. A fine advert for schools rugby.

U16 Cup

10 teams entered.

All games adhered to the play in weeks set by the age grade calendar (AGC). Maximum of 4 rounds.
The final was held at Chester RFC on November 29^th, St. Anselms’s College securing a hard fought 11-5 victory against St. Ambrose College.

Both venues were superb hosts and both occasions were a real showcase for schoolboy rugby within the County and the number of spectators really showed the support that there is for the game at school level.

U16 Shield
9 schools entered.

The final was held at Chester RFC November 29^th, Birkenhead School defeating Bishop Heber School 32-12.

Schools 7’s

The CSU planned 7’s tournaments for U12, U13, U14, U15 & U18.

Unfortunately, the U18 tournament had to be cancelled due to bad weather.

The U12, U13, U14 & U15 tournaments all went ahead with a Tier 1 and Tier 2 format. Schools were able to opt into whichever tier that they felt was appropriate with Tier 1 being the higher tier.

U12      Lymm RFC       &         Chester RFC

U13      Lymm RFC       &         Chester RFC

U14      Sandbach RFC &         The Grange School

U15      Lymm RFC       &         Chester RFC

Many thanks got the volunteers from a number of schools who kindly offered to oversee the tournaments on the day and ensure the smooth running.

The Schools’ 7’s in numbers (if they had all gone ahead):

22 schools

U12        17 teams            204 players

U13        19 teams            228 players

U14        18 teams             216 players

U15        16 teams             192 players

U18        14 teams            168 players

In total:

25 schools

84 teams (97 in 2023, 80 in 2022)

1,008 players (1,164 in 2023, 960 in 2022)

As you can see from the above table the number of schools entering the 7’s completions is still not back up the numbers that we saw ‘pre-covid’. The number of schools in the Tier 1 competitions has not altered but Tier 2 entrants has seen a real drop off. This is a major ‘red light’ that needs to addressed jointly by the CSU and the CB. There could be a number of factors, including increased fears of concussion from parents and staff, lack of qualified staff to deliver in schools, lack of playing opportunities, lack of support from SLT.

Areas of concern:

• The number of state schools playing rugby is on the decrease. This includes in both curriculum and extra-curricular time.
• Lack of playing opportunities for state schools.
• Decline in staff willing to do extra-curricular sports fixtures on Saturday mornings.
• Whilst the game may well be surviving in independent schools it seems to be under threat in state schools across the CB.

Other highlights:

• Girls Year 7 & 8 Touch Rugby Festival held in conjunction with Lancashire CSU and Sale Sharks. 13 schools from across the Northwest attended a fantastic event held at Sale FC training ground at Carrington.
• Northwest heads of rugby conference held at Stockport Grammar in conjunction with England Rugby.
• Contact made with the Schools Games Organiser (SGO) network to try and reach out and involve more schools in CSU activity and opportunities with the aim to grow the game.
• Establishment of the Northwest Education and Age Grade Landscape Group and meeting with the Northeast Group at the inaugural North Education and Age Grade Landscape Conference.

Key delivery areas for 2024-25:

• U18 Cup, U16 Cup & U16 Shield Competitions.
• U12, U13, U14, U15 & U18 Sevens Competitions
• Pitch Up and Play opportunities for all age groups across the county, both boys and girls and all three formats of the game (contact, modifies-contact and T1)
• Link in with John Foster (England Rugby Growth Activator for the Women’s Rugby World Cup to provide playing opportunities for girls to grow the game alongside the RWC.
• More involvement with SGO’s.

If rugby is to flourish across the schools in the County and not to continue to decline then I feel that is it essential that the CB, CSU, Sale Sharks and schools all work closer together.

International Honours:

Dan Green (Ireland U18, England U18 & St. Ambrose College)

Dominic Hanson (England U18, England U19 & Stockport Grammar School)

Toby Wilson (England U18 The King’s School, Macclesfield)