The fourth Shiplake 7s Rugby tournament, which took place on Sunday 5 February, was the biggest and best yet. An increase in the number of teams lead to 16 schools battling it out to lift the Cracknell Cup, named after Old Viking and ex-England 7s player Chris Cracknell. Chris left Shiplake in 2002 and went on to represent England at U19 and U21 level, before participating in World Series, a World Cup and a Commonwealth Games until his retirement from playing in 2014. Chris now leads a career in coaching, most recently as Head Coach of Fiji Women and Assistant Coach to the Rio Olympic-gold winning Fiji Men's side.
The format of the Shiplake 7s tournament sees the sides split into four groups of four, with the winners going into the Cup semi finals. The winners play in the final for the Cracknell Cup, while the losers meet in the Plate final. Second placed sides go through to the Shield semi finals, the winners meet in the Shield final, losers in the Bowl final. Third placed sides meet in the Trophy semi finals, with the winners playing in the Trophy final. Fourth placed sides in the group meanwhile meet in the Vase semi finals, with the winners meeting in the Vase final.
School Rugby blog, Fifteen Rugby, has written a wonderful account of the day's tournament, which can be read here.
Head of Rugby, Mr Sam Beckett, said "This was a brilliant day of rugby 7s for all the teams. Congratulations to Bedford for successfully defending their title to retain the Cracknell Cup. Special mention to the Shiplake side, unfortunately losing by a tight margin in all their games, including a narrow 17-14 loss to eventual winners Bedford. Their performance in each of the games was impressive and very encouraging for the rest of the 7s season."
- Cracknell Cup: Bedford 33-21 Eastbourne College
- Plate: Cheltenham College 0-35 St John’s Leatherhead
- Shield: Tonbridge 33-7 Hurstpierpoint College
- Bowl: Haileybury 10-24 St Paul’s
- Trophy: Seaford College 7-33 Abingdon
- Vase: Radley College 26-7 Emanuel
Please go to www.shiplake7s.co.uk for the full draw and results.