Four U13s selected to join Northampton Saints EPDG

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EPDG, Northampton Saints, RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, royal hospital school

Congratulations to the following Year 8 boys who have been invited to join the Northampton Saints Elite Players Development Group for next season. All performed very well in a recent assessment and will begin training in September.

• Toyo Ogunlesi
• Cameron Jordan
• Elliot Chilvers
• Kuki Daunakamakama

Francois gives an outstanding performance for Saints

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EPDG, Northampton Saints, RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, royal hospital school, the royal hospital school

Francois Rossouw, Year 10 Collingwood and Saints Academy player, gave it his all at the U15s Midlands/North Academies Rugby Festival in a tough 12-aside, 5 game competition. Francois was complimented on his game after an outstanding performance for the winning Northampton Saints side.

Five Royal Hospital School U14s re-selected for Northampton Saints EPDG

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EPDG, northamton saints elite players development group, RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, rugby, the royal hospital school, U14 Rugby

Five pupils from the Royal Hospital School have been reselected by the U14 Northampton Saints Elite Players Development Group for the next rugby season.

Tom Cornock	Year 9	Raleigh
Elliot Rayment	Year 9	St Vincent
Kev Tavainavesi	Year 9	St Vincent
Harry Pugh	Year 9	Raleigh
Zac Puckey	Year 9	Raleigh

The Elite Player Development Groups identify and develop players in the Under-14, Under-15 and Under-16 age groups. Based in two centres – Northampton (East Midlands) and Stowmarket (Eastern Counties) – the EPDGs are managed by a head coach along with three support coaches.

The coaching curriculum at these centres will ensure that players who are aspiring to play for the Saints 1st XV are suitably educated and equipped with the essential physical foundations for being a professional sportsman. Players are then selected from the EPDG to attend the Junior Saints Academy sessions which are based at Franklin’s Gardens, home of the Saints. The EPDG programme is a major step onto the elite player development pathway.

U13 Sevens Rugby Squad meet Dylan Hartley at Franklin Gardens

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7s, Dylan Hartley, Elite Insurance, Franklin Gardens, Northampton Saints, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, royal hospital school, rugby, Sevens, the royal hospital school

The Royal Hospital School U13s Sevens Rugby squad went to Franklin Gardens, home of Northampton Saints, on Thursday 24 April. This was as a result of their success in the Suffolk 7’s tournament taking them through to the Elite Insurance 7s regional finals.

The tournament consisted of the top two U13s teams from each of the five East of England counties. The RHS boys were placed in a tough group with much-fancied Northampton School for Boys first up in their group. After a promising start they went down in the end showing some signs of the form that saw them progress at Rosslyn Park. Further games against Linton School and Cherwell resulted in well fought victories. The final game saw a comfortable victory against Ousedale School 29-10.

This meant the team finished 2^nd and qualified for the knockout stages where they met The Royal Latin School. The boys played some wonderful rugby, showing real determination and desire in defence, but unfortunately they missed out on the final against Northampton School for Boys, who went onto win the tournament in the main stadium.

Mr Chadwick, U13s coach, said, “The squad should be congratulated on their efforts throughout the day and they have been complimented on their brand of rugby and team spirit throughout the 7’s season. After the hard work on field, the boys were delighted with the opportunity to meet current England hooker, Dylan Hartley”.

The Squad

• Chilvers
• Ponsonby
• Braybrooke
• Jordan
• Orr
• Wells
• Daunakamakama
• Ogunlesi
• Craft

 

Zac on tour with the unbeaten U14 Lambs in Ireland

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independent schools lambs u14, Lambs, lambs rugby, RFU, RHS, RHS Rugby, rugy, the royal hospital school, zac puckey

Over the Easter break Year 9 pupil, Zac Puckey, was selected to tour Ireland with the Lambs U14 rugby squad. The group of 25 players from Independent Schools across the country played three matches and came home unbeaten.

Their first game was against Leinster-based Naas RFC. This was a tough encounter but the Lambs won 15-19. Next followed a match against Garryowen RFC in Munster, the club of former Ireland hooker Keith Wood. Despite high local expectation, the Lambs hit top form with a 0-40 win. The next challenge was Rockwell College. The score at half-time was 0-20 with some beautiful running rugby and the Lambs in control. Rockwell were also impressive and with 5 minutes to go the score sat at 17-20. The Lambs hung on under immense pressure and Zac make an outstanding tackle to keep the Lambs ahead.

Two England Caps for Ben Kelland

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Over the Easter break Ben Kelland, Year 11, played rugby for London and South East U16 division at the BMW Wellington International Festival. This event was an opportunity for the young players to take on their first challenges in international rugby following a selection process that started in March. 100 players from four divisional groups – Midlands, North, London and South East and South West – played in a series of development matches leading to the final selection of 23 players for the England U16 squad.

