What a pleasure this was, huge thanks to all at Mill Hill School Finborough School and Saracens Group for making it such an occasion!
I'm thrilled to celebrate our first 'Big Match' against Finborough School, held at Saracens Group iconic Stadium, StoneX Stadium, on Saturday. Mill Hill School players had the incredible opportunity to compete on the same pitch where some of the best players in the world get to play. It was a day filled with excitement and pride as our U14A, U15A, 2nd XV, and 1st XV teams played back-to-back from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm. For the first time in our school's history, the matches were live-streamed on NextGenXV, featuring multiple camera angles and commentary from professional commentators ably supported by our very own teachers, Kyle Bowes-Taylor and Graeme Turner, and Sixth Form pupil, Adam B. With entertainment on hand from Mill Hill’s very own producer/dj Charlie A. Response from the day has been phenomenal, not just from the hundreds of pupils, players, and staff that came to support but the amount of exposure this has created for our players and programme, with over 9,000 views on YouTube and 44,000 views for several highlights on our Instagram channel @millhillseniorsport. The games were incredibly competitive, and played in great spirits, making the day a resounding success! As Graeme Turner said so well in his post-match interview, “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.” However, it was more than just the teams selected to play at StoneX who had a run out on Saturday. Over 50 of our U14C, D, and E teams came in for an internal competition, the 'Mill Hill Champions Cup', before travelling the short journey to support our teams. With record numbers of boys wanting to play rugby and represent the school at Mill Hill, the future looks bright! Thank you to Tash Coleman, our Mill Hill Education Group Marketing Manager, for her hard work and creativity in capturing the day and helping our pupils remember this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I also want to thank all the staff who coached and supporters who came to support our boys, especially Chris Bajak, whose monumental efforts made this day possible. A big shoutout to Angus Savage and the NextGenXV team for their professionalism throughout the day. I recommend them to any other schools considering dipping their toe into the world of live-streaming sports fixtures. #MillHillSeniorSport #Rugby #NextGenXV #TeamSpirit #Success