Hartpury College is celebrating an exceptional week of success across its further education rugby programmes, with multiple national titles secured by both male and female teams in some of the most prestigious college competitions.
Hartpury College boys
On 18 March, the boys’ teams delivered outstanding performances at the AoC finals hosted at Stourbridge RFC. Hartpury Lions (3rd XV) were crowned AOC National Premier Champions following a hard-fought 31-20 victory over Exeter College in a thrilling final.
In a fast-paced, end-to-end contest, both sides traded momentum throughout with Exeter pushing Hartpury deep into the second half. However, Hartpury’s composure in key moments proved decisive, as they capitalised on their opportunities to secure the title. Tries from Rhys Phelps, Ethan Simon, Riley Butler, Beau Wareham and Zak Bullock capped an impressive team performance in a match that showcased the very best of college rugby.
Meanwhile, Hartpury Stags (5th XV) produced a dominant display to defeat Thomas Rotherham College 64-33 and lift the England Colleges (ECRFU) Cup. The victory completed an unbeaten season, with the team securing both league and cup honours in a remarkable campaign. Try scorers included Isaac Keys, Oscar Smith, Osian Curruthers, James Griffiths, Jack Aubery, Jake Newman and Vince Collett, marking a fitting conclusion to a successful two-year programme.
Hartpury College girls
On 18 March, Hartpury’s girls competed in the AoC National Final against Oxford, before going onto achieve a landmark victory on 19 March at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
The Continental Tyres Schools RFU ACE Girl’s final, held at the home of England Rugby, determines the top college programme in the country, making this a standout achievement for Hartpury’s women. They beat Worthing College 43-5.
Lewis Arnold, Junior Women’s Rugby Academy Manager at Hartpury said: “To win the final at Twickenham is a fantastic achievement. The team have been excellent all season, and to see the players earn the trophy in such a dominant performance was incredibly rewarding.
“We saw some excellent performances in the final. Our pack were outstanding and put the team on the front foot all game.”
Lewis also highlighted the strength of Hartpury’s player pathway, with several athletes progressing to international honours: “Straight after the final, we waved goodbye to nine players who flew out to represent England U18s in a Six Nations warm-up game against Ireland. We also have two players approaching the final selection for Wales, two for Scotland and one for Italy.”
These achievements once again underline Hartpury University and Hartpury College’s continued reputation as one of the UK’s leading rugby development programmes, consistently producing high-performing teams and players ready to progress to the elite level.