On the first day, Ben played the whole game in second row against Italy and scored in the second half, contributing to a 38-5 win. The second game was against Wales Celts, the strongest of the two Welsh divisions, but due to competition rules, Ben could not play in the first half. He did however play in the second, helping London to win 29-21.

As a result of Ben’s excellent performances, he was one of the squad of 23 selected to play for the England U16 against Scotland on the final day of the tournament at Wellington College. The England team started slow conceding 8 points and 12 penalties but they then went onto score 32 unchallenged points. Ben was replaced after 10 minutes of the second half but, due to injuries in the back row, he re-joined the game to play blind side flanker for 10 minutes and finished the last 15 minutes at number 8. England comfortably won the game 32-22. After the game, Ben was awarded his England Cap by Rob Andrew, RFU Director of Elite Rugby.

Having played so well, in what were in essence trail games, Ben was also selected to play for the England U16 side against Wales on Sunday 27 April at Neath RFC. Despite a close fought game that could have gone either way, the result was a victory for England U16 24–22. Unfortunately, Ben suffered a rib injury but played the majority of the game to gain his second Cap.

Director of Sport, Paul Hardman, said “This is a fantastic achievement for Ben who is also part of Northampton Saints Junior academy”.

RHS U18s meet one of rugby’s brightest prospects

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RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, Rosslyn Park, royal hospital school, RPNS7, rugby, Sevens, the royal hospital school

The Royal Hospital School U18s Sevens Rugby team were delighted to meet rugby hero, Manu Samoa Tuilagi, at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens tournament today.

Manu is the Samoan-born professional rugby union player who currently plays for Leicester Tigers and England. He plays as a centre or on the wing and is well known for his big hits, sheer force… and surprising speed for a man of nearly 18 stone. He is considered to be one of the brightest prospects and best outside centres in world rugby. He was selected to play for the British and Irish Lions on their 2013 tour to Australia.

RHS U18s meet Manu

 

U13s win a place in the final at Suffolk Schools 7s Rugby Tournament

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Northampton Saints, RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, rugby, suffolk schools rugby tournament, the royal hospital school

On Tuesday 18 March a squad of Year 8 rugby players travelled to Stowmarket Rugby Club to take part in the Suffolk Schools Sevens Rugby Tournament.

The boys played well winning all of their first round matches against Coplestone High School, St Felix School, St Josephs and Stowmarket. They also beat Colchester Royal Grammar School in the Semi-final 7-5 putting them through to the final against St Josephs College.

Unfortunately they could not hold on to their winning streak and lost 10-15. While this was a disappointing outcome, having beaten the team earlier in the day, the RHS team are still through to the regional finals that take place at Northampton Rugby Club. The final of this will be played on the Northampton Saints 1st XV pitch.

Rugby Sevens Season

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Senior Sevens at Reigate Charity 7s

The Sunday before last, the Senior Seven competed in the Reigate Charity 7’s. This is a high quality, invitation only, seven-a-side tournament with some of the best sides in country taking part. In RHS’ group were Dulwich College (Nat West semi-finalists) and KCS Wimbledon. The team played well but they were not strong enough to make it through the group and went on to compete for the Bowl. A fantastic four tries to nil win against Christ’s Hospital, in the quarter-final was the highlight of the day but sadly, a defeat against a strong Judd side in the semi-final saw RHS depart the competition.

U12 Sevens at New Hall Festival

The U12s competed at the New Hall Festival on Saturday. The team lost in close group games to Ipswich and a strong side from Wales, however, by beating the Perse and New Hall, the boys qualified for the Bowl competition. Here they went from strength to strength beating Skinners in extra time to qualify for the final. As a precursor to the International at Twickenham RHS played another Welsh school in a tense encounter in which the boys went on to won 21-7.

U12 Rugby Sevens Squad

U13 Sevens at Berkhamsted 7s

On Sunday, the U13s travelled to Berkhamsted 7`s. In a very tough group, including Abingdon, St Benedict’s and Christ’s Hospital, the team finished bottom but they went on to play well beating Isleworth and local rival St. Joseph’s College. In the end, they fell just short on an exhausting day against Lincroft.

Ben Kelland Selected for London and South East Division U16

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international u16 rugby, northampton saints junior academy, RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, rugby, rugby trials, the royal hospital school

Ben Kelland, Year 11 at the Royal Hospital School, took part in the London and South East Division U16 rugby trails at Haileybury School in December.

Ben performed extremely well in difficult conditions against some of the best U16s in the country to secure his place in the squad. This term he will attend a series of Divisional training weekends culminating in an International Festival at Wellington College in April. If he is then selected into the England U16 group, he will play against Italy and Wales.

This honour finished a busy rugby term for the 1st XV player as he was also carried forward into Northampton Saints Junior Academy. Congratulations to Ben on his achievement and good luck.