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Draw for the World Schools Festival sees schoolboy powerhouses meet
By Tom Parker
The draw for the World Schools Festival 2022 has just been announced, pitting some of the top rugby schools in the world against each other.
Elite sides from New Zealand, England, South Africa, Ireland, Wales and Fiji will face each other in Thailand from the 13-17th December in the premier sports competition.
The Pattana Sports Resort, in Thailand, will host the 2022 edition of the World Schools Festival. Set on over a thousand acres of land and just a short distance from Bangkok airport, the venue boasts numerous world-class facilities. This will serve as the hub for this world-class competition.
In the past, the festival has served as a key barometer on who the best rugby team in the world is. The 2019 edition of the tournament helped to further elevate the status of South African schools; with Grey College recording dominant wins over Christchurch Boys and Hartpury College.
The festival begins on Tuesday 13th December, with some enticing matchups for the sides involved.
The draw for the quarter-final line-up has been announced for Tuesday 13th December for the cup competition, with an innovative new format planned for later in the festival week.
The eagerly awaited draw has been announced with the following line-up.
In the top half of the draw:
Grey College (South Africa) v Trinity College (England).
St Michael's College (Ireland) v Cardiff and Vales College (Wales)
With the winners progressing to play each other in the CUP Semi Final 1.
In the bottom half of the draw;
Sedbergh School (England) v Millfield School (England)
Hamilton Boys' High School (New Zealand) v TBC
Hamilton Boy's opponents would have been Ratu Kadavulevu School from Fiji (RKS). However, the school had to withdraw due to the country's external educational schedules.
Despite this, RKS have sent 14 players to join the Odyssey Squad playing in the open trophy competition, which will bring the Fiji magic to the festival.
The draw sets up an exciting clash between Millfield and Sedbergh, two of the elite outfits in English schoolboy rugby. This encounter will ultimately decide who comes out on top in The Schools Championship competition in the country.
Grey College are widely considered to be one of the greatest schools rugby sides on the planet. They will face Trinity from England, reigniting the famous England vs South Africa rivalry.
Cardiff and Vale will take on Ireland's St Michael's who are highly respected in Irish rugby for the professional players that they continue to produce.
The kick-off times are set to be announced early next week, with all matches being streamed LIVE on the RugbyPass YouTube channel.
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Latest Comments
This France team is as good as they were when they went into the World Cup as favorites. Have gone through a rebuild of confidence and rediscovered that form.
Neither England nor Ireland will trouble this team in the 6N. That’s my prediction.
And I guess about time too. Considering that France has won but one 6N title in 6 seasons despite being the best French team for generations thriving off the platform which is the Top 14.
They must just beware of peaking too soon and going to Australia over confident.
Which is also why I thinks it’s absolutely bonkers that France isn’t sending there best players to New Zealand next year. Yes, it isn’t Australia, but getting some SH travel experience makes more sense than not.
Go to commentsI'm not meaning to criticise the players, it's a professional game, this is their livelihood so all power to them. I am aiming criticism at the selectors. Italy is the perfect opportunity to give players of the future a game such as Lakai, Love etc. There is a finite number of tests until the next world cup to develop the team, we are wasting one today.
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