South-Bede: Rising Force in College Rugby? 

After a 25/26 season peppered with no-shows and sharing players with opposition sides, ambitions for an improved version of South-Bede RFC were strong. With a squad boasting over 30 players this year, hopes are high within the squad that South-Bede can go far in the floodlit this year as well as securing promotion into Division 1. Those hopes could not have been answered much more emphatically than in the opening game of the season. 

'Proud of the lads no matter what' - Jacob Hughes

When asked for his pre-match thoughts, South Rugby president, Jacob Hughes declared that he would be 'proud of the lads no matter what the full-time score turned out to be'. However, this would not be good enough for South-Bede RFC. They came to win, and win they did. Spearheaded by an awe-inspiring attacking performance from Harry Wilson, South-Bede ran home victors by 43-26 against Hatfield B's this weekend. 

A blistering first half display, dictated by the half-back pairing of Oli Daccus and Harry Waight, saw South-Bede confidently strut into half time with a 26-0 lead, but a report of this game could not be complete without mentioning the forward pack. Of the seven tries scored, six were scored by forwards, with Harry Waight being the sole representative for the backline. Beyond the try scoring however, the superior physicality of the South-Bede forwards made finding an attacking foothold in the match near impossible for the Hatfield men. When a Hatfield back was on the receiving end of a tackle from Josh Bernald Ross or Torrin Hart, they surely knew about it. 

Morale was high for the half-time team talk as the team began to see the product of all their hard work come together. As the team lined up for the second half, coach Shane O'Brien rang in seven half-time changes giving the team a fresh look as it prepared to receive the restart. It was an instant impact for Ethan Ward as he expertly kicked forward a loose ball and scooped it up to run in a very well taken try under the posts, not bad for a hooker. The conversion was duly dispatched by Harry Waight for his last action of a very impressive opening cameo as he was forced off with an ankle injury.  As to be expected with so many changes, the organisation of the team began to slip as the second half continued with Hatfield exploiting gaps that were beginning to emerge in defence. Some impressive solo tries meant that they clawed the game back to 33-26 and a spark had been rekindled within them. 

'South-Bede substitutes rushing onto the pitch...as they celebrated their teammate's achievement.'

 A spark that was promptly extinguished by the marauding number 8 Harry Wilson. Expert positioning on the wing saw him run in his second try under the posts before he  completed his hat trick within the last play of the game with an electrifying line break. This was followed instantly by a hoard of South-Bede substitutes rushing onto the pitch jumping and screaming as they celebrated their teammate's achievement.  Despite the impressive 43-26 score line, South-Bede can consider themselves unlucky not to have hit the half century, as a physical try from hooker Sam Moore was harshly disallowed. 

All in, this was an incredibly promising performance from South-Bede RFC and hopefully a sign of exciting things to come this season. When questioned about his ambitions for the rest of the season, Coach Shane O'Brien stated that South-Bede 'has a very strong platform to build off', and he believes they can 'go all the way this season'. After such a high-quality performance, the question must be asked: Are we witnessing a rising force within the ranks of Durham University college rugby?  

Interested in watching along? Catch the next game against Collingwood C this weekend. More details on time and date to be announced later this week on the @southcollegerugby instagram, linked below. 

• South-Bede vs Hatfield RFC match played 18th October 2026 at Maiden Castle, Durham.  @hatfieldrfc  @southcollegerugby