Schools' Rugby: RGS Worcester closing in

RGS Worcester are on the brink of reaching the quarter-finals of the Daily

RGS booked their place in the last 16 of the competition by beating King's
School, Grantham 25-7 in the fifth round and will now entertain the winners of the Northampton School for Boys v Bromsgrove School game on January 13.

As RGS is a one-term rugby school, their progress means that additional matches will have to be found after Christmas to prepare their players for the sixth round tie which will be played during a term when soccer becomes the main sport in the school.

'It's a problem that we have had to face before and it just means that we will have to find some extra fixtures to give the players match practice," said Gareth Hughes, master-in-charge of rugby at RGS.

RGS have been beaten only once this season, by Clifton College when they were forced to field a depleted side and Hughes believes that this season's side has the potential to progress beyond the quarter-finals for the first time.

'We have a mobile pack, effective half-backs and some strong runners behind them,' said the former Saracens and Worcester fly-half.

'We've defended well, particularly in the Daily Mail where we have conceded only 14 points in four games, and I dodn't see any reason why we shouldn't go further in this competition.'