Stragglers thrown out of Under 18 Cup

Two teams have been thrown out of the Daily Mail Under 18 Cup for the firsttime as a result of not keeping to their play-by date, the beginning of anew hard-line policy on stragglers.

King Edward's, Melton Mowbray andNorthampton School for Boys should have met in the second round by Ocotober18 but were given an extension to November 2.

Having not met by then orcommunicated with the organisers, out they went and as a result giveLoughborough Grammar School a bye to to the fourth round.

'We understand there are sometimes extenuating circumstances, such as thecurrent floods, and we can give some leeway,' said Diane Addis, the DailyMail Competitions Manager.

'But schools must make all efforts to play bythe required dates, particularly now that the Under 15 competition is openand the Vase is growing in numbers. Just two teams not adhering to therules causes a ripple effect right through the competition.'

Just for the record, King Edward's and Northampton Boys did play afterNovember 2 with Northampton winning 32-0