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rugbyunion, English National League 1
This Sunday NextGenXV will be live streaming the U18 National Colts Cup semi final between Guildford Rugby and Tonbridge Juddians. Following on from our live streaming of Guildford’s quarter final against Luctonians, which Guildford won 29-11, Guildford were drawn against Tonbridge Juddians, who had beaten Blackheath 16-5. Kicking off at ‘The Slade’ in Tonbridge at 1pm, you will be able to watch all the action live on this channel! For those looking for a clubhouse atmosphere but unable to travel to Tonbridge, the game will also be on the screens in the Guildford clubhouse bar. From 128 Colts teams, these groups of 17-18 year-olds have now been whittled down to just four, and in the 100th anniversary year Guildford are particularly keen to lift this prestigious trophy, which they last won back in the 2016/17 season. Their Cup run has already included wins against National League senior clubs: Reading Rams, Worthing and, most recently, Luctonians (29-11 in atrocious weather). The Guildford team now face strong Kent opposition, who have previously won this title twice. The other semi-final is another massive one as West Park Leeds, hosts of many an England training camp, head to Kettering RFC. The Guildford Colts squad are under the guidance of head coach Mike Starmer-Smith and coach Brett Taylor. Starmer-Smith is the nephew to commentary and Harlequins legend Nigel, and his son Henry, a Wellington College pupil, is at number 8 on Sunday. Henry was skipper of the Wellington College 7s side that reached Wednesday’s Edwin Doran Surrey Schools Senior 7s final on Wednesday, which also featured two other Guildford players in Samm Daniel and Finn Tawse, while Tonbridge Juddians’ Ralph Hawker was also involved. There are Wellington College links through Brett Taylor as well, who joined this group after helping to guide Wellington’s U15s to Schools Cup glory in 2019. Once a Northampton Saints scrum half, he has also been as USA coach and Director of Rugby at Richmond. This particular Guildford squad has been strong for many seasons, regional winners of the Land Rover Cup in the 14/15 and 15/16 seasons and County Champions multiple times. They had to defeat current Champions, Farnham, in the first round of this Cup. Both teams may yet meet again before the season is out, since last weekend they both reached the semi-final of the Surrey County Colts Cup, along with Wimbledon and Old Wimbledon Warriors. The Guildford squad numbers around 50, the majority of which have been involved in the Cup games so far and many of whom have been at the Club since minis. The players are drawn from local schools, Broadwater, Cranleigh, George Abbot, Godalming College, St John’s, Seaford, Churcher’s and the ACE schools for London Irish and Harlequins as well as larger contingents from The Royal Grammar School, Guildford and Wellington College. The team’s Cup run has been a real squad effort, and after this weekend 4/5ths of the young men will have played a part in one or more matches. A number of players have received notable honours this season, Will Ayton, Jake Golding, Finn Tawse and Jack Thomas all featuring for Harlequins U18, while Ollie Armitage, Luke Genco, Tom Lang, and Henry Boyle have all played for Surrey U18, and Boyle has also featured for the Irish Exiles. All are set to feature on Sunday, except Ayton and Genco who are sadly injured. It should be a superb occasion between two giants of the club rugby scene. Results so far: Guildford QF 29-11 v Luctonians R4 28-22 v Worthing R3 29-19 at Reading Rams R2 Walkover v Andover R1 31-12 at Farnham Tonbridge Juddians QF 16-5 v Blackheath R4 48-7 at Richmond R3 13-0 v Sevenoaks R2 21-7 at Canterbury R1 17-11 v Aylesford Bulls Don't forget to sign up on our Talent Hub. Whether you are a recruiter or looking to be recruited get involved now! https://nextgenxv.com/the-talent-hub/ Connect with NextGenXV: https://www.nextgenxv.com https://www.facebook.com/NextGenXV/ https://www.twitter.com/NextGenXV https://www.instagram.com/nextgenxv https://www.youtube.com/c/Nextgenxv
2022-03-12
ykcBpGXU8lA
