September 2, 2008
More than 40 teams of schools old boys took part in the Cronk-Cunis National Under 21 Rugby Festival on Sunday August 31 – the country’s biggest one-day festival of 15-a-side adult rugby.
King’s College School, Wimbledon took top honours in the cup final against Tonbridge from Kent at the conclusion of nine hours of continuous action involving more than 800 players in 71 matches on the combined grounds of KCS Old Boys RFC, Old Blues RFC and King’s College School in Motspur Park, Surrey.
Brian Williams, President of the Rugby Football Union, presented five trophies – Cup, Plate, Bowl, Vase and Shield – and paid tribute to an annual event supported by the RFU as a valuable boost to the Play On campaign to keep players aged 16 to 24 engaged with the game.
“This National Festival represents the best of what rugby is all about and I wish it every success in the future,” Williams said, having observed the great strides made by the Cronk-Cunis Festival and its participating teams in giving school-leavers the opportunity to carry on playing rugby.
Now in its 12th year, the Festival attracted old boys’ Under 21 teams from all around England’s Home Counties, as well as Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Northants, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. The Scots and Welsh were represented, too, by Gordonstoun, Christ College Brecon and Rydal Penrhos School.
Hampshire were prominent with Churcher’s College, King Edward VI Southampton, Lord Wandsworth’s College and Portsmouth Grammar all taking part.
In the Cup Final the home side KCS Wimbledon were too fast and too powerful for Tonbridge who had endured a tough path through the competition including victory over St John’s College Leatherhead in a sudden-death drop goal ‘shoot out’.
For KCS, wing Gareth Stoppani – a prolific scorer for his school’s 1st XV last season – was unstoppable in the final scoring a hat trick of tries as King’s won by 31-0, and it was a tribute to captain Tom Dugarin’s side’s skill and organisation that they did not concede a try all day.
“Our main mission is to keep lads playing rugby after they have left school,” said Tim Cunis, joint-organiser of the Festival.
“The catchment age ranges from Under 19s – many of whom have just left school in July – up to Under 21s.
“We were awarded ‘national’ status by the RFU in 2006, I’m pleased to say the President has attended for the past three years and planning has started already for 2009.”
The RFU’s support for the Festival included the supply of match balls, polo shirts for the referees and organisers and t-shirts for the players.
The RFU’s Surrey rugby development officer Jo Martin and Middlesex RDO Ronnie Barry were on hand with five community rugby coaches, helping the smooth running of the event and combining with the RFU’s mobile promotions unit to spread the Play On message and put players and coaches in touch with their local O2 Pathfinders.
Cronk-Cunis National Under 21 Rugby Festival 2008, results:
Finals:
Cup: King’s College School, Wimbledon 31 Tonbridge 0
Plate: RGS High Wycombe 12 Lord Wandsworth College 8
Bowl: St Benedict’s, Ealing 15 Dulwich College 5
Vase: Latymer Upper 19 Abingdon 5
Shield: Cranleigh 19 Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar 5
Cup Round One:
Oundle 0 Christ’s Hospital 10
Abingdon 0 Millfield 14
Eton College 0 Cranleigh 15
Wellington College 17 Lord Wandsworth College 0
Dulwich College 35 Mill Hill 0
Tonbridge 5 John Fisher 0
Whitgift 5 Dartford Grammar 0
Pangbourne College 0 St John’s, Leatherhead 22
Eastbourne College 0 KCS Wimbledon 19
Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar 17 RGS High Wycombe 14
Hampton 24 King Edward VI, Southampton 0
Merchant Taylors’ 0 Brighton College 14
Churcher’s College 0 Marlborough College 7
St Paul’s, London 17 Gordonstoun 0
Wimbledon College 5 Portsmouth Grammar 6
Norwich 0 Christ College Brecon 7
Cup Round Two:
Christ’s Hospital 7 Millfield 5
Cranleigh 0 Wellington College 8
Dulwich College 3 Tonbridge 6
Whitgift 0 St John’s College, Leatherhead 19
KCS Wimbledon 10 Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar 3
Hampton 6 Brighton College 0
Marlborough College 10 St Paul’s, London 5
Portsmouth Grammar 6 Christ College Brecon 0
Cup quarter-finals:
Christ’s Hospital 5 Wellington College 12
Tonbridge (won on DGs after extra time) 13 St John’s College, Leatherhead 13
KCS Wimbledon 7 Hampton 3
Marlborough College 0 Portsmouth Grammar 15
Cup semi-finals:
Wellington College 0 Tonbridge 12
KCS Wimbledon 40 Portsmouth Grammar 3
Plate Round One:
Oundle 10 Abingdon 5
Eton College 0 Lord Wandsworth College 15
Mill Hill 7 John Fisher 33
Dartford Grammar 5 Pangbourne College 0
Eastbourne College 0 RGS High Wycombe 10
King Edward VI, Southampton 7 Merchant Taylors’ 12
Churcher’s College 32 Gordonstoun 0
Wimbledon College 5 Norwich 0
Plate quarter-finals:
Oundle 3 Lord Wandsworth College 31
John Fisher 17 Dartford Grammar 7
RGS High Wycombe 6 Merchant Taylors’ 3
Churcher’s College 5 Wimbledon College 0
Plate semi-finals:
Lord Wandsworth College 12 John Fisher 5
RGS High Wycombe 15 Churcher’s College 10
Bowl Round One:
Loughborough Grammar 14 Rugby 0
Bristol Grammar 5 St Benedict’s, Ealing 17
Reading Bluecoat 0 Rydal Penrhos 19
St Edward’s Oxford 26 Latymer Upper 5
Bowl quarter-finals:
Loughborough Grammar 10 Brighton College 0
St Benedict’s, Ealing 17 Tiffin 0
Dulwich College 26 Christ Brecon 0
Rydal Penrhos 27 St Edward’s College, Oxford 21
Bowl semi-finals:
Loughborough Grammar 5 St Benedicts, Ealing 37
Rydal Penrhos 15 Dulwich College 26
Vase quarter-finals:
Rugby 0 Abingdon 19
Bristol Grammar 24 Pangbourne College 14
King Edward VI, Southampton 5 Norwich 12
Reading Blue Coat 22 Latymer Upper 26
Vase semi-finals:
Abingdon 14 Bristol Grammar (then withdrew) 29
Norwich 12 Latymer Upper 21
Shield Pool A:
Eton College 7 Eastbourne College 20
Gordonstoun 0 Cranleigh 17
Eastbourne College 7 Cranleigh 17
Shield Pool B:
Whitgift 7 Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar 19
Tiffin 28 Whitgift 5
Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar 12 Tiffin 7
Ends
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