cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens is hosting two tournament finals next week as teams across region battle it out to lift silverware at the home of Northampton Saints.
The Northampton and District Rugby Alliance finals are being staged at the venue on Wednesday 24 April.
First up and kicking off at 6pm is the Oceanic Cup, for Under-18 boys. Olney made it past Northampton Old Scouts, Towcestrians and Daventry to reach the final – where they will be hoping to defeat defending champions, Old Northamptontians.
ONs meanwhile saw off Northampton Casuals and Milton Keynes to reach the final.
After the Old Northamptonians versus Olney showdown, the senior men’s Lewis Shield final is set to kick off at 7.30pm.
Daventry, who claimed the Counties 1 Midlands East (South) title this season, overcame Buckingham (79-0) in the preliminary round and knocked out current holders Old Northamptonians in the quarter finals (12-25) before beating Bugbrooke (12-40) in the semi-finals.
Olney, who finished comfortably in mid-table of Regional 2 Midlands East, beat Northampton Casuals (40-17) in the quarter-finals and then ended Towcestrians’ hopes at the semi-final stage with 32-3 victory.
The Lewis Shield carries a unique rule that means if you win it, players are personally not allowed to play in the competition again.
That means the cup is generally won by a different club every year, as last year's winners have a first team who are cup-tied, and have to wait before enough youngsters come through or new players join to be competitive again.
Northampton Saints are members of the Alliance, and still compete for one of their cups – the Padget – which is presented to the Club in the District with the best overall win percentage across the season.
Entrance for both matches is £8 per adult and free for under-16s, with payment via card only. Car parking is available for free in Car Park D (NN5 5JT).
