SOCS Daily Mail Trophy: Furious start to our famous Trophy!

It may have been just about the hottest weekend of the year, but that didn’t stop the SOCS Daily Mail Schools Trophy from making a fast and furious start.   More than 140 teams have lined up for the national competition, now in its 10th year, for England’s top rugby-playing schools. It has become a stepping stone for future internationals, led by England World Cup squad members Marcus Smith, who flourished at Brighton College, and Leicester full back Freddie Steward, who learned his rock-solid ways at Oakham.   While they were preparing for the clash with Argentina on Saturday evening in Marseille, the weather was so hot back in England that the RFU ordered teams to introduce regular water breaks and ensure player safety was paramount. "That was a seriously hot day for rugby," reported Sedbergh’s Simon Mulholland after his Cumbrian team had won the traditional early season ‘south versus north’ showdown at Croydon-based Whitgift, 47-20.   Whatever Mulholland, Sedbergh’s head of rugby, said at half-time did the trick for the former champions who overturned a 13-5 deficit at the break through a strong second-half display. "I’ve never known conditions like that, huge credit must go to both teams," said Mulholland, referring to temperatures that nudged 90 °F. Whitgift had hopes of victory and were only 20-26 down going into the final 15 minutes. "It was all to play for, but they started to get on top and we lost both second rows and our lineout struggled," Chris Wilkins, Whitgift’s director of rugby, said. "Their basics, kicking game, and finishing in the last quarter were excellent. Even though it went against us, it was a hard-fought contest."   Sedbergh’s win is an early demonstration that the class of 2023 will maintain the consistency which saw them lift the title in 2017 and 2018. No 8 Finn White scored two tries and one each came from Sedbergh's captain Charlie Turnbull, scrum-half Will Holmes, and centers George Burton and Nathan Brew. Whitgift forged their first-half lead helped by tries from No 8 George Grisdale and scrum-half Fergus Callington.   Harrow, the defending champions, also demonstrated that they have retained a strong squad led by England Under 18s captain Kepu Tuipulotu, who led the national age-group squad on tour to South Africa in the summer. This talented player has returned to Harrow, and he contributed two tries in a high-scoring win over last year’s runners-up Clifton, 41-31. Tuipulotu was backed up by another summer tourist in center Charlie Griffin, who also scored. However, James Melville, Harrow’s director of rugby, flagged up the performance of No 8 Reggie Hammick for his outstanding ball carrying, which made him a real difference between the sides.   Brighton College is another team looking forward to a good season. They hope their Under 16s squad, who won the national Sevens title last season, will transfer that form into the senior 15-a-side game. They started by winning at Tonbridge, 33-12, and ran away in the first half, building a 28-0 lead. Brighton will test their early season impetus in an away match against Hampton, to be played tomorrow evening at Esher RFC.   The Trophy is played over the autumn term on a merit-table basis.   Follow this season's competition on the Mail+ app - go to mailplus.co.uk for more details.