SCHOOL OF THE YEAR

1. Warwick School

Warwick combine excellent on-field results with life skills: discipline, team-work, how to lose with dignity. They encourage everyone to take part and run teams from U12A-E to Senior 1-4XVs. They are coached to be fiercely competitive but also to remain positive and respectful. Two of their sides reached the Nat West Cup finals, the U18s winning against Bishop Wordsworth and their U15s losing to Wellington.

2. Howbridge C of E Junior

The school have been pivotal in promoting rugby to surrounding schools and the community. Rugby coaches have been invited to come in and to do PE lessons and help the school embed rugby. The Howbridge Tag rugby tournament was a huge success thanks to the passion of teacher Emma French.

3. John Fisher School

Every one of the 189 students who join in Year 7 play rugby for two terms, meaning the school can run teams from A-H. The school has a national reputation for excellence in rugby and has won the National 7s as well as beating Millfield at Twickeham. It’s a state-funded school with no scholarships.

4. Cranleigh

This season the school became only the second side (other than Millfield) to win the St Joseph’s XV tournament and the Rosslyn Park Nations 7s. The school put out a record 18 sides on a weekend even though they have only 400 boys and have more coaches than ever volunteering though the school.

5 Brighton College

Eddie Jones has taken the England squad for three training sessions at Brighton College, a clear endorsement of the school’s ethos. That is summed up by their player of the season for the first XV starting in the U14D team. Brighton went unbeaten for 26 games, including winning the Reigate and St Joseph’s Festivals.

6. Rugby School

Rugby enjoyed their first unbeaten season since 1978 with an overall points difference of 170. They retained the Acton Trophy and the RES Gregson Cup. Their winning run began with a tour of Japan and saw seven members of the XV appearing on the international stage.